Exit Strategies

Assisted suicide comes to Boston

by Jessica Rosin

It's not exactly Vatican City, but Boston has a pretty hard-core Catholic population -- making it a strange place to preach the virtues of assisted suicide. Nevertheless, the World Federation of Right-to-Die Societies has chosen Boston as the site for its next international conference.

Religious issues weren't a concern for organizers of the convention, says Faye Girsh, president of the Hemlock Society, a right-to-die group. She says members are optimistic about the three-day conference, which starts September 1 at the Park Plaza Hotel. Up to 500 people will attend, and activities will include a "right-to-die" film festival with screenings of films like It's My Party, the true story of a man with AIDS who throws himself a farewell party and ends his life when the evening's over.

"We hope the conference will showcase the fact that our movement has been successful," says Girsh.

Daniel Vaila of Massachusetts Catholic Charities hopes people are not swayed by the conference's rhetoric. The terminally ill, he says, have plenty of options for relief outside of suicide.

"Rather than turning to death as a solution," he says, "our goal is to help meet the needs of the dying through positive and life-affirming solutions. Hospice and pain management are just some of the options already out there."

If any conventioneers decide to practice what they preach, they'd better hope the cops don't come -- assisted suicide is still illegal in Massachusetts, as it is in every state except Oregon. However, New England has a chance to break new ground this fall: Maine will vote on an initiative to legalize physician-assisted suicide in November's election.