How The Death Of A New York Senator Impacted The Right To Die Movement

When we talk about the right to die in modern discussions, we're usually talking about the right of assisted suicide, or euthanasia. Currently, eight states and the District of Columbia have "right to die" laws on the books, which allow for terminally ill patients to choose to end their own lives (via World Population Review). Different organizations work to promote the right to die movement in the United States, including Death with Dignity, which describes the goal of right to die legislation as ensuring that "people with terminal illness can decide for themselves what a good death means in accordance with their values and beliefs" (via Death with Dignity).

However, the phrase "right to die" once had very different connotations. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, the right to die movement was focused on something that we might now take for granted: the right, if you experience irreversible injuries like severe brain damage, to be taken off life support and choose to die naturally (via the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing).

Many different advocates and politicians contributed to enshrining that right. But one particular man, Senator Jacob K. Javits, had a larger role than most.

ALS is a degenerative disease in which the muscles don't work properly (via ALS Association). Also called Lou Gehrig's disease, ALS is a disease which often shows up relatively late in life. Risk factors can include certain genes that can be shared within families, but in most cases, it's not clear why someone may develop the condition (via ALS Association). Treatments for ALS can include medication, heat therapy, and, in the later stages of disease, mobility tools like wheelchairs, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Once someone is diagnosed with ALS, their life expectancy is around five years, according to the ALS Association, and the disease is currently incurable. Approximately 5,000 people are diagnosed with ALS each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), meaning it is a relatively rare condition compared to other degenerative diseases, like Alzheimer's, which affects around 500,000 new people each year (via Bright Focus).

In his speech before Congress, Senator Javits asked the House representatives to reconsider their reasons for believing death to be an inherently bad thing, according to United Press International. "Birth and death are the most singular events we experience," he said. "Therefore the contemplation of death as birth should be a thing of beauty and not of ignobility."

Though Congress did not respond with any bills in 1985, five years later, Congress passed the Patient Self Determination Act (via Congress). The law worked toward creating more comprehensive policies about end-of-life care, including by specifying that certain healthcare organizations, like nursing facilities, were required to give their patients information about advanced directives and to ensure they had an opportunity to complete one, if desired.

Unfortunately, Javits was not able to see the bill become a law himself. In 1986, less than a year after speaking in front of the House of Representatives, Javits died due to complications from ALS (via Daily News).