AZELO Newsletter, May 1, 2022

Goal: For May’s Action Alert we want to encourage our Action Teams to continue to sign up new members as we march towards our goal of “1000 by November.”

Rationale: To reach our 1000 by November goal, we are asking each Action Team Member to talk with their friends, neighbors, and family about medical aid in dying and our efforts to get a law passed in Arizona. Then, walk the friend through how to sign up to be an action team member or do it for them.

In support of this effort, this month’s Action Alert simply provides some resources as well as a success story that we want to share with you in order to help keep your “batteries charged!”

First is a success story from one of our Action Team leaders who related the following “win” from one of their team members:

“About a week after sending out the April Action Alert, I received the following email from a fellow team member, Alice:

“I co-moderated a book club pick today, Being Mortal by Atul Gowandi. I started with some reflections that came from Joan Halifax’s writings on dying. (Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe). Imaging the worst possible death/circumstances, and then imagining the best death one could have provided good discussion. I gave everyone the AZELO brochure and discussed that, and then the book discussion. Gowandi didn’t seem to like death with dignity approach, instead pushing hospice. But it was written in 2014 and I don’t think he understood what the process really is. Everyone present was favorable to AZELO, and 3 asked me to sign them up to be action team members …”

Sure enough, the day after I received the email from Alice I received notice from volunteer coordinator Kem Ellis that I had new Action Team sign-ups. I’ve contacted all three of the people and they are now all on board as Action Team members.

Great work Alice - put 3 wins up on the scoreboard!”

We know that these discussions can be difficult to start so here are several resources that you may find useful:

1. The AZELO website is constantly updated with the latest news and happenings; you can find it at https://azendoflifeoptions.org

2. Our next webinar is on May 6th. Attendees will hear AZELO leaders speak about the 6 options for end-of-life care and can answer any questions that you have. Register for the webinar at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEuce2rpj0jE9VrpFrA_mrA6yoEWHqq8zr9 or see the direct link to the webinar at the bottom of this newsletter, which can be used to enter the webinar once it has begun.

3. Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) enjoys significant public support. Our latest poll results can be found at https://azendoflifeoptions.org/arizona-public-poll/

If you are already an Action Team member or leader, thank you! - we can’t do this without you!

And if not; you can sign up to join here: https://azendoflifeoptions.org/action teams/

This Arizona Doctor Says Patients Should be Able to End Their Own Lives

by Steve Goldstein
Published: Mo

nday, April 18, 2022

The state of O

regon was the first in the U.S. to legalize medical aid in dying, and it recently made that option more readily available by eliminating residency requirements to go through the process.
Arizona is not one of the 10 states that allow medical aid in dying, and that led two sisters to go from here to Switzerland to end their lives in a clinic.

Palliative care options have increased significantly in recent years, but some in Arizona are advocating for the state to legalize medical aid in dying. One of them is retired physician Tom Fitch, who is a member of the leadership team of Arizona End-of-Life Options.

The Show spoke with him and began the conversation by asking what studies indicate about the ways end of life care has changed and what concerns still exist.

Listen to the 7 minute Radio Show Broadcast Here