On the morning of the death of Barbara Goodfriend, friends and family gathered in her house, laughing at old stories and sharing tears about her decision to end her own life.
The resident of New Jersey had spent her life in fashion and raising her daughter, but in April the widow, at the time 83, was diagnosed with amyotrophe lateral sclerosis (ALS) – a rare neurodegenerative disease that causes progressive paralysis of the muscles.
Also known as Lou’s disease, the condition, which affects around 30,000 Americans, influences the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord – some loss of engine function and ultimately causing respiratory failure.
There is no remedy and those who are determined with it die within three to five years.
The case of GoodFriend, however, was serious and only had a few months to live. Doctors told her that she would probably not live through autumn.
Instead of suffering the last remaining months of her life, the grandmother of two decided to end her life with the help of medical help in dying, also known as Maid, nine months after her diagnosis.
Goodfriend said: ‘What am I going to give up for this? To be in a wheelchair? To have a food tube? I wish I had more time to live, but I don’t want any more time as a patient. ‘
Barbara Goodfriend died of girl in November 2024 after being stated earlier that year
“I hope something will be done, something will be achieved so that others can have the privilege that I have,” she said CBS News.
Maid is an option for the end of life offered to terminally ill Americans in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maina, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia.
It was legalized in New Jersey in 2019.
Although the CDC still has to announce how many people in 2024 died in the States where it is legal, officials reported 1,216 deaths in 2021.
Since the law came into force in 2019, a total of 287 people used Maid to die in New Jersey.
The option for girl is only given to those who have less than six months to live, have decision -making to ask for the option, to give informed permission and its residents of the state where it is legal.
A present and an adviser then determine whether the patient is medically eligible for Maid.
If eligible, the patient must submit three requests to choose Maid with his present doctor – two oral requests and one written request for final approval.
The process includes a combination of medicines, including digoxin, diazepam, morphine, amitriptyline and phenobarbital in the body.
They breathe breathing and eventually rush to the point of stopping.
According to the law, patients must do these drugs self -ministry. Normally they do this by mixing and drinking the drugs in powder form in two ounce – that is what Good Friend has chosen to do.
The New Jersey Local had spent most of her life as a dedicated mother and worked in fashion
It usually takes between five and 20 minutes for all medicines to keep the heart of it, but many people die within the first few minutes, depending on the severity of their illness.
After she had made her decision to choose girl in November 2024, she noted that none of her family members, in particular her daughter, Carol Getz Abolafia, tried to stop her.
Abolafia later told CBS News that although the decision to let her mother go was the hardest thing she had done, she eventually respected the wishes of Good Friend to opt for girl and comfortably.
She said: ‘I think the most difficult part in all this, for me as her only child, is to support something so difficult and in contrast to what you want to do.
“The ultimate love that you can give someone is to respect their wishes, to live the way they want to live and die the way they want to die.”
As the day of her death came closer, Goodfriend spent a week with her family goodbye.
‘It has been a week of family, friends. We cried a lot, we all have, but we laughed. We enjoyed being together, “she said.
Dr. Robin Plumer, who attended nearly 200 deaths in New Jersey, assured Good Friend that she would go to sleep after drinking the drugs and it would be a ‘peaceful, worthy death’.
“So here we are today, and what a strange day this is – that someone can choose the day that they will die,” Dr. Plumer.
Goodfriend noted that none of her family members, in particular her daughter, Carol Getz Abolafia, objects to her choice (left)
As the day of her death came closer, Goodfriend spent a week with her family and asked that her doctor was present in the room
While her tear -eyed family surrounded her in her bedroom, Good Friend died on November 15, 2024.
According to a Gallup survey, about two-thirds of the Americans support girl as a choice of the end of life.
But groups such as United Spinal Association are fighting against the legalization of girl or what they call ‘assisted suicide’.
But GoodFriend said before her death: ‘If it’s not a good idea for you, don’t consider it, but there must be a way for those who want it.
“I’m not afraid to die … I was afraid of living.”
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