Monday Doc Night: How To Die in Oregon @ The Flicks 1 + 2
In 1994, Oregon became the first state to legalize physician-assisted suicide. As a result, any individual whom two physicians diagnose as having less than six months to live can lawfully request a fatal dose of barbiturate to end his or her life.
Since 1994, more than 500 Oregonians have taken their mortality into their own hands.
In How to Die in Oregon, filmmaker Peter Richardson gently enters the lives of the terminally ill as they consider whether – and when – to end their lives by lethal overdose. Richardson examines both sides of this complex, emotionally charged issue. What emerges is a life-affirming, staggeringly powerful portrait of what it means to die with dignity.
The filmmaker does a wonderful job of presenting the case studies, particularly of the central story about liver cancer patient Cody Curtis and her family. Her story forms the backbone of the film and its emotional heart. Richardson manages to present extremely intimate picture that will allow many people to confront and deal with this extremely difficult issue.
Our society has not yet figured out how to deal with this extremely difficult issue and films like this are extremely powerful tools for allowing us to begin to have that much-needed conversation.
(107 mins, drama, family)
