Compassion & Choices

Compassion & Choices is a United States nonprofit organization focused on improving individual autonomy and access to personal choice at the end of life. Its work centers on the principle that patients should be able to make informed decisions about their medical care, treatment preferences, and the circumstances of dying, subject to applicable law and clinical requirements. A central part of its mission is advocacy for medical aid in dying, a legally regulated option available in some U.S. jurisdictions to qualifying terminally ill adults. The organization is the successor to two earlier end-of-life-rights organizations: the Hemlock Society and the Compassion in Dying Federation. Those organizations combined in 2007, creating the entity now known as Compassion & Choices. The merger brought together traditions of public advocacy, legal and policy work, and direct support for people seeking greater control over end-of-life decisions. The organization subsequently developed a national presence, with staff located across the United States. Compassion & Choices operates primarily through public-policy advocacy, education, communications, and support intended to help patients and families understand available end-of-life options. Its work addresses medical aid in dying as well as broader questions of patient-directed care, advance planning, and personal choice. The organization’s role is not that of a conventional healthcare provider or pharmaceutical brand; it is an advocacy and support organization working within state-specific legal and medical frameworks. The group has been associated with public discussion of state death-with-dignity laws and with efforts to expand or protect access where medical aid in dying is legally authorized. Its activities intersect with debates involving informed consent, terminal illness, professional medical practice, religious and ethical objections, and the balance between individual liberty and public regulation. Because the legal status of medical aid in dying varies by jurisdiction, the organization’s advocacy and access work is shaped by state legislation, court decisions, and implementation rules. Compassion & Choices also received wider public attention through the documentary film How to Die in Oregon. The film, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, documented end-of-life experiences and the work of Compassion & Choices of Oregon. This association helped bring the organization’s policy concerns and the practical realities of medical aid in dying to a broader audience. The organization remains active in the United States. Publicly available reference material identifies its principal function as advocating for and helping ensure access to medical aid in dying, while placing that work within a broader commitment to patient autonomy and end-of-life choice.

Compassion & Choices emerged from the U.S. movement advocating greater control and autonomy at the end of life. Its institutional predecessors included the Hemlock Society and the Compassion in Dying Federation. The Hemlock Society was associated with efforts to promote public discussion of voluntary death and end-of-life choice, while Compassion in Dying developed a distinct emphasis on supporting patients and families and on advancing access to legally available end-of-life options. In 2007, the two organizations merged. The resulting organization adopted the name Compassion & Choices and continued the combined tradition of advocacy, education, and practical support. The merger is the key organizational turning point in the group’s modern history and explains its position as a successor to earlier U.S. end-of-life-rights organizations rather than as a conventional commercial healthcare company. Following the merger, Compassion & Choices established a national operating presence with staff located across the United States. Its work has focused especially on patient autonomy and medical aid in dying. In jurisdictions where aid in dying is authorized, the organization advocates for access and helps communicate information about the legal and medical framework governing the option. In jurisdictions without authorization, its work has included policy advocacy and public education concerning end-of-life choice. The organization’s activities take place within a broader U.S. legal and ethical debate. Medical aid in dying is regulated at the state level, and access depends on statutory eligibility rules, clinical procedures, and other safeguards. Compassion & Choices has therefore been connected to public discussion of state death-with-dignity laws, court decisions, and questions concerning the rights of terminally ill patients. Its mission also encompasses wider patient-directed end-of-life planning and autonomy, rather than being limited to a single clinical intervention. The group’s Oregon work became particularly visible through the documentary How to Die in Oregon. The film followed people and organizations connected with Oregon’s end-of-life system and documented the work of Compassion & Choices of Oregon. Its receipt of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize brought national attention to the practical and personal dimensions of medical aid in dying and to the advocacy organizations involved in the issue. Compassion & Choices continues to operate as a U.S. nonprofit organization. Available reference material describes its principal function as advocating for and helping ensure access to medical aid in dying, while its wider identity is grounded in patient autonomy, informed end-of-life decision-making, and individual choice.

• 2011

  Oregon work featured in an award-winning documentary

  [1]Compassion & Choicesen.wikipedia.org

  How to Die in Oregon, which documented the work of Compassion & Choices of Oregon, won the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize.

• 2007

  Formation through organizational merger

  [1]Compassion & Choicesen.wikipedia.org

  The Hemlock Society and the Compassion in Dying Federation merged, creating the organization that became Compassion & Choices.

A U.S. nonprofit end-of-life-rights and patient-autonomy organization combining public advocacy, education, policy work, and access support, with particular emphasis on medical aid in dying.

• Advocacy services

  End-of-life advocacy and access support

  Compassion & Choices advocates for patient autonomy and for access to medical aid in dying where it is legally available. Its role is organizational and informational rather than commercial: it supports public-policy work, education, and efforts to help patients and families understand end-of-life options within applicable state laws and medical procedures.

• Education and information

  End-of-life education and planning resources

  The organization provides public education concerning patient-directed care, end-of-life planning, and individual choice. These resources place medical aid in dying within a wider set of decisions about treatment preferences and personal autonomy, while recognizing that eligibility and available options differ among U.S. jurisdictions.

• 2007

  Merge the Hemlock Society with the Compassion in Dying FederationM&A

  Background

  Two established U.S. organizations working on end-of-life choice combined their activities and identities.

  Action taken

  The organizations merged and continued their work under the Compassion & Choices name.

  Aftermath

  The merger created the modern national nonprofit organization and consolidated predecessor advocacy traditions.

  Source

1. 1Compassion & Choicesen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Compassion & Choices official websitecompassionandchoices.org