Transcripts For CSPAN2 Diane Rehm When My Time Comes 20240713

Good evening, everyone. My name is britney, the manager politics and prose and id like to thank all of you for coming out tonight. I want to especially thank you for supporting an independent bookstore like politics and prose. [applause] get ready to clap again. And a nonprofit like sixth and i. [applause] your attendance at events like this is truly vital to us and we literally would not be in without you so we just want you to know how much we appreciate you and your choices. I am so excited to introduce to nights event because it is not a secret amongst my friends or coworkers how much i love and admire diane rehm. Shes a native washingtonian who begin a radio career in 1973 as a volunteer for w and you and is into the producer, host and d. C. Icon we all know today. She is author of several books including finding my voice, on my own, life, and, of course, the book youre all here for tonight, when my time comes which addresses the urgent hotly contested cause of the right to die movement. Through interviews with terminally ill patients and with physicians, spouses, relatives and representatives of those who vigorously oppose amendment she gives voice to a broad range of people personally linked to the realities of medical aid and dying. The book resents the fervent argument both for and against that of propelling the current debates across the country about whether to adopt laws allowing those who are dying to put in to their suffering. Moderating tonight if it is another friendly face of wamu, kojo nnamdi. [applause] host of the kojo nnamdi teacher as well as the politics hour. She has chaired the part of the Public Access corporation of washington, d. C. Since 1997 19d has also served on the board of the library of Congress American folklife center. So before would lock him our speakers to the stage tonight we would like to treat you to a a short trailer of the documentary which is also called when my time comes but they correspond with the book so enjoy. What is death . What options do i have, if any . To what my death will be like. Philosophers, writers, people have been considering questions like these for, well, for as long as there has been human beings. Today, some of us are willing to speak openly about such things, but many of us are not. We live in a culture that seems to hide from mortality. This is a most difficult experience for a patient and their families. Speaking about death and dying is complicated for people, and it takes a certain amount of willingness to be vulnerable. This conversation is not actually about dying. They are about the quality of our lives. Everybodys idea is to die quickly into sleep and not have any existential suffering, but thats not available to many of us. 25 of people who die with chronic illness die with uncontrolled pain. Im going to die of breast cancer. One of the scariest things about that is, is that you have no control. But you can control how i die. I can control how i die. Medical aid dying is a medical treatment that enables a person who is dying, was exhausted all hope from your aunt is close to an imminent death. Help them die in comfort, in peace, and with reduced level of suffering. When someone is thinking about aid and dying then i think about it casually. I think this is a difficult debate for a lot of people. Some people dont feel its an appropriate thing for a doctor to do. I dont know whether i would use it but i know i would like to have the choice. This is between an individual and her family and doctor. A good conversation. But its a hard one. Most people would rather not talk about death. They would rather push it out of their minds. But i believe we must talk about it. For me, thinking about what i would like to have at the end of my life is very important, and sharing my wishes with my family, my friends, my physician, i believe will bring comfort to us all when my time comes. [applause] now please help in welcome to the stage diane rehm and kojo nnamdi. [applause] good evening. I do like to acknowledge the presence here of dianes husband, john hagedorn. Take it get so much for joinin. [applause] thank you so much for joining us. Also the president of the manager of wamu, jj. [applause] and several wamu Staff Members are also here sprinkled among you. They are the support system that diane and i have come to rely on over the years so we would like to thank them for coming. Would you care to stand, all the wamu employees . [applause] i have known diane rehm for about 30 years. I i knew her before i started working at wamu. I was hosting a talk show at Howard University television, and diane and i will from time to time guests on each others show. She was one of the people who strongly encouraged me, well, not strongly encouraged. Demanded that i come to wamu. The person i i knew before i ce to wamu i considered a very genteel woman. When i came to wamu in 1998, i found that diane was indeed a genteel woman, one made of solid steel. Because in that year, 1998, diane started struggling with something was called spasmodic dysphonia, which caused her to lose her voice. You would think that anybody who made a living by talking, stricken with spasmodic dysphonia, with the ending their career. Not this woman of steel. She fought it. She underwent four years very painful treatment that caused her to be off the air, occasionally for short periods of time, but then she always came back. And she stayed coming back until her absences or less and less frequent, and they were less and less long. She fought through them. And then, her then husband, john, got parkinsons disease. And in this book, when my time comes diane details with pain and suffering he undertook. And i assumed that the nature of that experience for her is what started her on this journey. It turned out that i was wrong. So diane, start by telling us about your mother. Good evening. Its so wonderful to see you all and kojo, thank you so much for being here. Youre absolutely right. My journey began when i was much younger. I was in 19. Actually, i was 16 when the doctors told me that my mother was dying. A 16 year old doesnt quite grasp that reality, and so i did a lot of praying and a lot of looking to the stars and wondering, you know, what is death going to be . Well, for my mother, who was 49 when she died and i was 19, it was a great deal of suffering. She bagged to die. She bagged to die in her hospital bed being drained over and over and over again of fluid, caused by, where not sure what, whether it was liver cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, which the doctors all assured her it must have been because she was an alcoholic. And i can assure you she had two drinks a year, at christmas and on new years, a shot of whiskey, with my father. As she lay in that bed, having been drained once again of fluid that made her look as though she were 11 months pregnant, she begged to die. And i can remember rubbing her feet and crime, and saying crying, and saying i want to go before you do. I dont want you to die. And then on new years eve of that year, my then husband and i went to Georgetown Hospital about 10 00 at night before we supposed to go to a new years eve party. I i didnt want to go. I didnt feel as though i wanted to go, but i went. First to the hospital. And when i saw the doctor who was her doctor, i said to him, he said, have you seen your mother . And i said, well, we went in to see her but she was sound asleep, and i did not want to wake her here and he said, i want you to go back in that room. I want you to let her know you are here. And i said, that, doctor, she doesnt sleep well. I dont want to wake her. And he said, go in and wake her. The rails were up on her bed. And i said, mama, im here. And she sort of, i think she was so out of it, she just kind of waved to me away. I think the doctor knew she was going to die that night. And, therefore, the next day my husband and i having just moved into a new apartment had no telephone. His brother came knocking on the door saying you must get to the hospital. We raced there, and i ran across the parking lot and got there 20 minutes too late. She was gone. And i think, kojo, that began my really strong feelings that people should not have to suffer. You say youve been a lifelong advocate of patient autonomy. Howcome . When the doctor told me i was dying, i had gone in to see him. My dad had taken me. I had an ear infection, and i could use some pretty choice words, but i wont. Believe me, she can. [laughing] she punched through the infection in my ear, and i screamed. And that after i had calm down, i said to him, please tell me about my mother. He said, she will be gone in 18 months are coming, just like that. And for me, that sort of harsh way of speaking with a young person about life and death kind of turned me off to the way doctors assumed godlike positions with their patients or the children. And i think for me its been a lifelong struggle to make sure that i speak up around doctors and say what is and what is not. And i certainly did where john rehm was speeded did your activism flow naturally from your feelings on patient autonomy and did john condition, johns condition lead you to intensify it . John rehm, as kojo has said, died of parkinsons. In fact, he died starving himself and drinking no liquid for ten days. I watched him do that for ten days. He felt he had lost all dignity. He could no longer feed himself or bathe himself or toilet himself and said to me one day, i am ready to die. And called in the doctor and our son and our daughter, a physician herself, was on the phone from boston. And he said, john said im ready to die. Doctor, will you help me . And the doctor, we were at a nursing home at the time in maryland, the doctor said neither legally nor morally nor ethically can i help you die. The only thing you can do for yourself is to stop eating, drinking water, taking medication. You can go for a long time without food, but within a very short period, the lack of water destroys the organs. And i watched for that ten days as my husband of 54 years declined and showed on his face, though never crying out, showed on his him him that that activity of death caused cause. He died in 2014. In january of 2016, joe, a film producer, and his executive producer, diane naughton, came to be saying that they had plans to do a documentary film on the right to die. And joe told me just the other day he was surprised at how readily i agreed to do it. Before we got to the elevator, as he was leaving, i said, im in. And that was three years ago, kojo. For those three years we have worked together on this documentary film, three minutes of which you have just seen. The book has just come out, or it comes out tomorrow, and that is the result of our effort. A question you asked many others in this book i will not ask you. What is your idea of a good death . Kojo, its a question that our director, joe, really wand to ask each and everyone of the more than 40 people we interviewed around the country. Be they patient or be the doctors or priests or members of the clergy, what do you consider a good death . For myself, i would consider a good death as one that is peaceful, painless, quiet. Perhaps having a party before hand. Having lots of champagne. [laughing] having my husband, my children, my grandchildren, my dearest friends beside me, holding hands, telling them each what they mean to me. That would be a good death. And in order to make sure that you have autonomy in the process, in order to make sure that there is absolutely no mistake made about your desires, you recruited your grandson, then. Tell us what you told ben to do. During the filming of the documentary, which by the way, will be shown on Public Television a year from now, that is in spring of 2021, ben was using his cell phone, and i asked my daughter, his mother, for permission to do this. I dont do anything without asking my daughter. For her permission. I said speeded have you ever had the experience of diane asking your permission to do anything . You would understand that its not just and ask. [laughing] its very important with grandchildren and with children to ask permission, and she granted it. I said, ben, id like to speak with you now, please take out your iphone. As i was speaking with ben about my own desires, ben was being filmed by our director of photography, and i told ben exactly what i wanted recorded for posterity, but most especially for my two children, for my husband john hagedorn, for my grandchildren. I wanted everybody to be aware that if i had either, and this is very controversial, i know, if i began showing signs of alzheimers, if i had an incurable illness, if i was diminishing in ways that i could never again enjoy the fullness of life, i wanted to go. And i wanted them to know that i would want to go. And i read to ben a paragraph that i had read that and more oldenburg had read to her children. She had written it. She never actually read it. Her daughter found the paragraph after Anne Morrow Lindbergh died and i quote that paragraph in the book because it was a meaningful to me, saying if there is nothing that can be done, please in my life humanely. Please do not use extraordinary measures. And please follow my wishes. What i am hoping this book does, and our documentary does, is to get people to talk about the most taboo subject in the world, death and dying. We are so afraid to talk about it. We pretend its not going to happen. I said in a Church Service in massachusetts for about 300 people were there. I said, please raise your hand if you plan not to die. [laughing] and there was exactly the same lowlevel chuckle, as though we all think its kind of funny. But some people think, and especially young people, think they are going to live forever. John rehm and i, because of my family history, my father died 11 months after my mother did your mother died at 49 49 ys old. And my father died 11 months later of a broken heart. Johns mother and father each committed suicide. My motherinlaw at 92, my fatherinlaw at 72. So death was something that was part of our dialogue. And i believe that in this day and age, death should be something that we all talk about. Because the baby boomers are reaching that age where their parents are dying. We think about the idea that our children are afraid to talk with us about what we want. Why dont we raise what it is we want . And thats what i hope this book will do, this film will do, is to get people talking. Well, the book certainly did it to me. Because even though my wife and i have already had wheels and had living wills and those living wills indicated that we do not want to be resuscitated. After reading this book i realized what has to do more than that. Much more. One has to be very, very specific about what one wants in that situation. And one has to run the conversation with ones Family Members about that, and in your case you made ben record that conversation so that it will last forever. But its just an ongoing part of diane programming me for the rest of my life. Lets talk about some of the people you talked to who made that decision. And well talk some more either skeptical or pose it outright. Lets start, what is close to home for you, mary klein who had ovarian cancer. They live close to Old Neighborhood where you grew up. They do or did indeed. Mary klein was so active and such in her partners, such a strong, marvelous, talented person, and carried on her life in such a fabulous way. When she discovered she had ovarian cancer. She did, in fact, go through numerous treatments, many radiation and chemotherapy treatments until the doctor said, theres really nothing more we can do. And mary at that time, because there was no right to die legality here in d. C. , she and her partner went to work with mary councilmember. To bring this idea to the board. Mary jade, as soon as she is not elected, wanted to bring this to the floor but had been persuaded by other Council Members to hold off for a bit. But mary became impatient. Mary klein became the perfect advocate to come forward to talk about her own illness, and the fact that she did not want to suffer, that she had done everything she could to try to stay alive, but knew that eventually, and shortly, she was going to die, and did not want to die suffering. She testified. She lobbied. She wrote letters. And finally the district of Columbia City Council Voted so that now d. C. Has a medical aid in dying local. When we began this process in 2016, just 33 years ago, there were three states at the time that had medical aid in dying. Now, because people like mary klein, because of people like britney minard in california who had to move to oregon to obtain medical aid in dying, now there are nine states, plus the district of columbia, which has medical aid in dying. I feel very fortunate that people like mary klein and mary cheh really made this an issue. I pray that maryland, virginia, new york, connecticut, and other states will follow suit before long. [applause] thank you. The district of columbia got a medical aid in dying law on the books. Problem solved for mary klein, right . Wrong. Then you have to find a physician whos willing to do it. Tell them about marys odyssey y in that regard. Mary klein looked and looked and looked, and finally found a physician who was willing to work with her. And disposition this physician, i have to confess to you, she is now my physician wonder why . Because she believes in medical aid in dying. I have now turned to her. But there are very few physicians initially d. C. Said you have to have a registry and you have to list your names as to a physician willing to carry out medical aid in dying, and very few physicians were willing to put their name out there in public. But now we have a few, very few, and the medication is very, very difficult to get hold of. Once it was taken off the market by one of our drug companies, asked me why and i cannot answer it, once it was taken off the market, a number of pharmacies began to create their own potions. And now you have to really find it through a physician. Its not easy. Im hoping that process will become easier as time goes on. After all, oregon has had its law in place for 22 years. The number of people who have applied for medical aid in dying and received the medication, only twothirds of those people have actually used it. Onethird have had the medication and have chosen not to use it. Theres not been a single case brought of any sort of coercion or pressure or illegal activity on anyones part. Now, lets talk about the folks who are against it. Thats where i was just getting to. [laughing] because in the case of the d. C. Legislation, your neighbor, someone who lives in the same building you lived in, thelma roosevelt testified in favor and she was dismayed that all of the physicians who testified against it. And you had a conversation with mary clients physician who is not your position, and she told her your conversation she is had with our colleagues. And and how i guess torn they are about it why did all of these physicians who testified here oppose it . Well, for a number of reasons. I think many go back to the idea that physicians should do no harm. Now, let us begin to wonder in whose head harm exists. Does it exist in the mind and heart of the patient who may be receiving one more treatment that does no good . Does it exist in the mind of the doctor who feels, well, lets try this one more thing . There is a wheel that patients can get onto, especially those who are suffering from serious cancer diagnoses, who try one treatment after another. The church, and most especially, the Roman Catholic church because you testified in massachusetts in favor of this bill, and in maryland as well. In the case of the massachusetts, he also talked with a Catholic Priest in massachusetts. One of the longer conversations in the book, as a matter fact. What rationale did that priest offer for the churches opposition . Well, and i must say to a certain extent i agree with the churches position that if you believe that god should be the only decider, i support you 100 . In the same way, i believe that some point i want to make my own decision that enough is enough. I want to be supported and many of those doctors continue to believe that the hippocratic oath says to them that they must do no harm and they interpret that to mean i may not take part in ending an individuals life, but my role is to keep that patient alive. Younger physicians are now learning more and more about that do no harm and what that actually means. Im going to start asking members of the audience if you have questions or comments to approach the 2 microphones in the room and we will shortly get to your questions and comments, i have a few more questions for diane because jan diaz, the husband of the matter who had a brain tumor, hes a lifelong catholic and hes comfortable with britneys decision to seek medical aid in dying area that she was the one who had to go to oregon, moved from california to oregon and how about your own faith, diane . How do you recognize your strong support for medical aid in dying with your own struggle . I am a strong believer in god. And has been since i was a very young child. I believe in miracles in my life and actually, though i wont go into it have believed i have seen some miracles so that my belief in god is strong and i can on my own belief is that god would not want to see me suffer unnecessarily from a prolonged illness. I reconcile that very easily. I received holy communion. I kneel and pray and i pray sort of in thanks of lots of things for my life, for my children, four trees, four flowers. And my god is there with me and i know that. 2 questions before we go to the audience. Tell us about the organization compassion and choices. Its a wonderful organization. Compassion in choices is supporting us in this documentary film because we are there looking for the same final issue to support and that is choice in dying. Choice at the end, medical aid in dying for those who want it. Never for anyone who doesnt wantit. No one approaches compassion in choices without wanting control at the end of ones life. And for me the most intriguing thing of all , what are death cafcs . Death cafcs are happening around the country. I regard this as a huge death cafc. I was thinking that. A huge death cafc. In fact, what happens at death cafcs is that friends, neighbors, members of families come together, sit at tables of 648 and talk with each other about what they want at the end of life. And in indianapolis i ran into a group that has gathered as a neighborhood because they want their neighbors to know, not just their Family Members, not just their doctors but also their neighbors to know exactly what they want. Perhaps they dont want 911 to be called. I dont want 911 to the call if i have a stroke or a major heart attack. I do not want that because i know as i write in the book about an 81yearold woman who was taken to the hospital who had all of her documents in order, saying do not resuscitate, who found herself in the emergency room resuscitated and then in the icu woke up absolutely furious that she had not been allowed to die. I dont want that to happen. So im not going to call 911 and john, youd better not call 911either. We just requested him,okay. Let the record show you have all now participated in a death cafc. User. That evening, thank you so much your comments this evening im a Critical Care and cardiologist and i will share with you that to engage in this conversation ill make this required reading for our hundred physicians and nurses under my care. I have to questions though. Which, often for physicians. One broadly speaking, what is your view of palliative and Hospice Services and how do they enter into this conversation and number two, what advice do you give which i deal with on a daily basis, families who disagree with the patient about their decision. Let me address the first question first and that is Palliative Care and hospice care area i support both. However, i and in the film, you will see physicians acknowledging that Palliative Care cannot reach every kind of pain. So for those doctors who say we can always keep the pain from getting to you, im sorry. I just dont accept that from what i have heard from physicians. I know that you can put someone in enough of a shadowy state that he or she will die sleeping. I dont want that formyself. I want to be present. I want to be able to say by. I want to be able to do so without pain. Now, as for Family Members, thats why im saying to you and to everyone out there, it is so necessary to have this conversation. Before youve reached that last hospital bed. I mean, how many families have a loved one taken to the hospital andthey say oh my god , what dowe do now . Do we pull the plug . Do we let her just stay there with a dental ventilator . Does it just go on and on . I dont know what you as a doctor and individual doctor might say. I did ask one doctor in the film who is in california and i said do you ever say to the patient im sorry, we cant do anything more. And she said never. She said we could always use Palliative Care or hospice or whatever. Its not an honest answer. Its not an honest answer. And doctors and i believe younger ones are reaching this point where they are going to be more honest with their patients area thats what i would ask. Thank you for your questions. Your turn, sir. Thank you so much for to both of you for this conversation. I name is nathan and im a College Student here in the washington dc area. I verymuch look forward to reading the book. In going through the book i found a very interesting to read the different interviews that you did for the book with people who hold different opinions, who hold somewhat differentopinions. My question is what would you say were some of the most meaningful aspects of the interviews that you conducted . I think the ones that were the most moving and the most meaningful to me were 2. One at the start of the book with a woman who had medical aid in dying who had the bracket gene, was dying of breast cancer. She had had treatment, treatment who said id really love to live until im 90, but i know thats not goingto be. Im ready whenever it comes. But i dont want to leave my children and at the same time , i dont want my children to see me suffer. Ive seen my own aunt, my mother suffer. I dont want them to see me suffer. The other most moving interview for me was with my own high school sweetheart. Who had Prostate Cancer that had spread to his entire skeletal system. He too lived in this state in colorado. Where medical aid in dying is legal. He had the medication. In the end, he did not use it. He used humor as he thought about his own death. That he and his wife taught so honestly about what was going to happen. And in the end, he died before we finished our film. It was very meaningful, thank you. Yes maam. Thank you for answering questions. Im not really familiar with all of the laws so this might be a moot topic but in terms of was that required Self Administration of the medicine that you received, i was wondering what your thoughts are on the pros and cons and how you feel about it. The fact of the matter is that under the current law, every law in the nine states plus dc, the individual who requests the medication, who is dying must be able to self medicate. No one, no one is supposed to be able to help with that. Mary told us that some who are part of the disabled community argued against that because they might not be able to self administer. Now, oregon is trying to deal with that and there are some other methods that are being talked about that have not in included yet. In any law. But its a safeguard and yet, a preventative for those who may be so physically disabled. I mean, the als patients for example. There are some who are experimenting with the idea at least talking about the idea of administering the medication rectally. Tough situation. Thank you very much. I just want to say i just love seeing you to live and sharing hearing your voice is in person. But, thank you. Putting aside my work policy sort of in it sort of the feeforservice as some sort of support for this hearing working trading system, i want to talk personally that funny not funny. My siblings and i laughed whenever my dad says i want to give you an update on my endoflife care and where i want to go and were just like yes, we know dad area we know your plan and it comes from his own experience seeing his mother died from alzheimers for 20 years so theres that side and my mom doesnt and then you were just mentioning als, i have a friend who is young and has als. And he, ive learned a lot from my conversations with him cause i had conversations with my dad and his siblings as being open about that because of their experience with their mother and alzheimers but young people, i even had many people to speak with about who have experienced that, leading to death and david will just say he cant find the support that he needs to read that when you try tofind somebody to help you deal with that , thats sort of find a solution to something that you are going to get hit here in or something whereas with als or some of these other debt situations, the support doesnt really seem to be there to accept really heading based on that you are going to die and i wondered if you had thought about or heard that at all about people who are younger not having that support, being difficult. Organizations like compassionate choices help . I think so and you or your friends approached the organization compassionate choices ill look into it. I will see him in a couple weeks. I will let him know about the organization. Hes done a lot of research and its been hard. I think its very hard. I think its very difficult to find the right physician but i would direct you to compassion and in choices. I know that nobody here in dc and mary chase said she felt it would be a step too far to go to try to include alzheimers patients or als patients within the bill. A step to far. We must go one step at a time. So please urge your friend to contact compassion in choices and go from there. Thank you. I was looking around and there is a death in arlington in where . Good. Great, great. Lots of places. In virginia, good. Diane, thank you so much for taking on getting people to think and then talk about it because you are 100 percent correct. None of us is getting off of this earth in this body area so the question of how do you address these issues is incredibly important. Id like to suggest that although it seems complicated to deal with mental disability, cognitive decline , alzheimers dementia, i would argue number one the brain is the single most important organ in the human body. It is the only organ that distinguishes us from all other life on earth. So when you lose your ability to recognize yourself, to think logically, you are dead. Your eyes may be open, your heart may be beating so what we do right now is we take people in that condition and to them in a warehouse to go through what you lived through and i cant imagine how you watched your husband even 10 days. The pain on the people that love the person is much worse then the pain on the person itself. I do understand exactly what you are saying. I do go back to that point of saying to you that this legislative piece is going to happen one step at a time. And we are just at the beginning i think. Joe babbitt and diane not had this idea of creating this documentary had just the right time. Cause all of us are beginning to think so hard about these things. The mental part will come, thank you. Thank you very much. Im a social worker in dc, i work with older adult and i had the privilege about a year ago walk someone through theprocess of accessing medical aid in dying law so thank you for all your hard work and advocacy. It was truly lifechanging for this person and their family. And for me, both professionally and personally. One of the things that i did notice and that i have the family also brought to my attention many times was although this is legal, the infrastructure doesnt necessarily exist for someone to access the law read and there were a couple of happy coincidences that allowed this person to access the law. But there are a lot of things left up to chance and as a professional, that makes me uncomfortable. If someone had come to me and approaches me, help me do this, i cant be sure that we can be successful again. It is the drug company who has put a clenched fist around this medication. And it has, very, very difficult to get it. As i said, seconal went down to you know, it used to be 25, 50 and then went up to two, 3000. And now its no longer available at all. So now these compounding pharmacies have gotten into it. And it takes a lot of work to get that drug when you need it. Youve got to find a doctor who will fight foryou and get that drug , thank you. We only have about five minutes left and im going to ask the remaining members of the audience to try to keep your questionsor comments as brief as possible. First off, you have a much larger younger following that i think is represented in the crowd here, im maybe the youngest one in the crowd at 32. So i got a question from a religious standpoint and dont worry, its not weird and awkward and freaky but some of you may think its a little weird. Now, im a satanist, im a member of the satanic temple and it may come as a bit of a surprise that i agree with absolutely everything youre saying area everything youre talking about as far as the right to die. One of our attendance is, one body isnt viable subject to ones own will alone. A lot of what we believe is basically you should be a good person and you should have controlover your own body. Do not get into much greater detail. ,your question. Sorry. Now, my question is what is your take on possibly leveraging religious liberty to emphasize the capability to have the right to die. To say it is my religious belief that i have the right to die. The way that i want to. I dont know if diane has a kind of religious authority. Im not sure what youre asking me, im telling you that my personal belief is one, im and this alien. I believe in god. I was baptized. I pray. My religious belief is consistent with my belief that i have a right to say when my life should end. Okay. I agree with that completely, thank you. We do have to move on to the next person, were running out of time very quickly. My name is barbara day. I am with you, my personal belief based on the experience my parents says we should have the right to decide for ourselves. However, im wondering what you would say to somebody whos concerned about the fact that most people working age are covered by managedcare insurance. And a growing percentage of Medicare Beneficiaries are covered by managedcare its a lot cheaper for people to die than to be , then to have Palliative Care and to go on living. So what would you respond to somebody who would be concerned about financial incentives to encourage people to opt for a quick death versus living on an needing more care . I think its got to be up to each and every one of us to make that decision. All of our decisions, every day i make decisions based on what i can and cannot do. What i can afford to do,what i cannot afford to do. I think that those same decisions that we make as we live may be the same decisions you make as we reached the end of life. Im not arguing that poor people should go more quickly. Im saying that i want each of us to decide for ourselves and that decision may include what do i want now . What can i do now, whats realistic for me now . I hope that those decisions do not come out of monetary concern. Im sure some do. I think most come out of pain and suffering. To make your comment or question brief. I had gone to a programat iona. I highly recommend that the people looking for a place to discuss and of life. Two things, one of the interesting exercises they had was writing around obituary what did you want your obituary to say . Course, everybody laughed at mine and they said would you be happy if this is what it said and i said i would be ecstatic so it was a funny one. When i learned there is something i didnt understand about thedc law. I really felt it was a right to die. It is not a right to die. You have to have 2 doctors certified. It is really hard so lets say youre in a situation where you are ready to go. Your mind is not as good, whatever. Youre on your last vision and so on and you have no right to die and that you have to have two doctors certified in writing orally, 15 days apart that you are going to die within six months. And theres only certain things are going to die of. Thats not quite true. Educate me. Thats not quite true. It depends on what the illness is and there are many that you could be suffering from. The determination must be from 2 doctors that whatever the disease is that physical disease is, that you are within six months of debt. And you must be able to say that without anyone else around. No relatives, no daughter, no son, no uncle was waiting for all yourmoney. You must be by yourself. And thats a good safeguard. It makes sense. So that no one can be taken advantage of. It is medical aid in dying, but you must meet certain criteria. And i understand those criteria. Thank you. An exchange at this point because we are almost out of time and theres one person standing beside you. Nicholas battle, my question was how would you go explaining this to a Family Member that might be visibly afraid of their own mortality . Well, a number of people have asked me this and what i would say to you as a young person is the way to start the conversation, and this may sound ridiculous whether youre an older person speaking to a younger one or a younger one speaking to an older one, i would say you know what . Ive been thinking a lot about what i want. At the end of life. And Start Talking about yourself. And what it is youve been thinking of and what it is you want. And then perhaps that will little by little and im not saying its going to happen in one conversation. You may need to do it little by little. To advance that conversation. To really find out exactly what it is that person wants. Half of that helps. Thank you. [applause] from her for finding my voice, to this book when my time comes, diane, diane rehm has allowed usto enter into her life , to use it as a public service. And for that, diane, you remain we remain eternally grateful,thank you. Plus. Thank you, thank you so much. Thank you. Diane is going to be on stage here for a while. Both of you have books that have to be signed. More than 6. 6 million americans apply for Unemployment Benefits last week, doubling a record high of 3. 3 million the previous week. Congress has recently extended Unemployment Benefits to workers whose hours have been cut, enabling them to replace some of their lost incomeeven as they keep their jobs. The government will issue the monthly jobs report for march on friday. We are featuring book tv programs showcasing whats available every weekend on cspan2. The knife books on technology and innovation. We begin with john browns make think imagine, engineering the future of civilization followed by lori and pratt, lady, how decision intelligence data, actions and outcomes for abetter world. Then gary marcus on his book rebootingai , building Artificial Intelligence we can trust. Tv this week and every weekend on cspan2. This weekend on book tvs after words, abc news chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl provides a behindthescenes look at the Trump Presidency with his new book front row the trunk show you. He knows the reporters. He reads the stories. He watches the News Coverage area he wants privately called and said tivo was the greatest invention of mankind because he has all of the shows on his dvr and he watches and he sees how is being portrayed and i recall him one point, phil walker with the Washington Post is a goodreporter , a press conference the president made reference to a story that still had written during the new york primary. And in 2016, about the Staten Island ferry and about phil basically waited and interviewed people on the Staten Island ferry and found there were a lot of people who like donald trump and he wrote this story about it. I mean, i didnt even see the story. From not only saw the story and read it, its now been a couple years earlier and he becomes resident, go through all that hes been through and he sees phil rucker, not exactly a household name by the way. Great reporter, we all know him but youd like yeah, that story you wrote about the Staten Islandferry, that was a wonderfulstory. Its mind blowing. See that interview between abc news chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl and former White House Press secretary mike mccurry this sunday at 9 pm eastern on tv. If you miss any of our live coverage of the governments response to the coronavirus what anytime cspan. Org coronavirus. From daily briefings by the president and White House Task force to update governors of the hardest hit states, its all there. Use the charts and maps to track the viruses read and confirm cases in the us county by county. Our coronavirus webpage is your fast and easy way to watchunfiltered coverage of this pandemic. Television s change since