I just want to die and donate my organs – Terminally ill woman
Imprisoned by her own body and slowly dying, Sherri
Muzher wants to choose when to exit this life so she can
help others to live.
The 43-year-old Michigan woman has launched a one-
woman campaign from her wheelchair to get her home
state to reconsider its ban against physician-assisted
suicide because she wants to donate her organs while
they're still functioning.
Unable to walk or speak clearly and ravaged by multiple
sclerosis, Muzher has nonetheless conducted a series of
local television interviews in pursuit of her dying wish.
"I would rather I help give life to others while my organs
are still viable," she told WDIV TV, struggling to form
words. "It is my reality. I'm getting weaker … This
ultimately brings reality home."
But getting her wish granted is another matter altogether.
Michigan was once home to "Doctor of Death" Jack
Kevorkian and a 1998 measure to legalize assisted suicides
was overwhelmingly defeated by state voters.
Kevorkian helped more than 40 critically ill people to
commit suicide in Michigan. In 1999, after injecting a
fatal dose to a terminally ill man while "60 Minutes"
cameras rolled, he was convicted of second-degree murder
and sentenced to prison. Kevorkian died in 2011.
WCSH6.COM
Sherri Muzher is in the last stages of multiple sclerosis.
She's asking for physician-assisted suicide.
Legal experts have spoken out in support of Muzher, but
noted that Kevorkian's scarred legacy in Michigan makes
it unlikely her assisted-suicide plea would be sanctioned.
"It's something that in Michigan, in particular, is going to
be very controversial given our history with Dr.
Kevorkian," Wayne State University law professor Lance
Gable told WXMI TV.
"Her motivations seem to be very heartfelt. She wants to
both control her own destiny and also to help other
people," Gable said. "And I think that's a very compelling
story to tell."
Muzher, a law school graduate and marketing specialist,
was diagnosed 16 years ago. Confined to bed and short
periods in a wheelchair, she says her lungs are too far
gone to be used for a transplant, but her other major
organs including her heart and kidneys, are still healthy.
"We ought to be able to make our own decisions, and if
that collateral effect means helping others, why would
anyone have a problem with that?" she said.
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