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NEED TO KNOW
- Jackie Ferrara died on Oct. 22 after choosing to end her life through medical aid in dying
- The beloved artist, 95, was in “good health” but didn’t want to depend on anyone in old age
- She traveled to Switzerland to a clinic called Pegasos, an assisted dying nonprofit organization that doesn’t require patients to be terminally ill
Acclaimed artist Jackie Ferrara has died after deciding to end her own life.
Ferrara — whose work is featured in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art — was known for creating unique sculptures constructed of wood planks. She died on Wednesday, Oct. 22, at age 95 through medical aid in dying, according to her estate and legacy adviser Tina Hejtmanek.
In a recent interview, Ferrara told The New York Times that although she was in “good health,” she was ready to go. She suffered two falls within the past year that reminded her of her wish not to be dependent on other people.
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“I don’t want a housekeeper,” she told the outlet. “I never wanted anybody. I was married three times. That’s enough.”
Medical aid in dying is not yet legal in New York, where Ferrara lived. MAID laws have been authorized in California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Vermont, Washington D.C., Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey and New Mexico.
However, because Ferrara was healthy, she wouldn’t have been able to qualify anywhere in the United States. So, Ferrara traveled to Basel, Switzerland, to end her life at a clinic called Pegasos, an assisted dying nonprofit organization that doesn’t require patients to be terminally ill.
Medical aid in dying has been legal in Switzerland since 1942, according to Dignity in Dying, a British organization. It’s different from euthanasia — which is illegal — because the patients themselves administer prescribed drugs to end their lives, rather than a doctor.
Similarly to Ferrara, actress and renowned Holocaust survivor Ruth Posner recently traveled to Pegasos to end her life. Last month, on Sept. 23, Posner, 96, and her husband Michael, 97, ended their lives through medical aid in dying despite not having any terminal illnesses. The couple said they simply wanted to die together.
They let their family and friends know of their decision in an email, reviewed by The Times. “So sorry not to have mentioned it,” they wrote, “but when you receive this email we will have shuffled off this mortal coil.”
