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Last Rights
Facing End-of-Life Choices
| Length: | 56 min |
| Released: | 2009 |
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Who decides how life ends? The patient? The family? The physician? The health care system? Last Rights is a compelling, deeply personal exploration of four families and their terminally-ill loved ones as they begin to contemplate death. It brings up a multitude of issues—medical, ethical, and political—implicit in the individuals’ option to hasten death when life becomes unendurable.
The film introduces Scott Nelson, a physician in the Mississippi Delta whose father, Elbert, was diagnosed with kidney cancer; Julie McMurchie from Oregon whose mother, Peggy, was just beginning to enjoy her life after divorce when she discovered she had lung cancer; Lennie from Washington, DC, whose husband, Doug, was diagnosed with liver cancer; and Carol Poenisch of Michigan who shares the story of her mother, Merian, whose Lou Gehrig’s disease deprived her of the power to speak.
These patients turn to clergy, medical professionals, and legal authorities for guidance through this difficult time. The documentary also features interviews from the diverse perspectives of end-of-life spokespeople, newsreels of euthanasia advocates, and historical background on the hospice movement and its founder’s commitment to palliative care. The heartrending journeys of the film’s subjects offer meaningful insights into controversial end-of-life choices.
Please inquire for special rates for non-academic use.
The film introduces Scott Nelson, a physician in the Mississippi Delta whose father, Elbert, was diagnosed with kidney cancer; Julie McMurchie from Oregon whose mother, Peggy, was just beginning to enjoy her life after divorce when she discovered she had lung cancer; Lennie from Washington, DC, whose husband, Doug, was diagnosed with liver cancer; and Carol Poenisch of Michigan who shares the story of her mother, Merian, whose Lou Gehrig’s disease deprived her of the power to speak.
These patients turn to clergy, medical professionals, and legal authorities for guidance through this difficult time. The documentary also features interviews from the diverse perspectives of end-of-life spokespeople, newsreels of euthanasia advocates, and historical background on the hospice movement and its founder’s commitment to palliative care. The heartrending journeys of the film’s subjects offer meaningful insights into controversial end-of-life choices.
Please inquire for special rates for non-academic use.
Western Psychological Association Film Festival, 2010
