JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — State Rep. Ian Mackey, D-Clayton, filed a bill that would allow chronically ill patients in Missouri to legally seek end-of-life care.
The ‘Marilyn Teitelbaum Death with Dignity’ Act, is named after Marylin Teitelbaum, a Missourian who died of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, this year. She was forced to travel to Denver, Colorado to seek the care she needed for a horrifically painful and incurable disease.
“Why should the law force anyone in our state to live in immeasurable and incurable pain?” Mackey said. “Missourians like Marylin and their families should be able to seek the care they need and deserve within the borders of our state, and that includes the right to seek end-of-life care when they and their health care providers feel it’s the best — and oftentimes only — option.
The legislation is supported by Marilyn’s surviving husband, Dr. Steven Teitelbaum, a renowned Missouri physician.
“My wife Marilyn was diagnosed with ALS, a progressively crippling disorder which is uniformly fatal,” Teitelbaum said. “Our family met in Denver and Marilyn’s assisted death was nothing but affection and peace. How one dies is almost as important as how one lives in regards to their legacy. Marilyn’s grace and courage greatly added to her legacy of love.”
The ‘Marilyn Teitelbaum Death with Dignity Act’ is modeled after a similar law passed in Maine in 2019. The bill is House Bill 1903.
