Hemlock Society
The Hemlock Society (sometimes called Hemlock Society USA) was an American right-to-die and assisted suicide advocacy organization which existed from 1980 to 2003. It was co-founded in Santa Monica, California by British author and activist Derek Humphry, his wife Ann Wickett Humphry and Gerald A. Larue. It relocated to Oregon in 1988 and, according to Humphry, had several homes over the course of its life. The group took its name from Conium maculatum, a highly poisonous biennial herbaceous flowering plant in the carrot family. The name was a direct reference to the method by which the Athenian philosopher Socrates took his life in 399 BC, as described in Plato's Phaedo.
| Founded | 1980 |
|---|---|
| Dissolved | 2003 |
| Type | Right-to-die, assisted suicide |
| Headquarters | Santa Monica, California; Los Angeles, California; Eugene, Oregon; combined Portland, Oregon and Denver, Colorado |
| Location |
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Membership | 46,000 |
Key people | Derek Humphry, Ann Wickett Humphry, Gerald A. Larue, Faye Girsh |
| Website | www |
The Hemlock Society's primary mission included providing information to the dying and supporting legislation permitting physician-assisted suicide. Its motto was "Good Life, Good Death". In 2003, the national organization renamed itself End of Life Choices. In 2004, some former members of the Hemlock Society, notably Derek Humphry and Faye Girsh, founded the Final Exit Network. It took its name from Humphry's 1991 book of the same name.
In 2003, the Hemlock Society changed its name to End-of-Life Choices. In 2004, End-of-Life Choices merged with Compassion in Dying, which is now known as Compassion & Choices. Several local and state organizations, including the Hemlock Society of Florida and the Hemlock Society of San Diego, have retained the Hemlock Society name. Others, such as the Hemlock Society of Illinois (now Final Options Illinois), have changed their names.