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Cheap assisted suicide drugs were offered to a mother of four instead of chemotherapy.
The Californian woman – Stephanie Packer – has a terminal illness and her insurance company denied coverage for the chemotherapy her doctors recommended.
Instead, it would cover end-of-life drugs for just $1.20.
The insurance company initially said they would cover the chemotherapy drugs.
One week after assisted suicide was legalized in California in 2016, they sent Packer a letter saying they were denying coverage.
Despite multiple appeals, they have continued to refuse.
It was like someone had just hit me in the gut,” said Packer.
She shared her story in the a documentary, Compassion and Choice Denied.
Produced by the Center for Bioethics and Culture Network, the documentary details Packer’s experience of living with a terminal illness in an age where assisted suicide is cheaper than the fight for life.
She said as soon as the law was passed in California, patients fighting for a longer life ended up getting denied treatment.
” … because this will always be the cheapest option… it’s hard to financially fight,” Packer said in the documentary.
“We are called as people to support each other, to hold each other’s hand and walk through this journey,” Packer said.
“I want my kids to see that dying is a part of life, and the end of your life can be an opportunity to appreciate the things you didn’t appreciate before.”
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