Videos of Previous Events

Alzheimer’s and End of Life Choices

January 26, 2025. If you or a loved has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, you are not alone! Nellie Hernandez from Alzheimer's San Diego discussed the scope of Alzheimer's disease, options for end of life planning, and provided an overview of her organization's free services and support for patients and caregivers.

Chris Palmer Discusses his New Book-Achieving a Good Death: A Practical Guide to the End of Life

On January 23, 2025, author and Hemlock Society of San Diego Vice President, Chris Palmer, joined our Zoom audience to discuss his newest book, Achieving a Good Death: A Practical Guide to the End of Life. The book, available on Amazon, covers a wide variety of topics to reduce the fear that often cloaks discussions about death and dying and give readers the knowledge and skills to achieve a peaceful and gentle death.

Preparing an Advance Directive for Dementia

March 3, 2024 - Is your advance directive enough to protect your wishes if you get dementia? Get your end-of-life planning documents in order with help from attorney and expert Bill Simmons of FinalExodus.org. This webinar from Hemlock Society of San Diego covers the basics of advance directives, including how they work and how to choose the right form for you.

Some Myths About Medical Aid in Dying

February 7, 2024 - Recording of the inaugural Faye Girsh Endowed Lecture on Medical Aid in Dying. Speaker Dr. Lonny Shavelson counters the biggest myths about Medical Aid in Dying in this lecture presented to the UC San Diego medical school. Lonny Shavelson, MD is the Chair of the American Clinicians Academy on Medical Aid in Dying. Dr. Shavelson is leading the effort to standardize the practice of Aid in Dying Medicine.

Final Exit Network – July 16, 2023

July 16, 2023. This was a very enlightening meeting with guest speakers Brian Ruder, President of the Final Exit Network Board, and Lowrey Brown, Head of the FEN Exit Guide Program. Faye Girsh opened the program with the history of the Right To Die movement and our guest speakers described the compassionate, important work performed of Final Exit Network

Going to Switzerland

In this meeting on May 15, 2022, we take a fascinating inside look at Swiss Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) clinics,…

Current Issues in the Right to Die: Switzerland

First in the series on Current Issues in the Right to Die presented by Faye Girsh. Please note: YouTube shows a warning that the video is flagged as "potentially offensive or sensitive content." Viewers can click "I understand and wish to proceed".

Helping a Loved One Die at Home – Not for the Faint of Heart!

Presented July 18, 2021. Seven out of ten Americans say they would like to die at home, but only 25% do. As a result, few people know what’s involved in a home death. In this 90-minute live Zoom presentation, three Hemlock members will share compelling stories of their personal experiences guiding a mother, a husband, and a client through life’s final stage outside of the efficient but sterile and chaotic environment of a hospital.

Death and Dementia: Alternate Approaches

Sunday, May 16, 2021 In the United States, dementia does not qualify as a condition for MAID. Even if a patient has a terminal illness, if cognitive function is impaired, they are unable to give informed consent for MAID. HSSD is proud to present a renowned international panel who will discuss alternate perspectives on death and dementia and answer questions from our audience.

The High Cost of Dying

March 21, 2021 Our panel of experts review the high costs associated with aging and dying, present strategies to mitigate them, and answer questions from audience participants.

Assisted Dying Around the World

Jan. 17, 2021 - This program explained laws and practices of Voluntary Euthanasia and briefly reviewed Assisted Dying practices in some countries around the world.

Dementia and Death

Nov. 22, 2020 - As the population ages the possibility of a dementia epidemic increases. This panel explores what one can do to determine how long you would want to live if you had dementia and what options are available for a peaceful death when you still have decisional capacity — and when you don’t.

A Q&A on Covid-19

September 20, 2020 - Three physicians speak from considerable experience caring for Covid patients.

Complex Decision Making in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)

July 12, 2020. Complex Decision Making in the Intensive Care Unit. Dr. Jamie Labuzetta, MD, MSC, MPHIL, neurointensivist from the University of California, San Diego, describes the many complex decisions a health care surrogate may have to make.

Legal Issues at End of Life

Sept. 8, 2019 – A doctor and nursing home director, an ombudsman and an attorney discuss legal issues that can prevent people from accomplishing their end of life wishes.

Is Rational Suicide Possible?

July 21, 2019 - Panelists presented and discussed the terminology used to describe hastened deaths and explained and discussed the criteria for Final Exit Network.

Heart Failure and End-of-Life Choices

March 17, 2019. Heart failure is the #1 cause of death in America. 40-50% of all patients discharged from the hospital are readmitted within 30 days because of the recurrence of symptoms of congestive heart failure.

Hospice and Palliative Care

July 15, 2019 - video not available. Three speakers certified in Hospice and Palliative Care explain the differences.

What To do With the Body

Sept. 17, 2017 - Options for using your body for good after you die, including tissue and organ donation, as well as body donation to universities for use by medical students to practice operations and saving money on funerals.

Cannabis and End-of-Life Care

May 21, 2017 - Describes use of medical cannabis as a pain reliever. As with most medications, there are side effects to consider. There are several different kinds off cannabis, each having distinct medical properties.

What If Your Heart Stops?

March 19, 2017 - video not available. San Diego's EMS Director, Dr. James Dunford, talked about CardioPulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), how often it is successful, how many people think they have a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order but they don't - who should have one and how you get it.