World-renowned artist Jackie Ferrara has passed away at 95 — choosing to end her life through medical aid.
Jackie — whose work is featured in collections at the Museum of Modern Art — died last Wednesday, her estate and legacy adviser Tina Hejtmanek confirmed. She had traveled to Basel, Switzerland, where she chose to end her life at Pegasos, a nonprofit clinic for assisted dying.
Jackie was based in NYC, where Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) isn’t legal — and in the U.S. states where it is legal, patients have to be terminally ill, which she wasn’t. That’s why she traveled to Switzerland, where the law doesn’t require someone to be terminally ill.
Important to note … medical aid in dying isn’t the same as euthanasia. Euthanasia is illegal in the U.S., and that’s when a doctor gives the drugs. With medical aid, the patient takes the meds themselves.
Jackie recently told “The New York Times” that even though she was in good health, she felt ready to go — explaining that after taking two falls in the past year, she never wanted to end up dependent on others.
