Missouri Democrat Representative Ian Mackey files ‘Marilyn Teitelbaum Death With Dignity’ Act

On Tuesday, Dec. 12, Ian Mackey filed the ‘Marilyn Teitelbaum Death With Dignity’ Act, which would allow chronically ill individuals to seek legal end-of-life care in Missouri.

Teitelbaum was a Missourian who recently passed from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. During her painful last stages of life, Teitelbaum was forced to travel to Denver, Colorado in order to receive legal end-of-life care for the incurable disease since Missouri has bans on the healthcare treatment.

Filing of the act comes after Mackey became aware of Teitelbaum’s situation through mutual friends.

“Marilyn was in extreme pain…,” Mackey says. “Why should the government force Marilyn or any patient to make any healthcare decision?”

As of right now, only ten states across the country have legalized end-of-life care, a healthcare practice that is essential for those who have contracted end-stage diseases or terminal illnesses and are searching for a resort of relief.

Mackey sees no value in allowing the government to oversee any healthcare decisions that are critical to the quality of life, specifically when an individual is suffering during the late stages of life.

“There’s no form of government in doctor’s offices or healthcare that should be making any kind of decision on any terminal disease,” Mackey says.

While the thought of end-of-life care is not something that people consider during their day-to-day, and quite frankly not until their time is near, he is still adamant in the sense that people should be aware of Teitelbaum’s experiences because anyone could face similar situations.

“It’s not something that we think about…,” he says. “We don’t know what it’s like to be diagnosed with ALS, we don’t know what Marilyn’s husband went through.”

Teitelbaum’s husband Steven, a renowned Missouri physician, was with her during her final breaths and is hopeful that his wife’s situation will serve as a stepping stone in legislation to reach a point where traveling from Missouri for end-of-life care is a thought of the past.

“My wife Marilyn was diagnosed with ALS, a progressively crippling disorder which is uniformly fatal,” he said in a press release. “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.”

Moving forward, Mackey is hopeful that the filing of this act will evoke other legislators to take action on such an important form of legislation that has seen no changes in Missouri since pre-1997 bans on the healthcare practice.

“My goal right now is to find somebody on the other side of the aisle who has gone through an experience like this,” he says.

“I would like to see the government get out of the way of patients and doctors making medical decisions.”

The act has been modeled in comparison to the ‘Death with Dignity’ Act that was passed in Maine in 2019.