Hemlock Society

The Hemlock Society was an American right-to-die advocacy organization active nationally from 1980 until 2003. It was established in Santa Monica, California, by British author and activist Derek Humphry, his wife Ann Wickett Humphry, and Gerald A. Larue. The organization took its name from poison hemlock, the plant traditionally associated with the death of the Greek philosopher Socrates. Its motto, “Good Life, Good Death,” expressed its central argument that people facing terminal or intolerable illness should have meaningful control over the circumstances and timing of the end of life. The Society emerged from a wider American euthanasia and right-to-die movement. Earlier organizations included the Euthanasia Educational Council, founded in 1967 and renamed Concern for Dying in 1978. Humphry’s 1978 book Jean’s Way, which described his assistance to his wife Jean during her terminal cancer illness, generated substantial public correspondence from people seeking information about assisted dying. He responded by creating the Hemlock Society both to educate dying people and their families and to campaign for changes in law. In its early years, the organization distributed information about end-of-life choices and methods of self-deliverance, while also advocating legislation that would permit physician-assisted suicide under defined conditions. Let Me Die Before I Wake, initially produced for Society members and commercially published in 1982, helped establish the organization’s public profile. Humphry’s 1991 book Final Exit became a major bestseller and brought the practical and ethical questions surrounding assisted suicide into mainstream debate. The book also attracted criticism and calls for restrictions or prohibition. Humphry subsequently left the Society and founded the Euthanasia Research and Guidance Organization in 1992. The Hemlock Society developed a national chapter structure and became a charter member of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies, established in Oxford in 1980. At its height, the organization was reported to have approximately 40,000 members and eighty chapters. It supported legislative campaigns in several American states, including California, Washington, Michigan, and Maine. These efforts initially failed, but the movement achieved a major breakthrough when Oregon voters approved the Death with Dignity Act on October 27, 1997. The law made Oregon the first U.S. state to establish a statutory framework for physician-assisted dying for eligible terminally ill adults, although its implementation and legal status were subsequently contested. The national organization changed its name to End of Life Choices in 2003. In 2004, End-of-Life Choices merged with Compassion in Dying, creating Compassion & Choices, a successor organization that continues to work on end-of-life autonomy and related policy issues. Former Hemlock members Derek Humphry and Faye Girsh also founded the Final Exit Network in 2004. Several local and state groups retained the Hemlock name, including organizations in Florida and San Diego, while others adopted new names, such as Final Options Illinois. The Hemlock Society is therefore best understood as a historical movement brand rather than an active national organization. Its legacy lies in helping organize the American right-to-die movement, popularizing public discussion of assisted dying, supporting legislative reform, and linking practical end-of-life information with a broader claim to personal autonomy. Its archives, along with papers connected to Derek Humphry, are held at the University of Washington’s Allen Library.

The Hemlock Society formed in 1980 during a period of renewed American debate over euthanasia, suicide, terminal illness, and individual rights at the end of life. Its founders were Derek Humphry, a British author and activist; Ann Wickett Humphry; and Gerald A. Larue. The group began in Santa Monica, California, reportedly operating initially from Humphry’s garage. Its name referred to poison hemlock and to the ancient account of Socrates, who accepted death by drinking hemlock rather than living under conditions he regarded as intolerable. The immediate background to the Society was Humphry’s experience with his first wife, Jean, who had terminal cancer. His 1978 book Jean’s Way described how he assisted her death and generated requests from readers seeking practical information. The Hemlock Society was created in response to those requests, combining education with political advocacy. It sought to inform terminally ill people and their families while supporting laws that would permit physician-assisted suicide under regulated circumstances. The organization framed its work through the motto “Good Life, Good Death,” emphasizing dignity and personal choice. The Society’s publications were central to its identity. Let Me Die Before I Wake was first prepared for members and then published commercially in 1982. In 1991, Humphry published Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying. The latter became a bestseller, making the assisted-dying debate more visible but also provoking criticism and efforts to restrict access to it. Humphry departed the organization in 1992 and established the Euthanasia Research and Guidance Organization. In 2004, he and former Hemlock president Faye Girsh founded the Final Exit Network. The national organization moved to Oregon in 1988 and operated from multiple locations during its existence. It also participated in international movement-building as a charter member of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies, founded in Oxford in 1980. Its reported peak included roughly 40,000 members and eighty chapters. Local chapters gave the Society a broader base than a single national office, enabling it to hold meetings, distribute educational material, and support state-level campaigns. The Hemlock Society backed proposed right-to-die legislation in California, Washington, Michigan, and Maine, but these efforts did not initially succeed. Oregon became the movement’s most important early legislative breakthrough. On October 27, 1997, Oregon voters approved the Death with Dignity Act, creating a legal framework for eligible terminally ill adults to request medication for the purpose of ending their lives. The law’s passage represented an important shift from advocacy and public education toward an operational statutory model. By 2003, the national organization concluded that the Hemlock name was limiting its public identity and renamed itself End of Life Choices. The following year, End-of-Life Choices merged with Compassion in Dying to become Compassion & Choices. This ended the national Hemlock Society as a distinct organization, although the name continued to be used by several local or state groups. The Hemlock Society of Florida and Hemlock Society of San Diego are examples of organizations that retained the historical name, while the Illinois organization later became Final Options Illinois. The Society’s surviving institutional legacy is distributed among successor organizations, local chapters, books, archives, and the wider right-to-die movement. The archives of the Hemlock Society and Derek Humphry are held at the Allen Library of the University of Washington. The organization’s history is also represented in films and other media, including the television film You Don’t Know Jack, which depicts a meeting of an eastern Michigan Hemlock chapter in connection with activist Jack Kevorkian. Although the national brand is defunct, its campaigns helped normalize public discussion of assisted dying and contributed to the political environment in which death-with-dignity laws were debated and adopted.

• 2004

  Successor merger creates Compassion & Choices

  [1]Hemlock Societyen.wikipedia.org

  End-of-Life Choices merged with Compassion in Dying.

• 2003

  National organization renamed End of Life Choices

  [1]Hemlock Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The national Society retired the Hemlock identity and continued under a new name.

• 1997

  Oregon Death with Dignity Act approved

  [1]Hemlock Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Oregon voters approved a death-with-dignity law after earlier legislative campaigns in other states had failed.

• 1992

  Humphry leaves and forms a separate organization

  [1]Hemlock Societyen.wikipedia.org

  After leaving the Society, Humphry founded the Euthanasia Research and Guidance Organization.

• 1991

  Final Exit published

  [1]Hemlock Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Derek Humphry’s bestselling book expanded public attention to assisted dying and self-deliverance.

• 1988

  National base moves to Oregon

  [1]Hemlock Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The Society relocated from California to Oregon.

• 1982

  Let Me Die Before I Wake published commercially

  [1]Hemlock Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The organization’s member-oriented guide was released to a wider market.

• 1980

  Hemlock Society founded

  [1]Hemlock Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Derek Humphry, Ann Wickett Humphry, and Gerald A. Larue established the organization in Santa Monica, California.

• 1980

  Charter membership in international right-to-die federation

  [1]Hemlock Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The Society became a founding charter member of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies.

A civil-liberties and end-of-life advocacy organization focused on personal autonomy, information access, and legal reform concerning physician-assisted dying.

• Book and end-of-life guide · 1982

  Let Me Die Before I Wake

  An instructional publication concerning methods of assisted dying and self-deliverance. It was initially prepared for Hemlock Society members and later published commercially in 1982, helping the organization distribute its practical and educational approach beyond its membership.

• Book and end-of-life guide · 1991

  Final Exit

  Derek Humphry’s 1991 book addressed the practicalities of self-deliverance and assisted suicide for dying people. It became a bestseller and a highly visible artifact of the right-to-die movement, while also drawing criticism and calls for restrictions.

• 1997Oregon Death with Dignity campaign

  Oregon

  The Society backed the Oregon effort to establish a statutory framework allowing eligible terminally ill adults to obtain medication for ending their lives.

  Outcome. Oregon voters approved the Death with Dignity Act on October 27, 1997.

  Source
• State right-to-die legislative campaigns

  California · Washington · Michigan · Maine

  The Hemlock Society supported legislative efforts intended to permit physician-assisted suicide or otherwise expand legal rights at the end of life in several American states.

  Outcome. The early campaigns did not succeed, but they contributed to broader public and political debate.

  Source

• 2004

  Merge End-of-Life Choices with Compassion in DyingM&A

  Background

  The renamed successor organization and Compassion in Dying were both active in end-of-life and right-to-die advocacy.

  Action taken

  The two organizations combined to form Compassion & Choices.

  Aftermath

  Compassion & Choices became the principal national successor associated with the Hemlock Society’s organizational legacy.

  Source

• 2003

  Rename the national organization End of Life ChoicesStrategy

  Background

  The national organization moved away from the Hemlock name after more than two decades of right-to-die advocacy.

  Action taken

  It adopted the End of Life Choices name while continuing its end-of-life advocacy work.

  Aftermath

  The national Hemlock Society ceased to operate as a distinct identity, although several local and state organizations retained the name.

  Source

1. 1Hemlock Societyen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Compassion & Choicescompassionandchoices.org