Artist Jackie Ferrara has passed away after taking her own life at the age of 95.
Ferrara died on Wednesday (October 22) through medical aid in dying, according to her estate and legacy adviser Tina Hejtmanek.
In 12 US jurisdictions, medical aid in dying (MAID) allows a terminally ill person with a prognosis of six months or less to live to request a prescription from a doctor, for a medication which they can administer themselves to end their life.
But as Ferrara was not unwell, she would not have been able to do this in the US.
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Instead, according to PEOPLE, Ferrara traveled to Basel, Switzerland, to a clinic called Pegasos, which doesn't require patients to be terminally unwell.
Medical aid in dying is legal in Switzerland and has been since 1942. It is not the same as euthanasia because the patient administers the medication themselves.
Ferrara - who was known for creating unique wooden sculptures - had recently told The New York Times that she was 'in good health' but felt ready to go.
She said she had had two falls recently and wished not to be dependent on other people.
“I don’t want a housekeeper,” she said.
“I never wanted anybody. I was married three times. That’s enough.”
Earlier this year, Holocaust survivor Ruth Posner died by assisted suicide.
Posner escaped a Nazi ghetto as a child before going on to achieve a successful career in both dance and drama.
The Polish-born actor and her 97-year-old husband Michael died in Switzerland via assisted suicide - which is legal in the country.
Ruth and Michael let their family and friends know in an email, which was sent to them after they had died.
The email, which was quoted by The Times, read: "So sorry not to have mentioned it, but when you receive this email we will have shuffled off this mortal coil.
"The decision was mutual and without any outside pressure. We had lived a long life and together for almost 75 years. There came a point when failing senses, of sight and hearing and lack of energy was not living but existing that no care would improve."
The email continued: "We had an interesting and varied life and except for the sorrow of losing Jeremy, our son. We enjoyed our time together, we tried not to regret the past, live in the present and not to expect too much from the future," before concluding the heartbreaking message with: "Much love Ruth & Mike."
Topics: Art, World News, US News, Health
Lucy Devine