“When My Time Comes” — Diane Rehm at Town Hall

Ed Note: Diane Rehm’s previous book and presentation at Town Hall discussed her husband’s death from voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED). She continues to explore end-of-life choices. Skyline author Tom Preston was a pioneer in patient choice in the 2007 publication Patient-Directed Dying: A Call for Legalized Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill. Please note we will have a discussion of advance care planning at here at Skyline called “Our Lives Our Choices” on Tuesday afternoon February 18th.

On Wednesday, February 12, 2020, 7:30 PM renowned radio host Diane Rehm makes her way to Town Hall to address the urgent, hotly contested cause of the Right-to-Die movement with insight from her book When My Time Comes. In conversation with KUOW’s Ross Reynolds, Rehm draws on interviews with terminally ill patients, and with physicians, ethicists, spouses, relatives, and representatives of those who vigorously oppose the movement to give voice to a broad range of people who are personally linked to the realities of medical aid in dying. Rehm presents the fervent arguments—both for and against—that are propelling the current debates across the nation about whether to adopt laws allowing those who are dying to put an end to their suffering. Rehm and Reynolds invites us to investigate both sides of the argument, providing critical context and informed responses that aim to dispel misconceptions and misrepresentations of end-of-life care.

Diane Rehm has spent nearly 40 years as radio host for WAMU and NPR’s. In 1979 she began hosting WAMU’s local morning talk show, Kaleidoscope, which was renamed The Diane Rehm Show in 1984. Rehm is known for her unique mix of curiosity, honesty, and intimacy in her programming.