The following is the letter that will be generated when you click the "Start Writing" button on the right. You may also add your thoughts. You can read Jacqueline Emch's Obituary before sending your email.

Terminally ill Ohioans need access to medical aid in dying. Please support such legislation by sponsoring a bill.

I recently read Jacqueline Emch's obituary on Dispatch.com. In it, she asked for donations to be made to the organization, Ohio End of Life Options which raises awareness about Medical Aid in Dying for the terminally ill. As your constituent, I also wanted to urge you to consider proposing such legislation.

Currently, nine states, along with the District of Columbia, have Medical Aid in Dying laws. They allow a mentally capable, terminally-ill adult with less than six months to live to request, and obtain a prescription from their doctor to end their life peacefully at the time and place of their choosing.

The bill includes stringent safeguards that have proven effective, with no abuse cases, in the many years of experience with medical aid in dying laws in these states.

This is very patient-directed. Only the patient can make the request, qualify for it, and decide if and when to use the prescription. Two doctors must verify a terminal diagnosis with less than six months to live, that the request is voluntary, and that the patient is mentally capable of making the decision. The person must also be able to take the medication on their own.

Doctors and pharmacists may opt not to participate and the patient may change their mind at any time. This option can be in combination with hospice and over 90% of people who have used these laws were also enrolled in hospice care.

Seven in ten Ohioans, including me, believe that terminally ill people should have the option of Medical Aid in Dying according to a May 2018 survey of Ohio voters. Though these people want to live, this law would give them comfort and peace of mind when facing their death. Currently, one in five Americans has access to this option. It's time for Ohio to have this legal option too.