The national organization Death with Dignity describes West Virginia as “under threat” because of an upcoming vote of the public on whether the state constitution should be amended to explicitly prohibit physician-assisted deaths.
That organization characterizes West Virginia’s ballot measure as eliminating a potential option for terminally ill people. Death with Dignity is pushing a campaign called “No on Amendment One” that includes video clips of three people sharing their personal experiences with serious illness to describe the amendment as a threat to freedom.
Rusty Williams, who regularly advocates for issues at the state Capitol, is the chairman of the No on Amendment One campaign. Williams speaks in one of the videos, describing his battle with cancer.
Williams was diagnosed on Mother’s Day of 2012 with late-stage testicular cancer that had spread to his lymphatic system. “I win the award for the all-time worst Mother’s Day gift,” he said in a telephone interview…