Renowned artist Jackie Ferrara has passed away at age 95 after choosing to end her life through medical aid.
Ferrara, whose sculptures made of wooden planks are part of the Museum of Modern Art’s collection, died on Wednesday, October 22, according to her estate and legacy adviser Tina Hejtmanek.
In a recent interview with The New York Times, Ferrara explained that although she was in “good health,” she felt ready to go. She had experienced two falls in the past year, which reinforced her desire to avoid dependence on others.
“I don’t want a housekeeper,” she said. “I never wanted anybody. I was married three times. That’s enough.”
Medical aid in dying (MAID) is currently not legal in New York, where Ferrara lived. While MAID laws exist in California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Vermont, Washington D.C., Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, and New Mexico, her good health would have made her ineligible anywhere in the United States.
To carry out her wishes, Ferrara traveled to Basel, Switzerland, where she accessed the services of Pegasos, a nonprofit clinic that allows assisted dying for patients who are not terminally ill.
Medical aid in dying has been legal in Switzerland since 1942, according to the UK-based organization Dignity in Dying. Unlike euthanasia, which is illegal, MAID requires patients to administer the prescribed life-ending medication themselves, rather than having a doctor do it.
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