Barbara Mancini was arrested and charged with assisted suicide in July 2013. Her 93-year-old dying father was in in-home hospice care and wasn’t given any morphine for his pain. When her father, Joseph Yourshaw, asked his daughter, a nurse, for morphine, she got it and gave him a partially filled one ounce-bottle which he drank. When the hospice nurse arrived and found out she called the police. Yourshaw was taken to the hospital where, according to Mancini, “he was forced to endure unwanted medical treatment at the end of his life which compounded his suffering greatly.” Yourshaw died in the hospital four days later. Seven months later, the charges against Mancini were dropped.
Mancini quit her nursing job to become a full-time advocate for Compassion & Choices, a non-profit organization based in Denver. The charity “offers free consultation, planning resources, referrals and guidance, and across the nation we work to protect and expand options at the end of life.” Anderson Cooper’s 60 Minutes interview with Mancini will be re-shown on July 19 at 7pm on CBS. Immediately after the broadcast, Mancini will host a live online discussion about national legislative efforts and what you can do to make sure these types of situations can be avoided by families like yours. The conversation will begin at 7:30ET.
Call 877-397-0300 toll free from the US and Canada; International callers dial 719-325-2171. Enter passcode 485231.
