By Jenny Swigoda

Death is not always an easy topic to discuss openly. But for the more than 3,000 members and 70 volunteers of the Final Exit Network, an open dialogue on death is very much a part of life.

A non-profit group, the Final Exit Network supports the rights of the elderly or terminally ill to have full control over whether and when to end their lives by offering information and services sought within the "right to die" movement. Final Exit Network president Jerry Dincin, of Highland Park, Ill., and "exit guide" Patricia Eames, who lives in Haverford, Pa., made their case for why a group like theirs is working in the best interests of those who want to die.

"It seemed so eminently sound," Eames reflected while seated in the living room of her home, a room that is brightly lighted and welcoming and seems an odd arena for such a conversation.

"Who has the right to control my body? Nobody but me," she said. "So why should somebody else tell me that I should stay if I want to leave?"

Eames has been an exit guide with the Final Exit Network for almost two years. Before that, she spent many years as a successful labor-union defense attorney and taught for a while at the collegiate level. When asked if she has any medical reason to start thinking about death, or affiliating with a group focused primarily on aiding the severely ill in their "exit," as Eames refers to it, she proclaimed, "I'm 79!"

Eames will tell you about her personal experiences with illness and death. A female colleague at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee suffered from Parkinson's disease and was unable to walk farther than three-quarters of a mile. She lacked the capability to keep her head erect for long periods.

Eames offered emotional support to her friend, but she had difficulty envisioning herself trying to go on day to day in a similarly debilitated condition. "She was making a conscious choice, that she preferred that to leaving. I don't believe I would prefer that, but you don't know until you get there," Eames said.

¥¥

In late 2007, after coming upon a Final Exit Network newsletter, Eames contacted the group and signed on as an exit guide. A brief training period ensued, with potential guides undergoing a weekend of role-playing instruction that focused on approaches to phone calls and conversations regarding a person's "exit."

During the past four years, guides with Final Exit Network chapters across the country have been in the room with 130 people who took their lives - about 30 to 35 people each year nationwide.

Eames was assigned to serve as the exit guide to an elderly woman from Manhattan. Already rapidly losing mobility because of acute rheumatoid arthritis, the woman was diagnosed with uterine cancer on her 90th birthday. Less than 24 hours later, she'd made up her mind. She wanted to end her life.

The process began with Eames and a fellow "senior" exit guide visiting the elderly woman in her apartment to discuss at great length the decision she'd made. A second visit soon followed, that one bringing Eames together with the woman and her two adult sons, who were supportive of their mother's life-ending decision.

Eames explained the details of the final stage of the process - steps to be carried out solely by the woman. Tubes would be connected from a helium tank to a hood. The woman would pull the hood over her head, Eames told her, then turn on the helium. In 20 seconds, she'd be unconscious; in three minutes she'd be dead.

The right-to-die organization promotes the use of helium because it is widely regarded as being quick, painless and simple for anyone to use - and it is not a violent end.

It is important to note, Eames said, that those ending their lives are the only ones to carry out the technical points of the process. While an exit guide may be present at any time for comfort and moral support, all equipment is purchased, connected and operated by the individuals fulfilling their death wishes.

¥¥

Even with such a strict "laissez-faire" policy, the Final Exit Network has seen its share of challenging times. In February, eight exit guides from Georgia and Arizona were arrested along with the Final Exit Network president. The guides - charged by law-enforcement authorities in the two states - were accused of assisting suicides, removing evidence and being affiliated with a "racketeer-influenced and corrupt organization."

With the arrest of the top executive, the group's vice president at the time, Jerry Dincin, stepped up to the leadership role. He is a strong believer in the Final Exit Network and its mission.