Ron Silverio. Heather Block. Chuck Knothe .
These terminally ill Delawareans, all of whom suffered from cancer, wanted the option to die on their own terms. They wanted the choice to self-administer life-ending medication so they and their loved ones wouldn’t be put through the often ugly and frequently painful last few days and weeks of death.
Silverio died on Jan. 7, 2018. Block died two months later, on March 3, 2018. Knothe died this week, on Sept. 16, 2024.
None of them lived long enough to have those options in Delaware. And Gov. John Carney’s veto of House Bill 140 on Friday ensures no other terminally ill First State residents will, either.
CHUCK KNOTHE’S DYING WISH: Facing imminent death, he wanted to go on his terms. Why governor’s inaction prevented that
Carney vetoed the bill commonly known as the Ron Silverio/Heather Block End of Life Options Law, blocking terminally ill Delaware residents with six months or less to live from being able to choose when and how they die. Delaware would have been the 12th state in the country to allow medical aid in dying.