Let’s talk about dying

The most unavoidable topic that everyone avoids

No one talks about death. I didn’t for a long time.

Sometimes the words spilled out when I was with a friend, but I never felt satisfied. Other times it was late at night and I would mope out to the living room past midnight to sit with my mother and briefly discuss how much we missed those in our family who died.

That was it though. Death would be brought up, but the conversation never was discussed for too long.

In the summer going into seventh grade my grandmother died from pancreatic cancer, then my aunt ten months later from bladder cancer. Then my grandfather a few years later.

As I coped with the death of my family members, I began excessively planning out my future. I developed the ideal life from the city I’ll reside in, to the color I would paint my apartment walls. When I committed to college I vowed I would take every opportunity I could possibly get and fill each day with experiences that could help me with this vision.

But I worked so much when I got to college. It got to the point last fall that I lost a part of myself. There were no moments of peace in my day. I took a full course load, managed my school’s broadcast news department, worked an internship, another part-time job and choreographed for Quinnipiac University’s Tap Company. In every way, I was disconnected from the people around me and myself.

Yet during this particular semester, I was enrolled in a course called “Sociology of Death/Dying” where we discussed social interaction between the dying person, professional caregivers and loved ones. The class flowed like an open forum.

I joked that I would start and end my week with death since I only had that course on Mondays and Fridays. My friends didn’t laugh too much.

Three times a week I was forced to consider death in ways I hadn’t considered. For the first time, I was forced to confront the topic of death on a daily basis.

More than anything, this course revealed the significance of starting conversations about the dying process before death itself. While the person is dying, family and friends are often so wrapped up in trying to keep them around for a bit longer. However, the person dying may feel an obligation to fight for their family when it isn’t something they want. We begin making decisions not for ourselves anymore and we become alienated from the people that we should lean on the most.

Conversations need to begin with health workers and doctors, it needs to trickle down to the family.

Death is isolating in our world— a stigma that many don’t talk about directly. It wasn’t until I met a very close friend of mine when I was in Washington D.C. that I mentioned that I joked about death a lot. No one had ever told me that I brought it up that often.

Maybe, had I allowed myself to discuss how I felt about death when I was growing up, I wouldn’t weave it into my conversations so much now. However, death changes you. I don’t think I would be as articulate with how I spend my days or have had such a clear path. In a way, it helped me understand my priorities and know I don’t have forever to meet them. If I want something, I no longer wait.

It shouldn’t have taken so long for me to feel comfortable talking about death, but it is something many people still struggle with. Neglecting conversation on the certainty of something each one of us will go through ends up forcing us to not consider what we want in life.

Complete Article ↪HERE↩!

September 22, 2022September 22, 2022

Why don’t more people of color receive end-of-life care?

People from historically underserved communities don’t just rarely utilize medical aid in dying; they also are less likely to utilize hospice and other palliative care options.

Brandi Alexander is the National Director of Community Engagement for Compassion & Choices.

by Brandi Alexander

Since New Jersey’s “Medical Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act” took effect three years ago, not one Black, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, or Native American state resident has used the law to gently end their suffering.

The question is: Why?

According to state Health Department reports, 89 of the 95 New Jerseyans who have used the law were white (94%), four were Asian, and two were of an unspecified single race. This racial disparity is similar to what’s seen in annual reports in eight of the 10 other jurisdictions that authorize medical aid in dying.

As to why white people are more likely to use this option, some suggest it is because white people mostly are the ones who want it. But that is not true.

A recent national survey showed that 62% of Black voters, 70% of Hispanic/Latino voters, and 65% of voters from all other ethnic groups surveyed would want the option of medical aid in dying if they became terminally ill, compared with 67% of white voters.

Reducing New Jersey’s 15-day waiting period, or waiving it when necessary, would improve access to medical aid in dying statewide. Other states such as California, New Mexico, and Oregon have reduced their waiting period; Oregon also waived its residency requirement. New Jersey should also authorize the state’s share of Medicaid to pay for medical aid in dying, as California, Hawai’i, and Oregon do. After all, New Jersey’s Medicaid program covers hospice care; it also should cover the end-of-life care that patients want, including medical aid in dying.

But these revisions alone would not be enough to reduce the racial gap.

Everyone deserves equal access to all types of end-of-life care.

The reality is people from historically underserved communities don’t just rarely utilize medical aid in dying; they also are less likely to utilize hospice and other palliative care options.

As anyone whose loved one has entered hospice can tell you, it is an invaluable resource, which gives peace and comfort to the dying person, as well as to loved ones.

There are likely a variety of reasons why people of color are not getting this care at the end of their lives. They may tend to prefer aggressive treatments, and may not be offered palliative options, due to institutional racism, cultural and language barriers, lack of access, and economic and insurance hurdles. These facts have been documented by researchers, who found that people of color with end-stage kidney disease were less likely to receive referrals for palliative care than white patients. Other reasons may include mistrust of the health-care system, lack of in-home resources, influences of cultural and religious beliefs, lack of knowledge about available services, and misconceptions about hospice and palliative care.

Indeed, the racial disparities in use of hospice and end-of-life care are consistent with a broad range of racial disparities in the use of health care, as well as health outcomes.

Everyone deserves equal access to all types of end-of-life care. So how do we make that happen?

It will take time, cultural and religious sensitivity (e.g., understanding the importance and impact of faith, spirituality, and culture on end-of-life care decisions in communities of color), and trusted voices to empower and inform diverse communities about the quality-of-life benefits of hospice and palliative care.

Heath-care professionals should initiate conversations with all of their patients, no matter their background, about the importance of discussing their end-of-life care options with their doctors and loved ones, documenting their preferences in writing by completing an advance directive, and appointing a health-care proxy to carry them out if they are unable to speak for themselves. This information can be a source of enormous comfort for terminally ill patients and their loved ones.

Just as we fight for everyone to have equal access to what options people want in life, so too should we fight for equal access to options they want when it comes to death.

Complete Article ↪HERE↩!

September 21, 2022September 21, 2022

Why a pet’s death hits so hard

— New book explores dealing with the loss of a beloved companion

By Peter O’Dowd

E.B. Bartels has cared for many pets in her life: Fish, dogs, birds and a tortoise. And she watched many of them die.

In her new book, “Good Grief: On Loving Pets Here and Hereafter” she explores how people mourn and grieve their animals. With her own losses, Bartels says she often diminishes her feelings by telling herself it was a only dog or a bird that died, not a human being.

“The truth is, we can have really deep, special, important relationships with animals that sometimes are even more profound than our relationships with other people,” Bartels says. “I interviewed so many people for my book who said, ‘It hit me way harder when my cat of 20 years died than when my dad who I was sort of estranged from passed away.’”

Animals love their owners unconditionally — and the loss of that acceptance can devastate people, Bartels says. And losing the physical affection from cuddling or sleeping beside a pet is a big loss when the animal is no longer around.

Even with all her research, Bartels questions why people continue adopting pets knowing this difficult goodbye is inevitable.

“Are we just masochists? Why do we keep doing this to ourselves?” she says. “There’s really something worth it. I just always think about the complete, unconditional love that our animals give us.”

For example, her beloved dog Seymour endured a tough heartworm treatment last spring that involved shots and drugs — but he never resented or witheld snuggles from Bartels and her husband.

Bartels thinks about Seymour’s eventual death on a daily basis. Prey-driven Seymour loves to chase small animals like squirrels and lunge after trucks, so on every walk, Bartels thinks he’s going to get away from her and run into the street.

“I think in some ways pets bring us so much joy because they force us to remember how short life is and how fleeting our time is together,” she says. “Even if Seymour gets hit by a car tomorrow while I’m walking him, at least we’ve had a few really special years together. And I’m really grateful for that time.”

Interview Highlights

On how to know when it’s time to say goodbye

“That is a really hard question and I wish I had a better answer. I asked every single vet I interviewed for this book that question. One of the best pieces of advice I heard was sort of the three things rule.

“A vet in Western Mass. said to think of three things that your pet loves to do. Maybe it’s swim in the lake and chase a tennis ball and loves to eat carrots. And on any given day, if your pet can still do all three or two of those three things, then your pet’s probably in pretty good shape. But if you start to notice that even the things that they absolutely love to do more than anything in the world are becoming challenging or they’re not interested in doing them anymore, then that’s when you really need to start to think about, am I holding on because I’m having trouble letting go and what’s best for my pet here? Are they in pain or are they suffering? It’s hard, though, because every animal is so different.”

On how the death of pets weighs on veterinarians

“It’s really hard for vets. I spoke to probably like 25 or 30 different [vets] for this book, and all of them brought up the really high suicide rate actually among veterinarians. All of them have lost colleagues to suicide.

“I think that’s part of why I wanted to write so much about the vet perspective in my book, to really remind people who are grieving that it’s really easy when you’re grieving and angry and upset to lash out and blame the vet, ‘Oh, you said this surgery would fix their cancer and it didn’t work and they died anyway.’ Vets are people and they’re just trying the best they can and they want what’s best for your pet, too.

“I had a lot of people tell me they got really angry at their vet when the vet suggested maybe it was time to consider euthanasia, but they admitted later that they just didn’t want to hear that because they were sad and upset and the vet really was doing what was best for the animal or thinking about what was best for the animal.”

On her visits to pet cemeteries and how famous racehorses like Secretariat are memorized

“We can really be profoundly impacted by animals who aren’t our own pets, who are famous, and lots of people know and love them. Secretariat in particular came on the scene when people were going through a hard time in the United States. There was war and seeing such a joyful, successful racehorse really brought a lot of people’s spirits up. So in Lexington, [Kentucky], it was really amazing to see these whole horse cemeteries and monuments to these amazing race horses.

“One of my favorite facts is when Man of War, who is another legendary racehorse, passed away, the whole city of Lexington shut down for the day. So everyone, like kids, didn’t have to go to school so everyone could come and pay their respects to Man of War who lay in state, sort of like a U.S. president.”

On the history of humans grieving the loss of pets

“People have loved animals for millennia. My first chapter of my book is all about how in ancient Egypt, people would mummify their pets, they would bury [their pets] with them and hope to be reunited in the afterlife. There are animal mummies in Peru. There are ancient dog cemeteries in Siberia and Israel. People have loved animals for as long as they have welcomed animals into their homes and lives. And to me, if you’ve loved an animal, you also then grieve an animal. So it’s nothing new.”

“To me, the way that people mourn their pets and have these big mausoleums and statues and plots and pet cemeteries and portraits painted, it just shows to me the depth of their love and the joy that pets bring them.”

Complete Article ↪HERE↩!

September 20, 2022September 20, 2022

How to plan for the death of a loved one

By Joel Theisen

The end of life doesn’t need to be filled with pain, frustration, guilt and clashing family dynamics.

My grandpa was dying of bone cancer, an especially gruesome way to go. He’d shriveled down to 85 pounds. The bathtub was one of the few things that brought him comfort.

So there we sat in his final days as he talked about his life and the things he cared about. He was riddled with pain, yet cracking jokes right and left. We spent hours laughing out loud. It was his way of telling me that he was at peace. And it was one of the most beautiful experiences I’ve had as a human being.

After 30 years as a nurse and chief executive of a senior care company that has served over a million lives in the community and within senior housing, I’ve experienced more than my share of death. I learned that the end of life needn’t be filled with pain and frustration, with guilt and clashing family dynamics. It can be a time to cherish the spark in a loved one’s eye, their spirit and wisdom. And that we can help them die in the most positive way possible.

Your wishes codified

I’ve seen it often through the years. A terminal illness arrives. The dying person’s last wishes aren’t in place. Now tough decisions need to be made in a moment of crisis. Everyone in the family has their own opinion, freighted by our cultural fear of death. I’ve seen it get ugly, with families torn apart. Our loved one doesn’t get the death she wants.

I’ve also seen the opposite, when death is peaceful and lovely. The difference is usually a POLST–portable medical orders — an end of life plan conceived with your doctor that travels with you from hospital to nursing home, or wherever your journey takes you. The idea is to outline your wishes before crisis hits, rather than leaving it to group decisions in times of trauma.

You can take a curative route, signifying your willingness to undergo any treatment as long as there’s a shot. You can take a palliative path, which focuses more on bringing relief and comfort to your final days. Or you can choose a mixture of both, dictating whether you want such things as a feeding tube, a ventilator, or to even be taken to a hospital at all.

The POLST informs family and facilities of exactly what you want. When those final days arrive and family gathers at bedside, there’s no need to speculate on medical choices. Everything that’s important is already in place.

Hospice

Chances are that a loved one with a terminal condition is already eligible for hospice care, offered free to Medicare recipients who’ve been certified by a doctor as having six or less months to live. The program was conceived by the federal government after realizing that people were spending most of their money during the last two years of life. Their savings were being drained by extraordinary measures that didn’t really help, rather than concentrating on the supportive care they truly needed.

Instead of sending you to a hospital, hospice comes to you, be it your home of 40 years, or your apartment in an assisted living facility, or even a relative’s house. It’s all about comfort. You’ll be cared for by experts in death and dying whose mission is to provide the least restrictive experience possible.

Nurses, aides, and physicians work within your plan. They can bring you a hospital bed to help you sleep or equipment to help you breathe. There’s spiritual care, music therapy, visiting aides, volunteers, and bereavement coverage for family. There’s also a pain management plan, with the goal of making the end of life as serene as possible.

The most peaceful deaths I’ve seen are when people die in their own homes on their own terms. The Medicare hospice program helps make that happen, especially when it’s used sooner than the final days of life.

This doesn’t mean you can’t turn back. We’re humans. We get scared. You can leave hospice whenever you want for one last shot with chemo and radiation. The larger point is that you and your family are educated early, preparing emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. And that someone will be with you the entire journey, holding mom’s hand — or your hand if that’s what you need — to help you make the most of those final days.

I know about trauma. My sister died in a car crash at age 43, leaving behind two kids. It was a horrific experience, but we’ve chosen to make the most of it.

Every year we take a family vacation. And every year we set aside time to celebrate my sister. We talk about our feelings and frustrations, our love and loss. It’s not always a glorious celebration. But it’s helpful.

Circumstances didn’t allow us to prepare for her death. So we’re trying to make the most of it in retrospect.

Like it or not, no one on this planet is getting out alive. Though our finish line may be the same, the ways we get there — and the methods we choose to deal with the aftermath — are often up to us. A solid plan for the final stages will help both us and our survivors. Start talking now with your loved ones. The more we do, the less we fear the inevitable. What you discover may provide the means for not just an end, but a magnificent one.

Complete Article ↪HERE↩!

September 19, 2022September 19, 2022

Water Cremation Offers Eco-Alternative For Funerals

Funeral traditions around the world vary widely depending on cultural and religious practices, but they often use burial or cremation. Neither method is good for the environment, and green alternatives are gaining in popularity. Aquamation, or water cremation, is a low-carbon, less energy-intensive process that could replace both.

By Robin Fearon

Aquamation, also called resomation or bio-cremation, uses 90 percent less energy than flame cremation. Our bodies are naturally made up of around 60 percent water, so the process uses a technique called alkaline hydrolysis, mixing heated water with potassium or sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) to dissolve body tissue, leaving only bones that are then turned into ash for relatives to keep.

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The most common funeral method in the US is traditional cremation, accounting for 58 percent of ceremonies in 2021, with 37 percent opting for burial. Trends show cremation became more popular partly because it is less expensive, but aquamation compares well. It costs roughly the same, though may be more expensive as funeral directors must invest in new technology.

But where aquamation stands out is in its environmental impact. Each year the US uses an estimated 800,000 gallons of carcinogenic formaldehyde-based embalming fluid, two billion tons of concrete used in grave liners or vaults, 115 million tons of steel, and wood equivalent to more than four million single-family homes from caskets. Cremation meanwhile results in millions of tons of carbon dioxide emissions globally each year, as well as toxic mercury released from dental fillings.

Burial plots for people and crematory remain also require a lot of land and maintenance effort. There are 145,000 cemeteries in the US, even in places with no living population, and the question of using land for more productive purposes is valid.

The death of renowned anti-apartheid and human rights activist Desmond Tutu has kickstarted interest in aquamation as a green alternative, after it emerged he requested the method for his own funeral held in January 2022. But the process itself has been around since the late nineteenth century, developed by farmer Amos Hanson to make fertilizer from animal carcasses.

The first commercial system was only installed in Albany Medical College in 1993 to dispose of human cadavers. Universities and hospitals then adopted aquamation into their body donation programs, before it crossed over into the US funeral industry in 2011.

The National Funeral Directors Association said 60 percent of people asked about green funeral options for reasons including their environmental benefits and reduced costs. Aquamation fits that brief.

More creative alternatives include converting a loved one’s ashes into a vinyl record, or a pencil, or compressing them into a diamond. But the eco-dream could be to grow into a tree or combine ash remains into a reef ball that is then sunk to the ocean bed so a new coral reef can flourish.

Complete Article ↪HERE↩!

September 18, 2022September 18, 2022

How to pre-plan your funeral and have the ideal final goodbye

Celebrate your death the way you want to.

How to turn your funeral into a celebration.

By Jaymie Hooper

It might be a topic you’d rather avoid but, as a growing number of Australians are discovering, organising your last goodbye can be an empowering experience. Not only can you ensure your funeral is a true celebration of your life, but you can also help to ease the grieving process for the ones you leave behind. Here’s how to make your final farewell one to remember.

When Ves Pineda attended the funeral of her friend earlier this year, she expected it to be a sombre occasion. To her surprise, and despite the gravity of her grief, Pineda found herself laughing and drinking with her pals during the wake, as they reminisced about all of the adventures they had shared with their late friend.

Instead of wallowing in an atmosphere of pervasive sadness, Pineda felt joy. She decided, then and there, that when she passes, she would like her loved ones to feel the same.

“I thought to myself, this is how I want to be remembered,” Pineda, who lives in Sydney, tells Body+Soul. “Of course, when you lose someone it’s sad, but I want my funeral to celebrate who I was, and I’m not a sad person.”

To ensure her final goodbye will be one that she would have wanted, Pineda, 62, quickly set about planning her own funeral. And while it may sound morbid, making such early arrangements is a trend that’s quickly picking up steam.

According to Carrie Siipola-Fortunaso, a pre-planning consultant for funeral service provider Guardian Plan, since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, “People have told me that planning their own funerals has become more important to them.”

As well as realising that they would rather spare their family the financial and emotional burden of planning a funeral, many people began to think about their own mortality and how they would like to be remembered, Siipola-Fortunaso says. “People started to move away from the thinking that funerals involve walking into a chapel, having a service and sharing stories about their loved ones,” she adds.“With a bit of planning, your funeral can be anything you want it to be.”

For Pineda, her funeral planning process began with a simple conversation. “I sat down with my husband and daughter and we talked about the things that I love, everything that makes me ‘me’ and how we could weave those into the service,”she explains. “The more I thought about it, the more it made sense to put down on paper the ways I want my friends and family to come together and remember me when the time comes.”

Planning your own funeral, while ensuring that you receive the send-off you’ve always wanted, can also alleviate some of the strain placed on your loved ones in the aftermath of your death. “It definitely takes the pressure off family and friends who often feel rushed to make important decisions while grieving,” Allison Barrett, owner of event-planning business My PerfectParty, tells Body+Soul.

By formalising your ideas now, you lower the risk of future confrontations arising between your loved ones after you’ve passed. “The more we know about each other’s wishes, the easier it can be to make decisions when we are freshly grieving,” clinical psychologist Jo Lamble tells Body+Soul.

But try to keep things flexible because being too rigid may also incite arguments. “Some negative emotions can arise when the person planning their own funeral makes decisions that will be difficult to carry out, such as forbidding certain people from attending,” Lamble explains. “Leave a little scope for others to celebrate your life in their own way – it makes it easier for those left behind to grieve.”

So, do you need to wait until you’re dying to begin planning your funeral? Absolutely not, assures Barrett, who has told her own family that she would like guests to nibble on party pies and dance to ABBA’s ‘Dancing Queen’ at what she calls her “party wake”.

“Unfortunately, many people don’t plan anything, but many funeral homes would like you to plan in advance,” she advises.“You don’t need to pre-pay, but you can pre-plan and leave your funeral plan with a preferred funeral home.”

Siipola-Fortunaso agrees, adding that if you do decide to pre-pay now, it can help you lock in a price without having to worry about inflation. While it may not be something you ever wanted to do, planning your own farewell can ultimately prove to be an act of empowerment that allows both you and your loved ones to feel a sense of peace around your eventual passing.

“As the saying goes, we can be hit by the proverbial bus at any time, so it’s worth having some general chats about what you’d like at your funeral, whenever that may be,” Lamble adds.

For Pineda, the fact that there is now a degree of certainty around her final goodbye has given her immense relief. “It brings me a lot of comfort to think that when I leave this Earth, the people I love most will be together,” she says, “hopefully sitting in the sunshine on a clear morning, drinking rosé and listening to mellow ’80s hits – the stuff I used to dance to in my 20s.”

3 ways to turn your service into a celebration

Allison Barrett, owner of My Perfect Party event-planning business, shares her advice for arranging a funeral your guests can smile about.

1. Stick to what you know

Serve your favourite food and drinks, ask guests to wear your favourite colours (or bright colours), and play the music you love most. You might consider live music, or asking a family member to sing (if they can).

2. Bring the laughs

Ask family members and friends to make short speeches and let them tell funny stories about you.

3. Make it personal

Put together a photo presentation of your life and choose your favourite songs to accompany it – this has been done for years and is still really popular. And there are now coffins that can be personalised with your favourite footy team colours, or with notes from funeral guests.

How to start preparing for your final goodbye

Carrie Siipola-Fortunaso, pre-planning consultant for Guardian Plan funerals, says there are two key things you need to know.

1. What you want

First, think about the most basic question – do you want to be cremated or buried? Then start thinking about what your final party will look like. When helping someone plan their funeral, I try to find out how they grew up, what their hobbies are and what they enjoy in life. I use this to come up with a funeral plan that is reflective of who they are.

2. The admin

A copy of your funeral plan contract should be provided to your next of kin and the executor of your will. You can also provide a copy to your solicitor and other family members so that all are aware of your wishes. I suggest my clients email a copy of their plan to their family for easy access.

You should also print out a hardcopy to be retained with all estate-planning documents. It is a good idea to include it in your will – although we often find that the will is not read until after the funeral has taken place.

Complete Article ↪HERE↩!

September 17, 2022September 17, 2022

The funeral industry turns people into toxic waste.

— California needs green burial options

By Amelia Gallegos

For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by death. As a child, it inspired my curiosity about the life cycle. As an adult, it inspired my career. As a funeral director who specializes in environmentally-friendly funeral services, I meet many Californians who reach out wanting to find the most sustainable deathcare option.

That Californians would want sustainable alternatives to traditional burial and cremation makes sense. California has long been a leader when it comes to environmental protections. But there’s no reason those protections can’t extend through a person’s entire life cycle.

Traditional burial and cremation practices are disastrous for the environment. Traditional burial puts over 800,000 gallons of formaldehyde (a known carcinogen), 104,000 tons of steel, 1.6 million tons of reinforced concrete, and 30 million board feet of hardwood in the ground across the United States every year. For perspective, that is more steel than was used in the construction of the Golden Gate bridge. Every year.

Cremation presents its own issues. The average cremation emits an estimated 534.6 pounds of CO2. With 300,000 people dying in California in 2020, and 65% of Californians choosing to be cremated, our state released well over 100 million pounds of CO2 in cremations that year alone. During the pandemic, air quality standards in Los Angeles had to be suspended to allow for the backlog of cremations.

Californians and the planet deserve better.

“Human composting,” or natural organic reduction (NOR) is a regenerative, sustainable alternative to traditional burial or cremation that gently transforms the body into a cubic-yard of nutrient rich soil. In NOR, a body is placed in a steel vessel on a bed of wood chips and other biodegradable materials that allow it to naturally decompose. Once the decomposition process has fully converted the remains into soil—a process that typically takes around 30 days—the soil is then returned to the family. From there, families can decide to scatter or plant with the soil or to donate it to be used for land conservation and restoration.

Ranging in cost from $5,500 to $7,000, NOR is cheaper than traditional burial in California—which costs on average $7,225—and is comparable in cost to cremation in the state—which has an average price tag of $6,028. But unlike traditional burial and cremation, NOR actually supports the environment.

In 2019, Washington became the first state to legalize NOR, followed by Colorado, Oregon and Vermont. Environmentally conscious Californians I meet that are planning to have their body transported out of state in order to access NOR tell me they’re doing so because they want their last act to mirror how they lived their lives. They want their passing to have a positive environmental impact.

Fortunately, Californians seeking NOR may soon no longer have to travel out of state. Earlier this year, Assemblymembers Cristina Garcia and Robert Rivas introduced AB 351. The bill, which passed in the state legislature with strong bipartisan support, would legalize NOR in California—making ours the fifth state in the nation to approve soil transformation deathcare. The bill is currently awaiting approval from Governor Newsom.

True, Californians already have some green alternatives to traditional burial and cremation. Green burials, in which a body is buried in a shroud and water cremation, first legalized in 2017, are both options. But having some eco-friendlier alternatives doesn’t preclude the state from providing its residents with another—especially when that option offers significant savings in carbon emissions, water, and land usage.

Nothing is more clear and natural in death than returning to the earth itself. By signing AB 351 into law, the governor can ensure that every Californian has the option to choose the most sustainable option in deathcare.

Complete Article ↪HERE↩!