Documentary about local woman’s fight for a dignified death airs tonight

KELOWNA – A documentary about a West Kelowna grandmother’s fight for physician-assisted suicide will air tonight on The Knowledge Network.

Gloria & Me was produced by local filmmakers David McIlvride and Alison Love. It is about Gloria Taylor, who suffers from ALS—also known as Lou Gehrig's disease—and became a crusader in the fight for a dignified death.

“(Gloria) was terrified that she would become trapped in her body as her ALS progressed,” writes McIlvride. “She was incensed that other Canadians with serious illnesses were facing the same cruel predicament. She spent the last days of her life tirelessly advocating to change the law.”

Diagnosed with Lou Gherig’s disease in 2009, Gloria Taylor is the only person ever to be granted the right to a doctor assisted suicide by the Supreme Court of B.C. She passed away on October 4, 2012.

“(The documentary) captures the spirit of a small town girl who changed Canadian law and puts the issue of death with dignity in the forefront of our collective conscience,” McIlvrade says.

Gloria & Me airs tonight at 9 p.m. on The Knowledge Network.

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To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.