Rita Marker, the Great Anti-Assisted-Suicide Champion, Has Died at 83

This article was published by National Review online on November 1, 2024

Wesley Smith

By Wesley J Smith

The great anti-euthanasia warrior, Rita Marker, has died at 83 after a long illness.

Rita was in Europe in the mid 1980s and, out of curiosity, attended an international right-to-die convention. She was so alarmed by what she heard, she and her late husband and soulmate Mike Marker, formed the nonprofit International Anti-Euthanasia Task Force (later renamed the Patients Rights Council). Along with a loyal staff, Rita began decades of work pushing against that dark agenda.

Not every great public-policy activist becomes a household name. Rita wasn’t interested in notoriety or fame. Effectiveness was her lodestar, that and personal sacrifice. For as long as she was physically able, she gave all she had to the cause.

Rita Marker

Rita had stage fright, but she spoke countless times to venues large and small.

Rita was terrified of flying. But she traveled the country and the world, speaking against euthanasia and in favor of compassionate care.

Rita was a devout Catholic. But she insisted that the task force’s opposition to assisted suicide be focused through a human-rights and secular lens.

Rita did not have a professional degree — until she decided that she would be most effective by becoming a lawyer. She attended a mail-in law school while still working more than full time for the task force and passed the California bar exam — the nation’s toughest — on her first attempt.

Unlike organizations on the other side of this issue, anti-assisted-suicide work doesn’t have the backing of billionaires like George Soros. The task force mostly depended on smaller donations and grants, so the finances could sometimes be iffy. As a result, Rita was woefully underpaid, particularly given her indefatigable exertions, sometimes even skipping paychecks to ensure that the work continued.

Rita could have a brittle exterior, but underneath, her heart was ripe and tender. When Ann Humphry — co-founder of the Hemlock Society with her husband, Derek Humphry — contracted breast cancer, Derek separated from her. Then, her compatriots in the right-to-die movement shunned her. Ann reached out in despair to the old enemy, Rita Marker. Rita spread her arms and welcomed Ann as a close friend.

After Ann killed herself, Rita authored a moving book about their relationship. Deadly Compassion: The Death of Ann Humphry and the Truth About Euthanasia remains a classic in the genre.

Ann came to see the wrongness of the assisted-suicide movement she had helped spawn, and in a final note to Rita before her death, she urged, “Do the best you can.”

Rita always did. I am convinced that in her time, Rita was the most effective anti-assisted-suicide/euthanasia champion in the world.

Rita’s life was full. She is survived by seven children, 29 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren.

So, rest in peace, Rita. You fought the good fight. You finished the race. You kept the faith. You served your purpose. The world is better for your having been in it.