Erin Gilmer, Disability Rights Activist, Dies at 38 (TW: Death by suicide) [View all]

[WhiskeyGrinder]

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/17/health/erin-gilmer-dead.html

Erin Gilmer, a lawyer and disability rights activist who fought for medical privacy, lower drug prices and a more compassionate health care system as she confronted a cascade of illnesses that left her unable to work or even get out of bed for long stretches, died on July 7 in Centennial, Colo. She was 38.

Anne Marie Mercurio, a friend whom Ms. Gilmer had given power of attorney, said the cause was suicide.

First in Texas and later in Colorado, where she had her own law practice, Ms. Gilmer pushed for legislation that would make health care more responsive to patients’ needs, including a state law, passed in 2019, that allows pharmacists in Colorado to provide certain medications without a current prescription if a patient’s doctor cannot be reached.

She was a frequent consultant to hospitals, universities and pharmaceutical companies, bringing an extensive knowledge of health care policy and even more extensive firsthand experience as a patient.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK). You can find a list of additional resources at SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.

The obit doesn't really go into how she died of suicide because of the terrible way we treat chronic pain, which is rooted in the War on Drugs.