Compassion and Choices

Florence Henderson, perhaps best known as America’s favorite TV mom for her role as Carol Brady on the ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch (1969 – 1974), served as mistress of ceremonies for Compassion & Choices Empowerment Luncheon at the Westin St. Francis Hotel on May 9, 2013.  Speakers at the sold-out event included Dr. Robert Brody, former chair of the Ethics Committee at San Francisco General Hospital, and Dr. Dean Edell, award-winning broadcast journalist and founder of HealthCentral.com. The topic: protecting the right to a dignified, humane and peaceful death for the terminally ill.

Compassion & Choices is dedicated to educating the public about end-of-life options, working to legalize aid-in-dying in California, and to support the right of terminally ill, mentally competent adults to have a humane, peaceful death. Compassion & Choices provides free end-of-life consultation programs to terminally ill individuals and their loved ones.

Scenes from the Empowerment Luncheon in San Francisco:

Dede Wilsey with Merla Zellerbach, event co-chair and member of Compassion & Choices Leadership Council

Compassion & Choices Councilmember Robert Brody, M.D. with Florence Henderson, mistress of ceremonies for Compassion & Choices Empowerment Luncheon

Compassion & Choices Empowerment Luncheon Co-Chairs Mary Poland and Carol Doll

Dr. Dean Edell with Compassion & Choices National President Barbara Coombs Lee

Lucie Weissman, Cindy Morris and Bobbie Baron at Compassion & Choices Empowerment event

Nancy Bechtle, Tom Horn and Ellen Newman

Sally Debenham with Compassion & Choices Advisory Boardmember Bishop William Swing

Mai Shiver and Dianne Taube at the Compassion & Choices Empowerment Luncheon

Annie Robinson Woods, Mary Robinson

Photos by Drew Altizer Photography

— Related: more Red Carpet Bay Area coverage of Compassion and Choices events in San Francisco

• Compassion and Choices in San Francisco (2015)
• Luncheon with Ann Getty (2014)
• Compassion and Choices Empowerment Luncheon (2013)