Anna Sophina Hall (August 7, 1857 – December 17, 1924) was a leading figure in the movement to legalize

euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

in the United States during the first decade of the 20th century.

Early life

Anna Sophina Hall was born to

Charles Francis Hall Charles Francis Hall ( – November 8, 1871) was an American Arctic explorer, best known for his collection of Inuit testimony regarding the 1845 Franklin Expedition and the suspicious circumstances surrounding his death while leading t ...

, a noted Arctic explorer.

Activism

Her letter-writing campaign attracted such prominent women as ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' columnist Lurana Shelton and co-founder of

Volunteers of America Volunteers of America (VOA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1896 that provides affordable housing and other assistance services primarily to low-income people throughout the United States. Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, the organiz ...

and former

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

officer Maud Ballington Booth to the euthanasia cause. As a result of her efforts, the

Ohio state legislature The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. ...

came within 54 votes of legalizing the practice in 1906.

Death

Hall died on December 17, 1924 in Cincinnati. She was cremated at the Cincinnati Crematory.

References

Sources

* * * 1857 births 1924 deaths American suffragists American women activists Assisted suicide in the United States Euthanasia activists People from Cincinnati {{US-activist-stub