A gripping investigative documentary, “Life After,” coalesces the missing voices of the disability community in the contemporary debate around assisted dying.
Independent Lens “Life After” airs Monday, November 3 at 10 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streaming live on the WXXI app.
This Independent Lens film, presented as part of WXXI’s Move to IncludeTM initiative, premieres Monday, November 3, 2025 at 10 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streams on the WXXI app and PBS app, is an essential and thought-provoking film that uncovers abuses of power while amplifying the voices of the disability community fighting for justice and dignity in an unfolding matter of life and death.
Award-winning disabled filmmaker Reid Davenport (“I Didn’t See You There”) trenchantly probes the legacy of Elizabeth Bouvia—a disabled California woman who, at the age of 26, sought “the right to die.” Her 1983 case provoked a national debate about the value of disabled lives, and Davenport sees echoes in chilling contemporary cases of disabled people dying prematurely—at their own hands and from a broken health care system. Through moving and modern interviews and rich archival material, “Life After” looks critically at where progressive values of bodily autonomy collide with the devaluing and fear of disabled lives. “Reid challenges our assumptions about disability.
Disabled people continue to face premature death—whether through the case of Michael Hickson, who was left to die by a Texas hospital, or the choice of Jerika Bolen, a Wisconsin teen who received support from her community to end her life.
Davenport’s exploration takes him to Canada, where regulations surrounding medical aid in dying (MAID) have been expanded to allow disabled individuals unprecedented access—even when their deaths are not reasonably foreseeable. In Ontario, Canada, Davenport meets Michal Kaliszan, a disabled computer programmer who once considered MAID as his only option to avoid entering an institution. In a society where ableism and inadequate healthcare often limit true choices, “Life After” exposes the tangled web of moral dilemmas and profit motives surrounding assisted dying. The film challenges the notion that assisted dying always represents a free choice, revealing how it can sometimes be perceived as the only option.
Photo: Jeffrey McElfresh rides through the industrial area along the Ohio River
Credit: Provided by APT