Lisa Rinna Reveals Her Dad Died by Assisted Suicide in 2016
Lisa Rinna is opening up about the death of her father.
The 61-year-old Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum’s dad Frank Rinna died at the age of 64 in 2016.
During the Friday (March 28) episode of her and husband Harry Hamlin‘s Let’s Not Talk About the Husband podcast, Lisa revealed that her father died by assisted suicide.
Keep reading to find out more…“In Oregon, you’re permitted to check out when you want to check out,” Harry, 73, explained. “He was 94, and his quality of life had diminished to the point where he wanted to, you know, transition. You can do that in Oregon if you follow the right guidelines and the protocols and talk to the right number of doctors.”
Back in 1997, Oregon passed the Death With Dignity Act, which allows terminally ill patients to end their lives with the self administration of lethal medications that are prescribed by doctors.
“You have to have two doctors that sign off on your terminal illness, so to speak,” Lisa said, as Harry confirmed that Frank went through the proper channels.
Lisa went on to recall the details of her father’s final day, calling it a “trippy” experience.
“I didn’t feel like I was in my body,” she said, noting that it was “a hospice situation” with a death duola and her half-sister.
“The person that’s dying has to be able to pick up the juice, or whatever, to drink it themselves,” Lisa explained. “You can’t administer it to somebody.”
Harry added, “They’ve got to be able to do it themselves. It has to be a willful act on their part.”
Lisa recalled that the pills were supposed to come in on a Tuesday, but they didn’t show up until Thursday, which made her father “so mad.”
“When they set their mind to this, they’re ready,” she explained. “He was in pain and he was really unhappy.”
Lisa called it a “surreal position” to be in as a daughter, adding, “You want to support what they want to do, but you’re going to watch your parent kill themselves. That’s what we’re doing. But he wanted it so badly.”
After her father drank the medication, it took 45 minutes for him to pass away.
“They just go to sleep, by the way. It’s not anything gruesome,” Lisa explained. “It was very peaceful. It was a very humane way to go. In that aspect, it didn’t feel awful, but it felt awful.”
In an interview from last year, Lisa addressed the possibility of returning to RHOBH.