The original Hemlock was founded in 1980 by Derek Humphry in his garage in Santa Monica, California, when he received a huge response to his memoir Jean's Way, his account of helping his reportedly terminally ill wife take her own life in 1975.
Society of Jesus | Royal Society | National Geographic Society | American Cancer Society | Royal Television Society | American Physical Society | American Chemical Society | International Society for Krishna Consciousness | American Society of Civil Engineers | Royal Society of Canada | Royal Geographical Society | American Philosophical Society | Theosophical Society | Royal Society of Edinburgh | Society of Antiquaries of London | Society of the Cincinnati | Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals | Justice Society of America | American Mathematical Society | Royal Aeronautical Society | National Honor Society | Black Label Society | Students for a Democratic Society | society | Royal Society of Arts | secret society | Royal Dublin Society | Royal Astronomical Society | London Missionary Society | Zoological Society of London |
In 1996, bishop Fabian Bruskewitz issued a statement forbidding Catholics in the diocese to join a number of organizations, including the Society of St. Pius X, Call to Action, Planned Parenthood, Catholics for a Free Choice, the Hemlock Society, and various Masonic groups, under pain of excommunication.