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Queer Rights Lawyer Barbara Findlay Dies at 77

8/26/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Lawyer Barbara Findlay died by medical assistance in dying at age 77 on August 24, 2026.
She was involuntarily committed to a psychiatric facility in the early 1970s because she was queer.
She earned top legal honors, becoming Queen’s Counsel in 2001 and receiving the Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013.
She co-founded Lawyers Against Transphobia and fought for lesbian co-parent birth certificates and transgender youth school accommodation.

History

Historical Context

After the 1969 Stonewall riots sparked gay-rights protests at APA conventions in 1970 and 1972, the board of the American Psychiatric Association voted 13-0 in December 1973 to delete homosexuality from DSM-II; a 1974 member vote upheld the change with 58 % support. The compromise diagnosis persisted until 1987, paving the way for today’s full declassification.

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Story summary

Lawyer Barbara Findlay died by medical assistance in dying at age 77 on August 24, 2026.
She was involuntarily committed to a psychiatric facility in the early 1970s because she was queer.
She earned top legal honors, becoming Queen’s Counsel in 2001 and receiving the Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013.
She co-founded Lawyers Against Transphobia and fought for lesbian co-parent birth certificates and transgender youth school accommodation.

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