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Answering the Calls As a social worker at Death with Dignity National Center, I have the privilege of working with a team that answers calls and emails from people wanting to gather more information about death with dignity laws. We hear from folks with terminal illness across the United States, as well as internationally, looking … Continued

I’m writing to you this morning from Santa Fe, where I have come to celebrate my daughter, Brittany Maynard, on the sixth anniversary of her death. My husband and I just touched down after a sunrise hot air balloon flight: a tribute to a ride Brittany and I took when she was in middle school. Recreating moments like this … Continued

This week, we reflect on two significant anniversaries in the death with dignity movement. It has been four years since California’s End of Life Option Act took effect, and a year since Governor Janet Mills signed the Maine Death with Dignity Act into law. Both assisted dying statutes were results of multi-decade campaigns and personal stories. California End of … Continued

Every day, people contact us to share their personal experiences with death and dying. In recent weeks, a growing number of these stories and inquiries concern something new: the reality of supporting the dying and honoring the dead in the COVID-19 era. Strict quarantine orders and prohibitions on visitors at hospitals and nursing homes have left many feeling anxious … Continued

We first realized that COVID-19 might lead to an extended discussion of end-of-life care when our social worker, Elia, alerted us several weeks ago that her volume of calls was increasing steadily as the pandemic swept across the globe. Callers were raising new themes centered on the impact of COVID-19 on end-of-life care and advance directives. During this difficult … Continued

On February 6, Death with Dignity National Center Executive Director Peg Sandeen delivered the “State of the Death with Dignity Movement” address. Below is a video of the webcast as well as a written summary of her remarks. Three States in 15 Months We live in an unprecedented time for assisted dying. The death with … Continued

When I joined Death with Dignity National Center in 2005, Oregon was the only state with an assisted dying law. At that time, the state of Oregon’s statute and of the death with dignity movement overall, was precarious. Today, Oregon’s law is not just secure, it has paved the way for adoption of similar laws in eight … Continued

There are few souls in this world who, by their individual selfless acts, make a significant contribution to millions. A vibrant and courageous 29-year-old woman did exactly that during her life and her death, and in doing so changed the course of the death with dignity movement forever. Today we commemorate the life of Brittany Maynard, … Continued

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Oregon Death with Dignity Act, we are featuring interviews with those who in 1994 campaigned to pass the law. We recently sat down with Geoff Sugerman, who managed the Measure 16 campaign for the Oregon Right to Die Political Action Committee and continues to work as a political strategist with … Continued

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Oregon Death with Dignity Act, we are featuring stories of those who in 1994 played a key role in the efforts to pass Measure 16, the first-in-the-nation death with dignity law. Today we are featuring the story of the late Emerson Hoogstraat, who was one … Continued

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Oregon Death with Dignity Act, we are featuring materials from our archives that chronicle the 1994 campaign to pass the Oregon law, which appeared on the November 1994 Oregon statewide ballot as Measure 16. In 1994, the issue of death with dignity was far more taboo … Continued

This is the full text of a white paper we published in December 2018. * Death with dignity has improved end-of-life care nationwide. The passage of death with dignity laws, starting with the Oregon Death with Dignity Act in 1994, has had an impact that extends far beyond providing a heretofore unavailable end-of-life option. It … Continued