Death with Dignity National Center
A US leader in end-of-life policy reform, working for laws modelled on Oregon's Death with Dignity Act.
United States
North America About the society.
Death with Dignity works to pass, defend and improve laws that let terminally ill people choose a peaceful death, modelled on Oregon's Death with Dignity Act, and to improve end-of-life care across the United States.
Its roots are in the campaign for the Oregon Act, which voters approved in 1994. Its lawyers defended the Act in the courts until it came into effect in 1997, and it has since supported the laws that followed in other states, beginning with Washington in 2008 and Vermont in 2013.
It works through two linked organisations: the National Center, a nonprofit that provides public education and information, and the Death with Dignity Political Fund, which drafts legislation and campaigns for it state by state. Its resources include guides in Spanish and Chinese.
What they do
- LegislationDrafting and campaigning for laws, state by state.
- Legal defenceDefending the laws once they are passed.
- Public educationPlain information on end-of-life options.
- StoriesSharing people's experiences of the law.
Where the law stands in United States.
Legal in 13 states and Washington D.C., and in Montana by court ruling.
- Status
- Legal (State Level)
- Member societies here
- 9
Other member societies in United States.
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A Better Exit
abetterexit.org -
Choice and Dignity Inc.
choiceanddignity.org -
Dying Right North Carolina
dyingrightnc.org -
End of Life Washington
endoflifewa.org -
Final Exit Network
finalexitnetwork.org -
Hemlock Society of San Diego
hemlocksocietysandiego.org -
Maine Death with Dignity
mainedeathwithdignity.org -
The Completed Life Initiative
completedlife.org