We cannot do our work alone—there is strength in numbers! You’re joining a growing movement that works to ensure terminally ill Americans have the freedom to choose from a full range of end-of-life options, including how they die.
After helping to secure the passage of physician-assisted dying laws in California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington, we continue to work tirelessly in the rest of the country.
We have our work cut out for us: Forty-one states still lack a statute outlining the procedure (and safeguards) for obtaining medication to hasten an inevitable death. We’re leading the charge alongside our local partners in Massachusetts, Maryland, Nevada, New York, and elsewhere, and we won’t stop until every state has a death with dignity statute—with your help we’ll win.
Seventy percent of Americans support the end-of-life option allowing qualified terminally-ill people to end their lives through physician-prescribed medications. That’s right: seven in ten Americans want this option. We are glad to count you as one of them.
There is so much you can do to help. Some of the activities include:
Stay Informed
Join our mailing list to receive updates and action alerts straight into your inbox.
Sharpen Your Advocacy
You can best advocate for death with dignity if you are well informed about it. These are some of the ways to educate yourself:
- Join our mailing list to hear about the latest developments in our movement.
- Access the latest information about legislation in your state here.
- Visit our Action Center to learn more about what you can do to advocate.
- Enroll in our Dignity50 Roadmap Series to learn three essential things every advocate should know to be as informed and effective as possible.
- Read the article series “Advocating for Death with Dignity” to learn how to start a grassroots effort in your community.
- Visit our State Statute Navigator where you can not only research every currently enacted law, but also download a complete manual of the laws and our model language recommendation for new bills. Easily access state data reports using our State Report Navigator.
Join Us on Social Media
Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to keep up to date on what’s happening in the death with dignity movement and share our updates with your networks.
Raise Money for Death with Dignity on Facebook
Facebook’s Fundraisers feature allows users to raise money for causes they care about. A lot of people create a Facebook Fundraiser asking people to donate instead of giving them gifts.
Setting up a Facebook Fundraiser only takes a minute. Simply press the button below to get to Facebook. Once there, press the “Raise Money” and “Get Started” buttons, select Death with Dignity National Center from the list of nonprofits, and then choose from the available options. It’s that simple.
Start a Facebook Fundraiser now to raise funds for Death with Dignity today:
| Create a Facebook Fundraiser » |
Share Your Story
We feature many stories to support our campaign. We want to hear from you. Why do you support death with dignity? What does death with dignity mean to you? Please share your story with us.
Contact Your State Legislators
Find your state legislator (Senator or Representative or both) and contact them to share your views about death with dignity. There are several ways to go about contacting your state legislator:
- Send them a letter or email outlining why you support medical aid in dying and why you want them to advocate for it as well.
- Call your legislator’s office to request a meeting, at their office or over coffee somewhere in your district, to discuss the issue.
- Find a town hall meeting or other event where your legislators are present and approach them in an appropriate way, e.g. ask a question or simply tell them your name, that you are from their district, and that you support death with dignity as an end-of-life option.
Write a Letter to the Editor or an Op-Ed
Your local newspaper likely accepts and publishes reader letters and opinion columns. Communicate to the editor of your favorite local (or even national) newspaper in support of physician aid in dying.
Learn more about writing a letter to the editor →
Learn more about writing an Op-Ed →
Submit Testimony and/or Attend a Hearing
Testifying at a public hearing is one of the most effective ways to engage with an important legislative action in your state. Submitting testimony is a path to engaging our lawmakers who depend on your to weigh in on their policy decision making.
Learn more about writing and submitting testimony →
Hold a Discussion in Your Faith or Civic Group
While churches have often positioned themselves as opponents of medical aid in dying, there is common ground between the movement and denominations with a focus on human rights and social justice. Personal stories can also make the difference and bring large issues down to a human face.
Organize a Film Screening
Films engage our minds and emotions and invite us to participate in a story in ways that spoken or written word cannot. Documentaries in particular have the power to change the world, one viewer at a time, by telling stories about larger issues. In this way, films can act as catalyst for change.
Use our Film Screening resource, complete with recommended films, for planning a screening. Consider using an online platform to have a virtual screening!
Become a Leader in Your Community
If you are committed to leading an effort in your community to promote end-of-life policy reform and, ultimately, to enact a death with dignity law in your state, consider joining our Dignity50 State Leadership Incubator.
The Dignity50 State Leadership Incubator program is open to dedicated advocates in every state, but particularly in those that lack an assisted dying statute, with the aim to provide information, resources, and expertise to help grow local organizations which can participate in effective campaigns and lead statewide advocacy efforts.
Learn more about Dignity50’s State Leadership Incubator →
Support Our Work
Your contributions are key to ensuring well-crafted death with dignity laws for all Americans. There are many avenues for supporting our work financially.