There’s huge news today in our mission to give people more options about how to live their final days. And we urgently need your help.
When we visited with District of Columbia Councilmember Mary Cheh earlier this year, there was a thick binder on her desk labeled, “Death with Dignity 2011.” We knew we had found the strong ally we needed—one who had been thinking about this issue for years.
Today, just a week after we went to the Washington Post to make our case, the paper’s influential editorial board strongly endorsed Councilmember Cheh’s bill, the District of Columbia Death with Dignity Act of 2015. You can read the endorsement in the editorial, “A humane way to end life,”
The bill will give terminally ill DC residents with less than six months to live the option to end their lives at a time and place of their own choosing. It’s written carefully and narrowly, with plenty of safeguards. In fact, it’s modeled on the Oregon law that has worked flawlessly since going into effect in 1997.
Here’s why we need your help today.
The bill is on the fast track. A hearing has already been scheduled for July 10.
If the bill is going to pass, the DC City Council needs to hear why you support Death with Dignity. Personal stories—from terminally ill patients, their family members, physicians and others—have been indispensable in passing Death with Dignity laws in other states.
You’ve been a steadfast supporter. Would you please tell us why by sharing your story?
If you know anyone— a friend, a relative—with a story of their own, please forward this request to them. Every story will make a real difference. We need all the stories we can get. And we’re counting on you.
In the coming weeks, we’ll bring you updates on the status of the bill and the stories we’re hearing from people who want the freedom to live their final days in peace and comfort, with their family and loved ones around them.
It’s time for DC to take its place as the fourth jurisdiction to let its qualified residents choose Death with Dignity. We’re working day and night to make it possible.
I firmly believe we can pass this law—with your continued support and commitment.
Let’s make this happen together.
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