from our blog: living with dying |
The Next Steps to the Next State
We have been exceedingly busy this winter and spring, analyzing statistics and data to help us understand the most likely state for a successful 2010 or 2012 ballot initiative. This is tedious, internal work which is neither glamorous nor provocative. However, it is the most important work in the Death with Dignity movement right now.
In the spring of 2005 this is exactly the kind of work we were doing—examining data, statistics, and polling numbers to understand the most viable state for a ballot initiative. Other organizations in the Death with Dignity movement, told us NOT to go ahead in Washington. We met with Washington state legislators, and they said that a ballot initiative would not be successful in their state.
But these groups did not have any data to counter our careful analysis. They were operating on emotion. In April, 2005, our board voted to go forward in Washington to place a Death with Dignity initiative on the Washington ballot in 2008, and not long after this vote, we began working with former Washington Governor Booth Gardner.
When no other organization would step up to the plate, we donated the $315,000 in seed money necessary to initiate the Washington Death with Dignity Campaign. The rest, as they say, is history.
Our analysis stood the test of emotion and time, as the voters of Washington overwhelmingly enacted a Death with Dignity law in their state, 58%-42%.
One of the reasons this analysis is critical is that the resources our movement has available is limited. The Washington campaign cost nearly $2.8M in the last 2 months alone, and at the Death with Dignity National Center we are not willing to move forward in a state without quantifiable information that shows we can be successful.
Our current analysis is the same type of work we did in 2005. We are looking at demographics, cost of paid media/television advertising, and results from polling. For example, we know that the same $2.8M campaign in the state of Washington would have cost $3.5M in Arizona, $3.4M in Colorado, $4.6M in Massachusetts and less than $2.0M in Maine, Nevada, and Wyoming.
We have identified a “short list” of possible next states: Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Wyoming. Vermont and Hawaii are possibilities because of the successes in their state legislatures, but neither Vermont nor Hawaii has the initiative process.
Our next step is to conduct polling in two or three of these states to determine where public opinion for our issue is strongest. Polling will be completed this summer. Look for an announcement from us by August!
Defend dignity. Take action.
You are the key to ensuring well-crafted Death with Dignity laws for all Americans. With your financial and volunteer help, the Death with Dignity National Center, a 501(c)(3), non-partisan, non-profit organization, has been the leading advocate in the death with dignity movement. Member contributions helped us pass a new Death with Dignity law in Washington, defend the Oregon law, and provide education and outreach programs for the vitality of the death with dignity movement.
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About Death with Dignity
The greatest human freedom is to live, and die, according to one's own desires and beliefs. From advance directives to physician-assisted dying, death with dignity is a movement to provide options for the dying to control their own end-of-life care.
Death with Dignity National Center is the leader in this movement, successfully establishing, advancing and defending the landmark Oregon and Washington Death with Dignity Acts.
Political Action Fund
The Death with Dignity National Center partners with the Oregon Death with Dignity Political Action Fund to conduct lobbying and political activities in order to achieve the enactment of Death with Dignity laws in other states.
Learn more about the Oregon Death with Dignity Political Action Fund.
Patients & Families
The Death with Dignity National Center was formed out of a profound commitment to the idea that personal end-of-life decisions should be made solely between a patient and a physician. We are pleased to provide you with support and information as you face the difficult challenges ahead.
Research Center
We have compiled a comprehensive collection of legal briefs, journal articles, and newspaper clippings. We invite you to explore the wide array of information we have collected throughout our history.
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