Death with Dignity Bill Introduced in Vermont Senate
by Peg Sandeen, Executive Director
Senators White and Snelling introduced the Death with Dignity bill in Vermont's state Senate. This bill mirrors the one introduced in the Vermont House of Representatives in February. Senators White and Snelling have been joined by nine of their colleagues as cosponsors—representing more than a third of the Senate.

The Senate bill signifies another step toward enacting a Death with Dignity law this legislative session.

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Lucidending Inspires New Interaction with Death
by Melissa Barber, Electronic Communications Specialist
Early in March a Reddit discussion thread was started titled "51 hours left to live". After only three days, the discussion included nearly 10,000 comments from people all over the world expressing their overwhelming support for Lucidending through his final days. Many others have touched people far and wide by publishing online journals of their lives with the knowledge death is near, but this is the first in recent memory which has reached a broad audience in such a short period of time and spurred so many responses beyond sympathy.

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Washington 2010 Death with Dignity Report
by Peg Sandeen, Executive Director
Washington state's 2010 report of their data was consistent with what we'd expect based on Oregon's previous 13 years of data.

Washington's law continues to work the way it was intended. It lends peace of mind to terminally ill Washingtonians without any evidence of a slippery slope harming vulnerable individuals.

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Review: Never Say Die: The Myth and Marketing of the New Old Age by Susan Jacoby
by Betty Rolllin, Board Member
Susan Jacoby is a straight shooter, and a fine writer. And she's not interested in cheering anybody up. Her newest book, Never Say Die: The Myth and Marketing of the New Old Age, is about what happens to people as they become old—she likes to use the word, "old" as opposed to "elderly", "senior", and the many other gentle words used to describe that final part of life that can be grimmer than we have been led to believe. That is especially true, she says, for that fastest-growing members of the old age group who are over 85.

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In This Issue:

• Death with Dignity Bill Introduced in Vermont Senate
• Lucidending Inspires New Interaction with Death
• Washington 2010 Death with Dignity Report
• Book Review: Never Say Die

Thank you, Donors!
We'd like to take a moment to thank all of our generous donors for helping us finish our 2010 fiscal year strong! It was quite a year with the introduction of Death with Dignity legislation in Vermont, the start of our new blog, Living with Dying, and all the other work that goes into advocating for Death with Dignity laws throughout the US.

All this was only possible through your individual donations. From all of us at the Death with Dignity National Center, thank you.

Vermont Endorsements
The press has been abuzz about Vermont's proposed bill and the support from such a diverse group further indicates Death with Dignity is a bipartisan issue.

The range of support from an editor's endorsement on a prominent conservative blog to one from the liberal end of the spectrum shows Death with Dignity is one issue on which both sides of the aisle agree.

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Forward to a Friend
Well crafted Death with Dignity laws work the way they're intended. You and I know that, but do your friends?

The best way for us to ensure Death with Dignity is an option for all Americans is to tell to more people our story. Will you help us connect with your friends?

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We'd love to hear from you:
520 SW 6th Avenue,
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Tel: 503-228-4415
Fax: 503-228-7454
info@deathwithdignity.org

Flickr photos: Vermont capital by spamboy, Lucidending Star headphonesonly
Contact the editor at mbarber@deathwithdignity.org