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Death with Dignity National Center (DDNC) is a 501(c)3, non-partisan, non-profit organization that has led the legal defense and education of the Oregon Death with Dignity Law for more than 11 years. DDNC's Oregon Death with Dignity Political Action Fund is a distinct and separate 501(c)4 entity responsible for the political defense of the Oregon law and the promotion of death with dignity initiatives in other states. DDNC board of directors is comprised of some of the death with dignity movement's most esteemed medical, legal and scholarly experts.
DDNC Defends Dignity
We achieve this through our extensive and costly legal defense of the Oregon law, as well as political lobbying and coalition building. Our non-profit and political-action arms provide the flexibility to rapidly respond to both legal and political challenges.
DDNC Mobilizes Dignity
We achieve this through various education and outreach programs. The Next Generation program is building a national network of physicians and medical students in order to close the end-of-life education gap through education forums, research and a quarterly e-newsletter. The Oregon+One program identifies and supports states actively seeking to pass death with dignity laws similar to Oregon's. DDNC's Web site is a trusted resource for legal, medical and scholarly research and receives more than 5,000 visits each day. Our Dignity Report donor newsletter provides more than 10,000 quarterly readers with substantive articles, updates and interviews.
DDNC Preserves Dignity
We achieve this by developing and nurturing diverse financial resources with one goal in mind: ensure DDNC's financial vitality and its position as the leader of the death with dignity movement. During the 2008-2009 fiscal year, more than 85% of donor contributions were invested in DDNC programs. This figure is derived from audited financial statements.
The mission of the Death with Dignity National Center (DDNC) is to provide information, education, research and support for the preservation, implementation and promotion of Death with Dignity laws which allow a terminally ill, mentally competent adult the right to request and receive a prescription to hasten death under certain specific safeguards. We promote Death with Dignity laws based on our model legislation, the Oregon Death with Dignity Act, as a stimulus to nationwide improvements in end-of-life care and as an option for dying individuals. We accomplish our mission by working to defend and promote Death with Dignity laws in court and in the court of public opinion through our nonprofit Death with Dignity National Center [501(c)(3)], and by working directly with public policymakers through our affiliated Political Action Fund [501(c)(4)].
Click here to review our most current IRS 501(c)3 Tax Form 990.
Click here to review our most current IRS 501(c)4 Tax Form 990.
Click here to review our IRS Determination Letter.
Click here to view our 2009 Annual Report.
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For more than 14 years, the Death with Dignity National Center (DDNC), a 501(c)(3), non-partisan, non-profit organization, has been the leading advocate in the death with dignity movement. Leaders in our organization originally wrote and have continued advocating for the Oregon Death with Dignity Law. DDNC has met these challenges through extensive legal defense of the Oregon law, education and outreach programs, and by developing and nurturing diverse financial resources with one goal in mind: to ensure DDNC's financial vitality and its position as a leader in the death with dignity movement.
Your donation today will enable us to continue to advocate for the right of the terminally ill to die with dignity. Please click here to give a secure, online donation. Thank you.
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Political Action Fund
The Death with Dignity National Center partners with the Oregon Death with Dignity Political Action Fund (the Fund) to conduct lobbying and political activities in order to achieve the enactment of Death with Dignity laws in other states. The partnership resulted in tremendous success with the resounding win in the 2008 Washington Death with Dignity campaign.
Learn more about the Fund's efforts to bring dignity to people around the nation.
About Death with Dignity
The greatest human freedom is to live, and die, according to one's own desires and beliefs. The most common desire among those with a terminal illness is to die with some measure of dignity. 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 (DDNC) is the leader in this movement, successfully establishing, advancing and defending the landmark Oregon Death with Dignity Act -- a national catalyst for openly discussing and actively reforming end-of-life care for those who are terminally ill.
Learn more about the National Center and our family of organizations.
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. Based on this commitment, 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.
In our Research Center you will find frequently asked questions, the history of the death with dignity movement, state monitoring statistics, and a copy of this groundbreaking statute.
