In 20 years of advocating for Death with Dignity laws, we've never seen anything like this in our movement: opponents taking money from a hate group in an attempt to stop Death with Dignity policy reform. Traditionally, our opponents receive money from Catholic institutions all over the country to restrict policy reform, but in Massachusetts, everything is different about the opponent's fundraising.

"We need a cultural shift. Oregon is just a start."

I heard this from a person I chat with periodically on Twitter. It's true, Oregon is just the start.

Oregon's law's been tested at every level:

Bill Nerin was a Catholic Priest for 24 years and a Family Therapist and is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Oklahoma in the Human Relations Department. As a Washington resident, he volunteered to help put the state's Death with Dignity Act on the ballot which the voters approved in 2008.

In his book published last year, A Couple Faces Death: My Life After Anne, Bill shares how, together, they faced Anne's certain death due to melanoma, and his life since her death. Below, you'll find sections from the chapter "What To Do About Death."

Journal April 10, 2006—about six months after Anne's death.
We all thank God when a child is born, or when we recover from an illness based on the assumption that God has something to do with birth and recovery. But we don't seem to thank God for death even though it is assumed that God has something to do with that too.