Media Advisory

Contact: Greg Eddleston – geddleston@dwd.org / (503) 228.6079

Portland, OR – Tomorrow, October 24^th, the Oregon Death with Dignity Center (ODWD) will host a lunch seminar (12 NOON – 1:15 PM) as part of an all-day academic conference commemorating the Death with Dignity law’s 5^th anniversary. The seminar will examine 5 years of accomplishments as well as 10 years of ODWD’s political work.

The daylong conference, hosted by the Death with Dignity National Center, will be held at the Governor Hotel’s 2^nd floor Library Room, 611 SW 10^th Avenue, Downtown Portland.

Eli D. Stutsman, the Portland attorney who took a lead role in drafting the Death with Dignity initiative in 1994, and the strategist behind the 1994 and 1997 campaigns, will present an historical overview of the law’s political and social history. Mr. Stutsman, President of the Oregon Death with Dignity Board of Directors, continues to defend the law in federal court.

Oregon Death with Dignity invites media to attend this event as our guest. Please RSVP: (503) 228.6079.

Improvements in End-of-Life Care Report

Additionally, in honor of the law’s 5^th anniversary, we have published a newly expanded edition of Improvements in End-of-Life Care, our annual signature report. This edition vividly presents five years of national and local innovations, developments and genuine reforms that have occurred in end-of-life care in Oregon and across the nation.

Highlights from this special edition include:

· An historical narrative of the challenges to the Death with Dignity law – including the most recent developments in the Oregon v. Ashcroft case (pgs. 13-19);

· A January 2002 Harris Poll demonstrating widespread support for Oregon’s initiative (pg. 20);

· The changing face of pain care (pg. 34); and

· The Death with Dignity campaign in Hawaii (pg. 47).

Copies of the Improvements report were mailed this week to local and national media. If you do not receive a copy in the coming days, please contact ODWD or download a copy from our website: www.dwd.org.

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