Death With Dignity Resources
Washington State Resources
ACLU of Washington, health care page
Here is a good resource for those concerned about health care choices in facilities where there are religious restrictions.
Alzheimer’s Association – Western & Central Washington State Chapter
Resources for individuals and families dealing with Alzheimer’s Disease
Disability Rights Washington
Advocacy for disabled individuals
Department of Health
Hospital Policies
Legal Voice
Handbook of legal resources for Washington seniors
LifeCenter Northwest
A non-profit organization dedicated to saving lives through organ and tissue donation. They serve Alaska, Montana, North Idaho and Washington.
People’s Memorial Association
A Washington State nonprofit that promotes consumer choice for end-of-life arrangements
Phyllis Shacter
Phyllis Shacter is a VSED advocate from Washington state.
Sound Generations
Sound Generations is a comprehensive non-profit organization that serves older adults and adults with disabilities in King County.
Speaking of Dying
Counseling and compassionate support for individuals and/or families dealing with end-of-life issues, grief & loss, life-limiting illness, transitions, etc.
Washington State Hospice & Palliative Care Organization
Resources for excellent hospice and palliative care in Washington
National Resources
American Association of Suicidology – Statement that “Suicide” is not the same as “Physician Aid in Dying”
Compassion & Choices
Providing end-of-life resources for all Americans
Death with Dignity National Center
Provides a massive amount of resources about “death with dignity” laws for patients, families, activists and advocates, and health care professionals. The mission of this nonprofit organization is to promote those laws based on model legislation, the Oregon Death with Dignity Act.
Family Caregiver AllianceTheir mission is to improve the quality of life for caregivers and those they care for through information, services, and advocacy.
MergerWatch
Protecting patients’ rights when secular hospitals merge with religious affiliated hospitals.
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
Providing information on hospice and palliative care throughout the country
Recommended Viewing
End of Life Washington
Volunteers and family members tell their stories of receiving support from End of Life Washington. (8 minutes)
Dying Wish
Documentary about hospice patient, Dr. Michael Miller, an eighty-year old, retired surgeon with end-stage cancer who chooses to stop eating and drinking in order not to prolong his dying process, to ease his suffering and to die with grace
How to Die in Oregon
Documentary that tells the stories of terminally ill Oregonians, their families, doctors, and friends as they decide whether and when to end their life under the state’s Death with Dignity Law
A Dance With Death: The Final Days of Kelly Johnson
Short documentary about musician and performer Kelly Johnson, who used medical aid in dying in California in 2018.
Recommended Reading
Doctor, Please Help me Die by Tom Preston, MD
End of Life Washington’s Senior Volunteer Medical Director, retired cardiologist, and author, Tom Preston, MD, traces the history of patients seeking relief from suffering at the end of life
Final Victory by Tom Preston, MD
In Final Victory, Dr. Preston shows how you can take charge of life’s end and set the stage for a peaceful, dignified death.
Knocking on Heaven’s Door by Katy Butler
In this visionary memoir, based on a groundbreaking New York Times Magazine story, award-winning journalist Katy Butler ponders her parents’ desires for “Good Deaths” and the forces within medicine that stood in the way.
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Still Alice is a compelling debut novel about a 50-year-old woman’s sudden descent into early onset Alzheimer’s disease, written by first-time author Lisa Genova, who holds a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard University.