YOU Did It!
Death with Dignity Initiative Gathers Nearly 100,000 More Signatures Than Required!
The campaign is happy to announce that the supporters of Initiative 1000, the death with dignity initiative, have gathered nearly over 320,000 signatures – almost 100,000 more than the amount needed to earn the initiative a place on the November ballot.
“We want to thank the thousands of supporters across Washington who are helping to bring end-of-life choices to terminally ill patients,” said former governor Booth Gardner, who spoke to volunteers on the steps of the state Capitol before turning in signatures to the Secretary of State.
Gardner suffers from Parkinson’s disease, and has said that supporting the right-to-die provisions in I-1000 will be his last campaign. “It’s based on the law in Oregon, and because of Oregon we know that the safeguards work.”
Initiative 1000 would allow mentally competent, terminally ill adults to request and self-administer medication in order to die on their own terms. The initiative is based on an Oregon law that has been in place for over a decade.
State Senator Darlene Fairley, a strong advocate for people with disabilities, has also added her name to the YES on 1000 effort, saying “as a matter of personal control and autonomy, it makes sense to let patients themselves decide what kind of medical care they want to receive and how long they want to suffer with a terminal illness.”
Between 60 and 70 percent of the funding to oppose death with dignity measures in other states has been financed by a small group of Catholic Church hierarchy; their opposition is expected again.
Like the Oregon law, the Washington death with dignity initiative includes numerous safeguards. Patients must be diagnosed with a terminal illness that will lead to death within six months, and they must be mentally competent and capable of making voluntary decisions.
Two physicians have to agree that these criteria are met. There is a required waiting period, and the terminally ill patient must make both oral and written requests. No one other than the eligible patient may administer the oral medication, and the patient may change his or her mind at any time.
These safeguards have proved effective in Oregon, where ten years of independent data shows no evidence of abuse or coercion. The safety of the death with dignity law has been confirmed by the Washington State Psychology Association, which found no evidence of manipulation or pressure on vulnerable groups and no so-called “slippery slope.”
Patients and families in Oregon also report that peace of mind is one of the law’s greatest benefits. Decriminalizing aid-in-dying allows patients to have an open, honest conversation about how they want to spend their last days.
“Death with dignity is about being able to make your own end-of-life decisions without government interference,” said Nancy Niedzielski, a volunteer with the YES on 1000 campaign.
Niedzielski became a supporter of death with dignity when her husband, suffering from brain cancer, was denied the option of dying on his own terms.
“He didn’t feel that WashingtonState had the right to tell him that he had to continue to suffer. He asked me to promise him that I would change the law,” said Niedzielski of her late husband Randy.
She personally gathered over 1,600 signatures for I-1000, and she was the last person to sign the petition today to put I-1000, the death with dignity initiative, on the November ballot.
“Terminally ill patients in Washington should have the same choices that they have in Oregon,” she said. “It is a compassionate act to honor a person’s final wish.”
After the final signature was recorded Gov. Gardner, Nancy Niedzielski, and Arline Hinckley led a group of over fifty supporters into the Secretary of State’s Office.
Supporters gathered outside in the lobby while they anxiously awaited the official receipt of the signatures by the Secretary of State’s Office.
Thank you to EVERYONE, from the person who gathered one signature to Donald Knutsen who gathered 3,002, for an incredible finish to the first phase of this campaign.
Please look for our newsletter via email Thursday, July 3rd,with some final numbers and another email on Tuesday, July 8th, which will layout what you can do to help us deliver a victory for Yes on 1000 in just 127 days (As of Wednesday, July 2nd).
Thank you for your continued support,
Alex Morgan
Campaign Manager
Yes on I-1000
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