The Oregon Death with Dignity Political Action Fund has entered into a partnership agreement with Patient Choices at End of Life – Vermont to work together toward a 2011 Death with Dignity legislative effort. This agreement is a product of a nearly 10-year collaborative history between our two organizations, marked by mutual respect and admiration. 



The partnership is contingent upon one significant factor—the outcome of the Vermont gubernatorial election on November 2nd, which pits the current Republican Lt. Governor Brian Dubie against the president pro-tem of the State Senate Peter Shumlin. According to Dick Walters, President of Patient Choices at End of Life – Vermont:

With Peter Shumlin as Governor, in favor of Death with Dignity–with legislative leaders in favor–with close to a majority of House and Senate in favor, we have every expectation that we can gain the few additional votes we need to pass Death with Dignity legislation in 2011. Between now and November 2nd our energy and focus will be on helping Peter Shumlin become Governor. The stars in Vermont are finally aligning.

Some political pundits are calling the race a toss up, while the New York Times statistical modeling expert, Nate Silver, on his blog FiveThirtyEight is predicting a win for Shumlin. It's worth noting, during the 2008 election Silver's forecasting predicted 49 out of 50 states in the presidential election and all 35 Senate seats.

Dubie is a self-described pro-life Republican, who has avoided making a public statement on Death with Dignity, but is assumed to be opposed. Shumlin has co-sponsored Death with Dignity legislation in Vermont in the past, and he has made the following statement:

As Governor, I will strongly champion death with dignity legislation. I have been a sponsor of this legislation for multiple years and I have a track record of bringing people together to get tough things done. I worked with a variety of Vermonters to make Vermont the first state in the nation to pass marriage equality and worked to close Vermont's leaking, aging nuclear power plant on schedule. These were not easy issues but in both cases, taking on the tough fight was the right thing to do. I feel the same about patient choices at the end of life. As Governor, I would make this a top priority and in my State of the State address would ask the legislature to take this civil rights issue up and pass it prior to adjournment in 2011.

With a Shumlin win, a Death with Dignity legislative race will be on in Vermont in
 January, 2011. The movement nationally has yet to master the model for success legislatively, but all of the appropriate pieces of the model will be in place: a supportive governor, an organized grassroots structure, model legislation tested in other states, and a supportive constituency.

We're turning our attention to New England, as momentum is shifting east. This is an exciting time to be involved with the Death with Dignity movement. As part of our partnership with Vermont, we are establishing a special email update list to keep you fully informed of the joint activities between our organizations and action in the Vermont legislature and throughout New England. Please sign up today at to Stay Connected on the right side of this page.