Compassion & Choices Magazine: Annual Report 2025

This May, I attended the public ceremony in which the bill authorizing medical aid in dying in Delaware was signed into law.

Standing alongside me were longtime aid-in-dying advocates including Judy Govatos. What struck me about Judy was just how vibrant she was, deeply rooted in her community, all while advocating for change and living with the challenges of terminal illness. 

Our vision at Compassion & Choices is a society that empowers everyone to choose end-of-life care that reflects their values, priorities and beliefs. This vision has a lot more to do with life than death. 

It’s about all people being able to live to the very end in a way that honors what’s most important to them. 

We’re celebrating the progress we’ve made this year and staying firm in our advocacy. Delaware’s victory opened doors, but we need to keep up the momentum. Everything documented in these pages is made possible by our grassroots efforts with supporters like you, from West Virginia to California, from Minnesota to New York and from Florida to Massachusetts. 

Take Dr. Trina Nahm-Mijo in Hawai‘i, who discusses death as a natural part of the life cycle, or David Copeland’s work as a death doula that he calls serving in the “in-between of joy and sorrow’,” or Marie Cooper, a West Virginia advocate who believed that when it was her time to be with God, no one should interfere. Each of these stories provides an entryway, an open door, to future supporters and friends of our movement.

The coming months will determine whether we accelerate progress or lose critical ground. Our success depends on the smallest actions: picking up the phone, attending an event, telling your story and sharing our resources. These everyday acts of courage create something extraordinary, a movement that’s transforming how we die, but more importantly — how we live.   

Thank you for the part you play in making change possible. Next year will be pivotal — let’s accelerate change together.

With gratitude,