Major national and state-based organizations support end-of-life care and planning. These organizational statements of support bolster the movement to inform and empower everyone, regardless of their race, religion, party affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identify or age to chart their end-of-life journey.
NAACP – The NAACP, the nation’s preeminent civil rights organization recognizes health disparities in end-of-life care and commits to providing education and advocacy for end-of-life options, education and planning.
National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) – NBCSL represents and serves the interests of Black legislators, they recognize that health disparities in the Black community extend to the end-of-life process, and recommends that individuals and families educate themselves on all aspects of end-of-life planning including advance healthcare directives, healthcare proxies, wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and end-of-life options.
National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women (NOBEL Women) – NOBEL Women, a non-profit composed of Black women elected officials, recommends that families educate themselves on all aspects of end-of-life planning including advance healthcare directives, healthcare proxies, wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and end-of-life options.
SAGE – SAGE advocates for and serves LGBTQ+ elders. They support a society that empowers everyone to choose end-of-life care that reflects their values, priorities, and beliefs. SAGE is committed to ensuring that LGBTQ+ elders get full access to self-affirming care, and that addressing end-of-life terminal illnesses be left in the hands of patients, empowered by self-determination.
National Hispanic Council on Aging (Yanira Cruz, President and CEO) – “Most people won’t need medical aid in dying, but laws authorizing this option benefit many terminally ill adults by spurring conversations with their physicians and loved ones about all end-of-life care options, including hospice and palliative care, and better utilization of them.”
Samuel Dewitt Proctor Organization (SDPC) – SDPC represents a cross section of progressive Black faith leaders and their congregations. They recognize African American disparities extend to the end-of-life process, and recommend that individuals and families educate themselves on all aspects of end-of-life planning including advance healthcare directives, healthcare proxies, wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and end-of-life options.
Latino Commission on AIDS and the Hispanic Health Network (Guillermo Chacon, President) – “I understand this end-of-life care option [medical aid in dying] may not be for everyone. Many terminally ill people have different opinions about what decisions are right for them in the final stages of a terminal illness. But as a Catholic who respects other people’s faiths, I believe it is not for me to judge someone else. Until one walks in another person’s shoes, it’s not for anyone to stand in the way of this compassionate option being available for someone else.”
Dolores Huerta Foundation (Dolores Huerta, President) – “I have spent my life fighting for the rights of disadvantaged workers, immigrants and women. Sadly, many terminally ill Nevadans are suffering needlessly because they don’t have access to the full range of end-of-life care options, including the palliative care option for terminally ill adults to peacefully end intolerable suffering when no other option provides relief.”
African American Mayors Association – The African American Mayors Association is the only organization exclusively representing African American mayors in the United States. AAMA exists to empower local leaders for the benefit of their citizens. They passed a resolution acknowledging that, “disparities extend to the end-of-life process and recommend that individuals and families educate themselves on all aspects of end-of-life planning…”
