Massachusetts: Pro-Deathers Look Like They Have Signatures For Assisted Suicide Initiative

Looks like the pro-deathers in Massachusetts have enough signatures to put assisted suicide on the ballot next year.

The Next Death-With-Dignity Battleground

Most fall weekends, you can find Randee Laikind buttonholing people at the Shelburne Falls Market in western Massachusetts, or wielding her clipboard on the town common in nearby Greenfield or Amherst.

“I try to be very polite,” she told me. “I say, ‘Would you consider signing this petition to put the Death With Dignity Act on the ballot, so Massachusetts citizens can vote on it?’”

Ms. Laikind, who’s 63 and no stranger to activism, has been a bit surprised by the response, or lack thereof. “I’ve never had anyone say no,” she said. “They don’t even ask me questions; they just say, ‘Where do I sign?’” more