We did it. It’s finally, finally ours. Opposition to the Maine Death with Dignity Act reported they do not have enough signatures to submit for a veto question.

We have changed the course of Maine’s history and our dying loved ones may now have the control they desire for “their one death.”  

Those words come from Representative Patricia Hymanson, York, whose text to me a moment ago said, “Congratulations to us all.”

I am thinking of Becky VanWormer, Eva Thomspon, and other Maine loved ones who died with the hope of this law on their lips.

It’s ours now.

I am hoping as the weeks, months, and years go forward, other states will follow suit more often and one day death with dignity will be the law of the land.

I am so thankful for the journey we’ve made in our state over the past five years. It has paid off in ways that simply have no words.

This could not have happened without each and every person who stepped into the conversation to carry the torch, even for a short distance.

So now we go forward, learning our way in a kinder and gentler Maine.