Death with Dignity National Center is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan nonprofit organization, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, that has led the legal defense of and education about Death with Dignity laws throughout the United States for more than 25 years.

Subsequently, the Oregon Death with Dignity Legal Defense and Education Center (ODLDEC), the forerunner to the Death with Dignity National Center, a 501(c)(3) organization, was founded to defend the voter-approved law.

From 2001 to 2006, Death with Dignity National Center defended Oregon's Death with Dignity Act against U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and his successor Alberto Gonzales who attempted to block DWD by authorizing federal drug agents to prosecute doctors who helped terminally ill patients die.

Current members include: Prominent former board members include: Through its different organizational structures over the years, Death with Dignity National Center has played a central role in defending and upholding Oregon's Death with Dignity law,[12] culminating in the Supreme Court case Gonzales v.

[13][14][15] The organization has assisted with efforts to pass death with dignity laws in other states such as Maine in 2000,[16] Hawaii in 2002, and Massachusetts in 2012.