Not Dead Yet

7521 Madison St * Forest Park, IL 60130 * Voice/TTY: 708-209-1500 * Fax: 708-209-1735 * TTY: 708-209-1826

The We'll-Change-History Letter-Writing Campaign

Fewer than 1% of newspaper articles and editorials on assisted suicide have even mentioned that our lives are at stake. TV doesn't say it, legal journals don't say it... How will the Supreme Court Justices learn that the "right to die" is about us unless we write to tell them?

If you live in Hawaii, Puerto Rico or Alaska you may not get to DC in January. You must count on letters to get the point across to the Supreme Court. The point?

We want to live!

Forget fancy letters. Plain-spoken, straightforward, short letters -- on plain paper in plain envelopes -- can move the heart of even the most powerful person. This is our dream and our conviction.
(No, there are no e-mail addresses for the Supreme Court. Or fax numbers either. We checked.)

Important Tip:

Say clearly in your first short paragraph whether you approve or oppose assisted suicide.

Justices do not open their own mail. The clerks of their chambers do - and the clerks take a count of the letters pro and con.

If each of the Justices gets a few thousand letters from us, we will be heard!

Each of us stands a better chance with our nine letters than our one vote gets on election day.

Unlike the Justices, no servants bring us our supper. We don't get deluxe treatment - in our private suite next to the President's - from top docs at the Walter Reed Army Hospital.

If medical professionals find it "cost-prohibitive" to care for us, how will we survive?

The Justices have to answer that question before making a decision.

Remember:
We don't want special favors. We want to live!

Getting people to write letter isn't easy.

You know how people are. They promise... then they put it off and put it off. If they ever do sit down to write, they can't think what to say.

That's why we're having Letter-Writing Parties.

Round up lots of different types of paper and envelopes. (They don't have to match. These are letters from real people.) Notebook, legal, rose-and-daisy, any kind of paper is fine. You want variety. If your letters seem to come from one group, lots are no better than one.

Important:

Justices cannot accept letters from organizations. You have a personal stake in this. Write a personal letter.

The first thing to do at the party is talk. Once people get going on a subject, they'll want their opinion delivered direct to The Supremes.

Hand writing the letters is good, and people who will take dictation from people who want to speak their piece are even better. This party must be accessible. So yeah, a computer wouldn't hurt.

At the party: Raise a cheer every time one letter goes into the ready-to-mail box. When everyone in the room has two letters in the box, it's pizza time! Two more letters? Chocolate is served!

Elect one person to post the letters - on staggered days, not all at once.

Members of the Supreme Court:

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist
Justice John Paul Stevens
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor
Justice Antonin Scalia
Justice Anthony Kennedy
Justice David Hackett Souter
Justice Clarence Thomas
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Justice Stephen G. Breyer

Their full address:

Supreme Court of the United States
Washington, DC 20543