Why World Right to Die Day Matters
02 November 2026
Guest article by Peter Warren*
Every year on 2 November, people worldwide stop to remember the dead. In Catholic countries, it is All Souls’ Day. In Mexico, it is the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). People light candles, place marigolds, and gather at the grave. Our movement chose the same date for World Right to Die Day, and it fits well. 2 November is a day to remember how people lived. It is also a day to mark a freedom that grows each year: the right to choose how we die.
We, that is the World Federation of Right to Die Societies (WFRtDS), first marked the day in 2008, at our conference in France. So, this year is the nineteenth year of celebration. It began with a handful of events. Now our member societies mark it all over the world. There are talks and vigils. There are films, concerts and get-togethers. Each society does it in its own way, and that is one of our strengths. But amid all this local work, it is good to step back and look at the global picture. This year there is a lot to celebrate.
Achievements
We have always used the day to put people first. In 2022 we made a World of Champions map. It told the stories of the people in each region who fought for change. In 2023, our societies picked the doctors and nurses they most wanted to thank. They make a good death safe and kind. They turn a law on paper into real care at the bedside. And they deserve our thanks again this year. Last year, the Federation produced a series of webinars on the growing health crisis that is dementia. So many wonderful people shared their stories of what dementia meant to them and their loved ones.
We can also take time to reflect on this year’s political wins.
France passed its assisted dying law in July. The Senate rejected it three times, but our friends at ADMD, Le Choix, and others kept going. Persistence pays. Uruguay is now the first country in Latin America to pass a law through its parliament. New York’s law is in force, and Illinois has passed its own. In August, the Northern Territory regained its rights. That was almost thirty years after it first led the world. Now every state and territory in Australia has a law.
Challenges
None of this came by chance. None of it is safe. As attorney-at-law Ludwig A. Minelli, late founder of DIGNITAS – To live with dignity – To die with dignity put it: “human rights have to be fought for and once gained defended again and again”. Those who oppose us are well run and well-funded, and they work across borders. In the United States, they have gone to court to try and stop new laws. In Congress, they want the House to take a stand against us.
The Catholic Church is still firmly against us, and it spends a lot to make that count. We also lost ground this year in Scotland, in England & Wales, and in Canada.
Slovenia shows why we must stay alert. In 2024, 55 percent of voters said yes to assisted dying. Last July, parliament passed the law. Then our opponents forced a second vote. In November, the law was thrown out, 53 percent to 47. The No side, backed by the Church, did not say that people should be denied a choice. It said that care for the dying must come first. It said that the safeguards were too weak. And it had help from abroad.
The Canadian-based Euthanasia Prevention Coalition has written with pride about its role. It sent the campaign articles, interviews, and film. Its head had toured the country to warn that Slovenia would end up like Canada. People from outside went to undo a vote the people of Slovenia had made. We should learn from that. Next time, we need to be ready.
Unify for strength
That is why 2 November matters. Opponents to assisted dying work across borders, and so must we. On this one day, more than sixty societies in over thirty countries speak as one. That is our best answer. For many supporters, it is also a day to feel less alone. It is a day to know that they are part of something much bigger than their own country.
It is a day to see how far we have come. It is a day to thank those who led the way, such as Ramón Sampedro in Spain, Sue Rodriguez in Canada, or Catalina Giraldo Silva in Colombia. They made the case with their own lives. And it is a day to remember all those who died without the choice they asked for, and to make sure that others will not.
Most people, in most countries, want this right. The tide is with us. It is slow, but it is real, and each new law makes the next one a little easier. Our member societies are stronger than ever, and they work more closely together.
The WFRtDS now has its own legal home as an international NGO. That means we can now make the case for assisted dying directly at the tables where the big decisions are made.
This year, for World Right to Die Day, I will be in Brussels to help launch the next stage of Last Right. A campaign we launched in Barcelona this summer with our colleagues in Eumans to ensure living wills are respected across Europe.
So, wherever you are, I hope you will mark the day with us. Hold an event. Raise a glass. Write to your representative. Or just share a story. Together, in more than thirty countries at once, we are a movement that will not be ignored.
*Peter Warren is Executive Director of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies (WFRtDS).
