Former Gov. Booth Gardner is stumping for Initiative 1000, the so-called Washington Death with Dignity Act. If the initiative garners the necessary signatures by July, and if state voters approve the initiative this fall, Gardner might not be eligible to use it. He has Parkinson’s, a disease without a set timetable. To use the law, patients will need a terminal diagnosis, meaning death is expected within six months.

Gardner’s sponsorship of the initiative, however, gave it instant visibility and credibility. Some Washington newspapers have already endorsed it.

This editorial board is reserving judgment – for now. Like others in the community, we have strong, and differing, opinions about this emotional issue. Everyone dies, and most adults have experienced a loved one’s death and dying process.

We wanted more information and so initiated conversations with advocates on both sides of the issue. We’re sharing excerpts from the conversations in a series called “Death and Dying Dialogues.” The dialogues will run today and Wednesday and next Sunday and Wednesday.

This end-of-life issue is as polarizing as abortion and the death penalty. The battle begins with language. Advocates for the initiative prefer death with dignity. Opponents prefer assisted suicide. Aid in dying is the supposed neutral term; we settled on death and dying.

Oregon’s law has been in effect for a decade, and that state has extensive information on who has used it. Advocates on both sides bolster their arguments with Oregon information. The majority of people who have used Oregon’s law are white and well-educated, and they cited “loss of autonomy” as their major concern. Proponents believe these facts prove that the poor and disenfranchised are not pressured to die early, as feared when Oregon first debated the law. Opponents believe these same facts prove that the law has become one more attempt by society’s privileged to control the uncontrollable.

Because death is a universal experience, the topic provides an unusual opportunity to dialogue, rather than debate. To listen, rather than just wait to be heard. This is our hope for these dialogues. Let them begin.