Oregon, USA, 14 Mar 07
Ten years after Oregonians passed a
controversial ballot measure allowing
physicians to help some patients take their own lives, the records show
that what critics feared has apparently not happened. No rush to end one's
life, no people flocking here from other states, no pressure from family,
doctors, and insurance companies to commit suicide.
Relatively few people opt to end their own lives by taking a
doctor-prescribed drug, according to recently-released figures for 2006:
46 deaths last year, 292 overall since the law went into effect — about
one-tenth of 1 percent of those diagnosed with terminal illnesses in
Oregon.
Instead, palliative and hospice care have increased markedly here because
the law helped raise awareness about caring for terminally ill patients.
As a result, Oregon ranks among the best in the nation in end-of-life
care. This means more people are looked after at home with the emotional
and spiritual support of their families rather than spending their last
days in a hospital.
Although Oregon remains the only state to allow physician-assisted
suicide, California is also moving in that direction, and the topic is
being debated in Arizona, Vermont, and Washington. A bill sponsored by
California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D) and other lawmakers patterns
Oregon's "Death With Dignity Act."
The Oregon law specifically prohibits "lethal injection, mercy killing, or
active euthanasia." But it does allow mentally competent adults who
declare their intentions in writing, and have been diagnosed as terminally
ill, to take a doctor- prescribed lethal drug themselves, orally, after a
waiting period.
The California proposal includes what supporters say are additional
safeguards: requiring doctors to give patients a written summary of
alternatives, and directing that those not under hospice care receive a
psychological evaluation.
According to the Field Poll, 70 percent of all adults in California
(including 59 percent of Republicans) believe that mentally competent
patients diagnosed as incurably ill should have the right to ask for and
get life-ending medication. Gallup and other national polls show that a
majority of Americans favor the procedure, although it depends how the
question is asked — particularly whether the word "suicide" is used.
When asked if doctors should be allowed to help end the life of a patient who is suffering from what's been diagnosed as an incurable disease and wants to die, 75 percent of Americans say "yes," reports Gallup. But when asked if doctors should be allowed to help a patient commit suicide under the same circumstances, the approval rate drops to 58 percent.
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