Oregon's Death with Dignity Act Oreg

Death with Dignity: The Oregon Experience

Oregon's Death with Dignity Act, passed into law via a voter referendum in 1997, legalized physician-assisted suicide in cases in which an individual diagnosed as terminally ill seeks assistance in terminating his or her life (Kitchen, 2005). Since its inception, the Oregon statute has been highly controversial, with debate continuing in public forums and in the courts as to the legitimacy and constitutionality of such a law. This brief essay will first identify the specific provisions of the Oregon statute, and then consider the opposing points of view as to its moral and ethical implications as well as the possible long-term effects on the U.S. health care system.

Death with Dignity Organization (2006, p.1) described the Oregon legislation as follows:

In the early-1990s, concerned citizens formed Oregon Death with Dignity to write and pass a law that would allow dying patients to control their own end-of-life care. In 1994, Oregonians voted to support Measure 16 -- the Oregon Death with Dignity Act.

In partnership with supporters and the Death with Dignity National Center in Washington, DC, Oregon Death with Dignity successfully defended the law against numerous legal and political attacks --including Measure 51 in 1997, two congressional efforts to nullify the law and legal battles in the federal courts.

The Oregon Statutes (Oregon Department of Human Services, 2005) on physician-assisted suicide (PAS) require at a m

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ould be banned (Kitchen, 2005). Attached is a chronological history of Oregon's law, illustrating the fact that number challenges to the statute have been filed in state and federal courts (Death With Dignity Organization, 2006). The Voluntary Euthanasia Society of Victoria, Australia (2003) noted that despite these challenges, especially in the Gonzalez case (see below), the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the Oregon law. The U.S. Congress has attempted to pass national legislation banning PAS, but such efforts have failed to reach the floor of the Senate for a full vote. As it now stands, Oregon's law is in effect The Oregon law includes important safeguards which work to ensure that patients seeking PAS are protected and in full control of the process, requiring that the patient: make two verbal requests -- separated by 15 days -- to the physician, make a written request to the attending physician and the request is witnessed by two individuals who are not primary care givers or family members, is able to rescind the verbal and written requests at any time, and is able to self administer the prescription (Death With Dignity Organization, 2005, p. 3). These safeguards are designed specifically t

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