The New Atlantis » Ten Years of "Death with Dignity"

"The Oregon Death with Dignity Act (ODDA), which permits physicians to write a prescription for lethal drugs to qualified terminally ill patients, has been in effect for a little over a decade. It has, from October 1997 to the present, been the only such statute in the United States permitting what is variously called “physician-assisted suicide,” “physician aid in dying,” or “death with dignity” (the statute refers to the procedure as the ending of life in a “humane and dignified manner”). However, in the November 2008 election, citizens in the state of Washington will have an opportunity to vote on ballot initiative I-1000, a measure that is essentially the same as the Oregon statute. The advocacy group promoting I-1000 has drawn on features of the Oregon experience to indicate that the Oregon law is “very safe and effective” and that “aid in dying is working.” To weigh the claims made by supporters and opponents of the proposed Washington state initiative, we ought to carefully examine the first decade of Oregon’s experience with physician-assisted suicide." oip
The New Atlantis » Ten Years of "Death with Dignity":