4
Summary
Physician-assisted suicide (PAS) has been legal in Oregon since November
1997, when Oregon voters approved the Death with Dignity Act (DWDA) for the second
time (see History
, page 6). The Department of Human Services (DHS) is legally
required to collect information regarding compliance with the Act and make the
information available on a yearly basis. In this eighth annual report, we characterize the
38 Oregonians who died in 2005 following ingestion of medications prescribed under
provisions of the Act, and look at whether the numbers and characteristics of these
patients differ from those who used PAS in prior years. Patients choosing PAS were
identified through mandated physician and pharmacy reporting. Our information comes
from these reports, physician interviews and death certificates. We also compare the
demographic characteristics of patients participating during 1998-2005 with other
Oregonians who died of the same underlying causes.
In 2005, 39 physicians wrote a total of 64 prescriptions for lethal doses of
medication. In 1998, 24 prescriptions were written, followed by 33 in 1999, 39 in 2000,
44 in 2001, 58 in 2002, 68 in 2003, and 60 in 2004. Thirty-two of the 2005 prescription
recipients died after ingesting the medication. Of the 32 recipients who did not ingest
the prescribed medication in 2005, 15 died from their illnesses, and 17 were alive on
December 31, 2005. In addition, six patients who received prescriptions during 2004
died in 2005 as a result of ingesting the prescribed medication, giving a total of 38 PAS
deaths during 2005. One 2004 prescription recipient, who ingested the prescribed
medication in 2005, became unconscious 25 minutes after ingestion, then regained
consciousness 65 hours later. This person did not obtain a subsequent prescription and
died 14 days later of the underlying illness (17 days after ingesting the medication).
After an initial increase in PAS use during the first five years the Act was in
effect, the number of Oregonians who use PAS remained relatively stable since 2002.
In 1998, 16 Oregonians used PAS, followed by 27 in 1999, 27 in 2000, 21 in 2001, 38 in
2002, 42 in 2003, and 37 in 2004. The ratio of PAS deaths to total deaths trended
upward during 1998-2003, peaking at 13.6 in 2003 and has since remained stable. In