RSSSixth Year Stats for Death with Dignity Law Again Demonstrate Responsible Implementation, Modest Use
March 10, 2004
Statistics Released Today
Contact: Greg Eddleston; geddleston@deathwithdignity.org / (503) 228.4415
Portland, OR � Today, the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) released the sixth annual report on the Death with Dignity law.� The DHS, an independent, non-partisan state agency, is responsible for monitoring and enforcing compliance with the Oregon law.� The report provides a summary of the experiences of patients and physicians who participated in the law during its sixth year of implementation (January 1, 2003 � December 31, 2003) as well as a comparison of demographic information from the preceding years.
�For the sixth consecutive year, the annual report demonstrates the responsible and exacting care with which Oregonians have implemented this law,� said Scott Blaine Swenson, Executive Director of the Death with Dignity National Center.� �The Death with Dignity law provides comfort and peace of mind to those at life�s end � regardless of whether they choose to use it.� And the improvements in care that the law has spurred cannot be overlooked.�
The report�s findings include:
1. 42 individuals availed themselves of the law in 2003 (approximately one-seventh of 1% of the 31,000 total deaths in the state last year);
2. All the individuals were covered by health insurance;
3. 93% were enrolled in hospice care;
4. Those choosing Death with Dignity were well-educated (48% with college degrees) and cited loss of autonomy, decreasing ability to engage in enjoyable activities and loss of dignity as their primary end-of-life concerns;
5. More than 90% were able to die at home;
6. Cancer was the most common disease.���
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Death with Dignity law.� The law, passed by Oregon voters in 1994, was delayed in its implementation until late 1997.
The Oregon Death with Dignity law is currently under attack by the Ashcroft Justice Department (Oregon v. Ashcroft).� A ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is pending.
For up-to-the minute information on the Death with Dignity law, the litigation, and efforts at end-of-life care reform in other states, please visit: www.deathwithdignity.org.
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For more than 14 years, the Death with Dignity National Center (DDNC), a 501(c)(3), non-partisan, non-profit organization, has been the leading advocate in the death with dignity movement. Leaders in our organization originally wrote and have continued advocating for the Oregon Death with Dignity Law. DDNC has met these challenges through extensive legal defense of the Oregon law, education and outreach programs, and by developing and nurturing diverse financial resources with one goal in mind: to ensure DDNC's financial vitality and its position as a leader in the death with dignity movement.
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Political Action Fund
The Death with Dignity National Center partners with the Oregon Death with Dignity Political Action Fund (the Fund) to conduct lobbying and political activities in order to achieve the enactment of Death with Dignity laws in other states. The partnership resulted in tremendous success with the resounding win in the 2008 Washington Death with Dignity campaign.
Learn more about the Fund's efforts to bring dignity to people around the nation.
About Death with Dignity
The greatest human freedom is to live, and die, according to one's own desires and beliefs. The most common desire among those with a terminal illness is to die with some measure of dignity. From advance directives to physician-assisted dying, death with dignity is a movement to provide options for the dying to control their own end-of-life care.
Death with Dignity National Center (DDNC) is the leader in this movement, successfully establishing, advancing and defending the landmark Oregon Death with Dignity Act -- a national catalyst for openly discussing and actively reforming end-of-life care for those who are terminally ill.
Learn more about the National Center and our family of organizations.
Patients & Families
The Death with Dignity National Center was formed out of a profound commitment to the idea that personal end-of-life decisions should be made solely between a patient and a physician. Based on this commitment, we are pleased to provide you with support and information as you face the difficult challenges ahead.
Research Center
We have compiled a comprehensive collection of legal briefs, journal articles, and newspaper clippings. We invite you to explore the wide array of information we have collected throughout our history.
In our Research Center you will find frequently asked questions, the history of the death with dignity movement, state monitoring statistics, and a copy of this groundbreaking statute.
