Report on Oregon's Death with Dignity Act Shows Law Continues Providing Support for Dying Patients

March 8, 2007

March 8, 2007
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PORTLAND, OR - The release of today's Oregon Health Division report on Oregon's Death with Dignity Act for 2006 shows that for the 9th consecutive year, the law worked exactly as intended by the voters, giving 46 dying patients dignity, control, and choice at the end of their lives.

A link to the Oregon Health Division Report can be found at www.deathwithdignity.org.

After nine years of implementation, fewer than 300 people have used the law, according to Peg Sandeen of the Death with Dignity National Center.

DDNC is a non-profit off-shoot of the political action committee that passed Oregon's original Death with Dignity Act in 1994.

The report said most of the 46 people who used the law suffered from final stages of cancer, matching results from other years. Their average age was 74 and most of the people also were involved in hospice, meaning they were receiving excellent end-of-life care. These results also mirror finding from previous years.

"In the past five years, between 37 and 46 people have used the law each year, a remarkable level of consistency that shows how rarely and carefully the law is used," said Sandeen. "Once again, we see that there were no major complications, that physicians were in good faith compliance with the law, and that the Oregon Health Division was extremely careful in monitoring the safeguards in the law."

Sandeen said implementation of the law remains exceptional because the safeguards put in place ensure that patients control the process, doctors and pharmacists have clearly defined roles and family members are involved.

"What we have shown in Oregon over these past nine years is that the Oregon Death with Dignity Law has provided aid and comfort to dying people. More importantly, end-of-life care has been dramatically improved. For patients -- even those who received the prescription, but chose not to use it -- the comfort was in knowing they had choices as they faced their final days," said Sandeen.

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Death with Dignity National Center, 520 SW 6th Ave, Suite 1030, Portland, OR 97204 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.

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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.

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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.

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