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Last week The Hastings Center released an article on how hospice care is related to Oregon's Death with Dignity law. It's a very compelling study from a think tank that has been a leader in presenting a non-biased view of end-of-life care for over 40 years. The two main findings were "terminally ill patients seeking physician-assisted death are receiving high-quality palliative care," and "hospice programs are regarded as an important societal mechanism to assure that physician-assisted death is practiced responsibly."

These are quite encouraging findings for terminally ill individuals. Pain-relieving palliative care and the support system hospices can offer are very important for terminally ill people if they decide to hasten their death. Even beyond the individual patient, the holistic approach of hospices ensure the entire family has resources to work through this difficult process. Hospice and palliative care are critical pieces of an entire patient-centered model which includes the option of physician-assisted death and lends peace of mind to a dying person and their family.

As the debate over physician-assisted death heats up worldwide, I have been pleased to hear the 12 years of data from Oregon's Death with Dignity Act mentioned when people make the case for clear and concise Death with Dignity laws with appropriate safeguards. In the UK recently, Oregon's voter-approved law was cited multiple times during The Royal Society of Medicine's conference on hastened death. And for good reason.

As Lord Joffe, a member of The Royal Society of Medicine, argued, "[Oregon’s law] has only led to about 0.2%, which is 60 deaths out of 30,000 deaths in Oregon each year. There's been no slippery slope or any proposal to extend the legislation to include voluntary euthanasia. Palliative care has not been undermined but has flourished. And there's no credible evidence of abuse of any vulnerable members of society. This is after 12 years." By comparison, accidents account for 1,200 per 30,000 deaths in Oregon each year.

Updated as of August 12, 2010

The 2008 passage of the Washington Death with Dignity Act not only marked a great victory for Death with Dignity supporters, it also inspired legislators in other states to begin working on this important issue. Since the win in Washington, bills that seek to improve end-of-life care have been introduced in state legislatures around the country.

State legislatures are in session and Death with Dignity legislation is introduced consistently each spring in states around the country, in part because legislators have the Oregon law to use as guide. While many bills are drafted each year, the majority fail. Some consider it a failure that most bills do not end up becoming law, but we view these bills as a testament to the Death with Dignity movement, the will of the public, and the strength of Oregon’s model legislation.

Below is a summary of the status of Death with Dignity and end-of-life care efforts and legislation around the nation.

Legislation