Death With Dignity Act

left alone by their doctors when the suffering becomes unbearable and use of the law is requested. “The most significant impact of the death with dignity law in Oregon has been to improve the care for all dying patients, by increasing awareness among doctors, allowing an open and honest conversation, improving pain management and palliative care, and providing patients with a sense of control and peace of mind.” Doctors are being aware of the causes and the good tis law really is, it is highly improving so many things dealing with life and health. A patient who is suffering intolerably needs the assistance from someone who will be there to help them in their end of life decision.

Serious diseases such as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and metastatic cancer have directed societal attention to end-of-life decision making because many patients who are suffering as they die would like their death to be hastened. In "Oregonians' Reasons for Requesting Physician Aid in Dying" ( Archives of Internal Medicine , vol. 169, no. 5, March 9, 2009), Linda Ganzini, Elizabeth R. Goy, and Steven K. Dobscha discuss the reasons that terminally ill Oregonians gave for wanting a physician to aid them in dying. In Oregon dying patients may make such requests under the Oregon Death with Dignity Act. Of the 56 patients who were surveyed, the average age was 65.8 years and nearly half had completed college. Slightly more were female

Every day in the United States 1,500 people are diagnosed with a terminal illness. These people are given few options when determining if the wish to try treatment and if treatment does not work, how to deal with the end of their lives. (author unknown, “Cancer”) With this horrible future ahead of them many may wish to make amends before it’s too late, however, an increasing number of people are seeking an alternate solution. In states such as Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Montana and soon California a relatively new, legal option is available for people with terminal illnesses. The states of Oregon, Washington, Vermont, and Montana created a law which allows people with a terminal illness and less than six months that are mentally healthy seek professional medical help that will end their lives (Humphrey, Derek) . This topic has created heated debates across the United States with each side have clear and defined reason as to why or why not this controversial law should be processed for the whole country. The people who defend the law believe that people who are losing their lives should be able to leave this world on their own terms, and with the help of physicians they can go in a painless and mess-free way. Supporters also believe that by not wanting to the end it can help save patients, doctors, and insurance time and money that could be better spent on patients who may have options and may not be able to reach them without

Since 1997, four states have legalized the death with dignity act. Oregon was the first of the four to legalize this act along with Washington, Vermont, and California. Since this act was passed, more and more ill patients have chosen to take their own life. Brittney Maynard is an example of a patient who chose to move to Oregon and use the Death with Dignity act. Maynard was diagnosed at 29 and struggled with brain cancer throughout her life.

The intent of this article is to discuss outcomes since the Death with Dignity Act was passed. It follows a Physician who has written prescriptions to assist patients with ending their life. These patients are terminally ill and within six months of dying. It discusses the stipulations of the Death with Dignity Act, statistical data, and how this act has increased the number of patients seeking hospice or palliative care. Statistics regarding patient’s reasons for seeking physician-assisted suicide are provided within the text.

Physician-assisted suicide was first made legal in the state of Oregon. (Hendin) In cases of euthanasia, physicians often give lethal doses of a medication to terminate a patient’s life because they’re experiencing intolerable pain. Patients who wish to use the Death with Dignity law in Oregon must be eighteen or older, must be a resident of Oregon, and they must be able to make their own health care decisions. (Sharp 53) However, the law does not require the patient to be in unmanageable pain, they must just have a prognosis of less than six months to live. (Sharp 54) This law seems to be in place to kill patients more quickly to open up hospital space, instead of compassionately ending someone’s suffering.

Oregon was the first state in the United States to pass the Death with Dignity Act (DWDA) on 1994. DWDA, also known as physician-assisted suicide (PAS), allows terminally ill Oregonians to end their lives if they request it to their physician. This act requires that ill patients must meet the requirements for death with dignity before they can request lethal medications that will terminate their lives. The requirements include the following11:

First, Connecticut pro-choice supporters attempted to legalize the Death with Dignity Act three times since 2013, as they believe competent, terminally ill individuals in Connecticut should have the legal right to choose medically assisted death. Unfortunately, this legislation has not come to a vote in Connecticut; however, each time more people are supportive of the bill. The last Quinnipiac University Poll, completed in March 2015, has shown that by more than a 2-1 margin (63% vs. 31%), Connecticut voters support “allowing doctors to legally prescribe lethal drugs to help terminally ill patients end their lives” (C&C, Oregon, 2016). The “Death with Dignity Act” originated in Oregon, in 1997 with enough support to be the first state to pass the new law. Washington passed a similar law eleven years later, in 2008. Additionally, Colorado has been the most recent state to have this law passed on November 8, 2016. All the states have modeled after Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act. Specifically, the law states that the person must be terminally ill with less than six months to live, also be at least eighteen

According to the documentary, at the time when in 1994 the Oregon law sanctioning "Death with Dignity Act", only two other countries Switzerland and Netherlands allowed the practice. The "Death with Dignity Act" differs from euthanasia, that is practiced in these two countries, in a dramatic way. As euthanasia permits an active participation of a physician to administer medications that will ultimately kill the person, the "Act of Death with Dignity" relegates physician to writing a prescription for medications that will hasten the death of the patient who asked for it. The first two requests must be made verbally, fifteen days apart. Also, a written, signed by two witnesses request, must be submitted. Patient 's diagnosis has to be confirmed by two independent physicians, who must agree that the illness is terminal, and the patient has no more than six months to live. The patient must also be evaluated for depression . This legislature

According to Westrick (2014), the terms “assisted suicide and euthanasia generally mean aiding or assisting another person to kill himself or herself, or killing another person at his or her request, often called ‘active voluntary euthanasia’” (p. 349). Assisted suicide is better defined as a prescriber providing a lethal dose of medication to a patient with the intent of ending a patient’s life (Westrick, 2014). Political debate concerning assisted suicide is ongoing. Currently in the U.S., physician-assisted suicide is legal in Oregon, Montana, Washington, Vermont, and California (Death with Dignity, 2016). The purpose of this paper is to review RCW 70.245, The Washington Death with Dignity Act, Initiative 1000, and to identify and address the gap in existing statutory language in the

Brittany Maynard was one of the people to use the Death with Dignity Act in Organ and once said,“To have control of my own mind…to go with dignity is less terrifying. When I look at both options I have to die, I feel this is far more humane” (Sandeen, 2014). No matter what, we will all eventually die, but we should have the right to die as humanely as possible. The Death with Dignity Act is an end-of-life choice possibility for terminally ill patients to be given the freedom to decide for themselves what it means to die with dignity. This act allows them to die with dignity by providing them with lethal medications prescribed by a physician (The Oregon Department of Human Services, 2006). The Death with Dignity Act started to allow people with six months or less to live, the right to die in a manner and at the time of their own choosing. Also, even though modern medicine has benefited humanity greatly, it cannot completely resolve the suffering and distress that comes with the dying process, so Death with Dignity can provide a painless end-of-life choice for suffering individuals (Humphry, 2009). Although Death with Dignity is a controversial topic I feel it can be very beneficial especially since people go through a long process just to try to get the medication and the ones that get it really need it. I chose this topic because death always has been interesting to me and I one day hope to have a career

Physician assisted suicide was brought to mainstream attention in the 1990’s due to Dr. Kevorkian’s “suicide machine," who claims to have assisted over 100 suicide deaths of terminally ill patients with Alzheimer’s disease (Dickinson, p. 8). In the early 1990’s, for the first time in United States history the issue was brought to the voting polls in California, Washington, and Oregon (Dickinson, p. 9). The bill was passed in Oregon; legally allowing physicians to facilitate death of the terminally ill, but voters fails to pass the bill in Washington and California (Dickinson, p. 9). In 2008 voters in Washington State passed the Washington Death with Dignity Act (Dickinson, p. 277). Today

Compassion in Dying, a supporter group to make a dignified death for the terminally ill accessible , was one of the main drivers of the law called "Death with dignity " a text adopted in 1994 by the Assembly of Oregon and later -in November in 1997 , by state voters by referendum .

The Death With Dignity Act (DWDA) was passed in the state of Oregon on November 8, 1994, and allowed competent, terminally ill patients 18 years old or older and were also state residents to acquire a prescription of barbiturates from a doctor to end their own life when their anguish became intolerable.6 208 individuals died under the DWDA. 36% of patients who received the lethal prescription never took them.2 This insinuates that patients dealing with immense suffering from a terminal illness at least sought control over the situation.

Is the role of a medical professional to ensure the health and comfort of their patients, or to help them end their lives? Since Dr. Kevorkian assisted in the suicide of Janet Adkins in 1990, physician-assisted suicide (PAS) has been one of the most controversial issues in the medical field today. While some view it as an individual right, others view it as an unethical issue that goes against medical ethics and religious values. Mr. H. M. is an elderly man who is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and no chance of improvement. After excruciating pain and suffering, he has decided to request physician-assisted death in his home state of Oregon. Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act (DDA) states that terminally ill patients are allowed to use