504 solicit life-ending drugs in California
Print Edition
AT least 504 terminally ill Californians have requested a prescription for life-ending drugs since a state law allowing physician-assisted deaths went into effect in June 2016, marking the first publicly released data on how the practice is playing out in the US’ most populous state.
The number represents only those who have contacted Compassion & Choices, an advocacy group that provides information on the process. The organization believes the overall figure to be much higher.
The group released the data yesterday. State officials have not released figures yet.
How the new law is utilized in trend-setting California could provide a window into what would happen if the practice spreads nationwide. Some see providing the choice to the dying as a logical evolution in a medical care system advanced in helping people live longer but limited in preventing slow, painful deaths.
“We won’t have the full picture until the state releases its data about how many people have utilized the law, but we have enough evidence to show it is working remarkably well in a state with 10 times Oregon’s population,” said Matt Whitaker, the group’s California director. “The personal stories of the people who have utilized the law show it has provided comfort and relief from intolerable suffering.”
Oregon was the first state to adopt such a law in 1997. It reported 204 people received such prescriptions in 2016 and of those, 133 people died from ingesting the drugs. Most were older than 65 and had cancer.
Doctor-assisted deaths are also legal in Colorado, Montana, Vermont, Washington and Washington DC.
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