Oregon Death with Dignity Act

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The Oregon Death with Dignity Act (German: Law of the state of Oregon about dying in dignity ) is a law in the US state of Oregon from 1997. It allows a doctor-assisted suicide and regulates the requirements for this.

Content of the law

In order for a doctor to prescribe a lethal drug (usually barbiturates ), the Oregon Death with Dignity Act requires that the patient be a permanent resident of Oregon and be of legal age. After the first oral application, the prescribing physician must determine with an independent colleague that the patient has an incurable condition that is likely to be fatal in less than six months. If there are any doubts about the patient's ability to make judgments, a psychological report must be obtained. In addition, the doctor must explain possible alternatives (e.g. palliative medicine ). In addition to the second oral application to the doctor, there must also be a written application signed in the presence of two witnesses. Any of the witnesses must not be a relative, heir, or employee of the facility where the patient is being treated. An oral and a written request must be made and the oral request must be repeated after a period of 15 days. There must be a waiting period of 15 days between the first oral application and the prescription of the drug. The prescribing physician may be present during the suicide, but not administer the deadly drug himself.

German translations of the legal text can be found in Wolfslast / Conrads (see under literature) - this does not take into account the changes from 1999 and also contains some errors - and in Lorenz (see under literature), there in a revised and current, the English original ( Oregon Revised Statutes, Edition 2007) opposite version.

History of origin

Due to a citizens' initiative, there was a referendum on November 8, 1994 ( Oregon Ballot Measure No. 16 ) on the Oregon Death with Dignity Act . This was accepted with 51.3% (627,980) against 48.7% (596,018). However, after a court order, the law could only come into force on October 27, 1997. Another referendum ( Oregon Ballot Measure No. 51 ) on November 4, 1997, which aimed to repeal the law, was rejected with 40% (445,830) to 60% (666,275).

The law was then changed again in 1999. These changes include in particular that the medication must not be taken in public, the modalities for distributing the medication, clarification of the requirement of residence and the possibility of refusing help at any time, especially from hospitals, etc. They came into force on June 30, 1999.

Overriding attempts

On November 9, 2001, then United States Attorney General John Ashcroft issued a directive that reinterpreted the Controlled Substances Act , a federal drug law. According to this guideline, the prescription of lethal drugs violates this federal law and is therefore inadmissible. The new policy allowed the Drug Enforcement Administration to revoke participating physicians' licenses and prosecute them.

The next day, Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers filed a lawsuit against this new policy in the United States District Court of Oregon. Ashcroft's policy was overridden during the trial. By judgment of April 17, 2002, the court overturned the new directive.

Thereupon John Ashcroft appealed to the United States Court of Appeals on September 23, 2002 ; responsible for the United States District Court of the District of Oregon , with the aim of overturning the judgment of the lower court. However, the decision of May 26, 2004 upheld the judgment of the United States District Court.

On November 9, 2004, Ashcroft filed a lawsuit with the United States Supreme Court over this . During the trial, Alberto R. Gonzales became United States Attorney General, so the case went under the name Gonzales v. Oregon became known. On January 17, 2006, the verdict was announced: The court ruled 6-3 in favor of Oregon that the federal government cannot forbid doctors in Oregon from prescribing lethal drugs.

distribution

In 2013, 122 doctors had lethal drugs for 122 patients. 71 of them actually took the drug; in addition, 28 people died of their incurable disease without taking the drug. So in the last few years around a third of all people who had a prescription made out have ultimately not used the drug (as of 2005).

Since 1997, a total of 752 people have died of medically-assisted suicide under the Oregon Death with Dignity Act (2013). The most common diagnosis made for people trying to end their lives under the Oregon Death with Dignity Act was cancer (78.9%). The reasons for the wish to die were the loss of independence (91.4%), poor quality of life (88.9%) and the loss or fear of losing their dignity (80.9%). The fear that more socially disadvantaged groups (e.g. low income, poor schooling, lack of health and social insurance) choose death under the Oregon Death with Dignity Act was not confirmed. Their share is only 2.9%; however, in the years 1998–2012 it was only 2.7%.

Others

Based on the Oregon Death with Dignity Act and largely based on its text, the neighboring state of Washington passed a very similar law in 2009, the Washington Death with Dignity Act .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Death With Dignity Act FAQ - What kind of prescription
  2. ↑ a b Edgar Dahl : To assist death. ( Memento of August 24, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 583 kB) In: Spectrum of Science , July 2006, p. 117
  3. ↑ ORS 127.800 to 127.897 (see legal text under web links)
  4. ^ Death With Dignity Act FAQ - Must a physician be present
  5. ^ Oregon Blue Book No. 16 .
  6. ↑ Death With Dignity Act FAQ - What is Oregon's Death with Dignity Act?
  7. ↑ Official Results State Measure No. 51
  8. ↑ laws of the State of Oregon in 1999 (Oregon Laws 1999) , Chapter 423
  9. ^ Supreme Court Approves Oregon Euthanasia Act. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung , January 17, 2006
  10. ^ Death With Dignity Act FAQ - federal lawsuits
  11. ↑ a b c Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act - 2013 [1] (PDF; 138 kB)
  12. ↑ Nina von Hardenberg: Farewell in Oregon. ( Memento from June 18, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) In: Süddeutsche Zeitung from November 20, 2007

literature

  • Margaret M. Funk: A Tale of Two Statutes: Development of Euthanasia Legislation in Australia's Northern Territory and the State of Oregon. Temple International & Comparative Law Journal, Volume 14, Number 1 (Spring 2000), pp. 149 ff.
  • Gabriele Wolfslast; Christoph Conrads: Text collection euthanasia. Berlin 2001, pp. 183-193, ISBN 3-540-67835-2
  • Jörn Lorenz: Euthanasia - A Bill. Pp. 299-315, Baden-Baden 2008, ISBN 978-3-8329-3822-2 and Zurich / St. Gallen 2008, ISBN 978-3-03751-115-2

Web links