A Rare Attempt At Balance In This Story About Assisted Suicide In Oregon

Here’s a UK report that actually mentions the drawbacks of the Oregon assisted suicide law. This attempt at balance is to be applauded – it’s so often ignored by the press.

Assisted suicide proposals: the situation in Oregon

The new proposals to allow assisted suicide in Britain have been likened by opponents to a “less safe version" of controversial laws in Oregon in the US.
In the northwest American state, “physician-assisted suicide” has been legal since 1997.

Doctors are allowed to prescribe a lethal dose of medication to local residents who are over 18, “mentally competent” and likely to die of a terminal disease within six months.

Patients must have made two oral requests for help in dying as well as one written request.

The Dignity in Dying Act was introduced as a result of a public petition and a referendum, rather than pressure from the medical profession as in the Netherlands or a campaign led by politicians and public figures as in Britain. more