Oregon's Measure 16

On November 16, 1994, Oregon voters passed Measure 16 by a narrow margin (32,000 votes or 51%). Measure 16, the "Death with Dignity Act," allows physicians in Oregon to prescribe, though not administer, lethal drugs, i.e., engage in physician-assisted suicide, for competent, terminally ill adult patients who are expected to die within six months. Though passed by the popular vote, there were several unresolved legal questions within the measure. A "resident of Oregon" was never defined. The notification of the patient’s family was recommended but not required. There was a question as to whether a pharmacist was included in the immunities given to health care providers. Given that the measure did not require that information be made available to the public, there was concern about the difficulty of tracking the practice of physician-assisted suicide. There was also concern with the legislation’s definition of suicide: "Actions taken in accordance with this act shall not, for any purpose, constitute suicide, assisted suicide, mercy killing or homicide under the law." Suicide was and still is considered illegal in Oregon. Finally, there was concern about the "informed decision" of the patient, given that the process of informed consent would always be filtered through the doctor’s acceptance or rejection of the intent of Measure 16. The measure was immediately contested in the courts for its constitutionality. The resolution of the case was put on hold, pending an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court ruling on two assisted suicide cases.

In 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court in Vacco v. Quill and Washington v. Glucksberg ruled that assisted suicide was not a Constitutional right. However, the Court also indicated in Justice O’Connor’s concurring opinion on Vacco v. Quill and Washington v. Glucksberg that individual states were free to legalize physician-assisted suicide. On November 4, 1997, Oregon voters were faced with a new measure that would repeal Measure 16. This new measure was defeated by a 60 to 40 percent margin. In March of 1998 the first two legal physician-assisted suicides in Oregon were announced. In all, 23 individuals reportedly received prescriptions for lethal drugs in 1998, and 15 of those individuals reportedly used the drugs to end their lives. In 1999, the number of patients who ended their life with the help of a physician-written prescription increased to 27. Data were gathered from physician reports, death certificates, and interviews with physicians and family members. In 2000, the number of individuals who received lethal prescriptions rose to 39, while the number who ingested the lethal doses remained the same as in 1999 at 27. In 2001, 44 patients received a prescription for lethal doses of medication. Of these, 19 patients died after ingesting the lethal drug. In addition, 2 patients that had received a prescription in 2000 also died from ingesting the lethal medication. In total, since 1998, 140 patients received a prescription for lethal drugs and of those 91 died after ingesting the medication. The number of patients that ingested lethal medications in 2001 remains small despite an increase in prescriptions written for use in physician-assisted suicide. [Sources: Lee v. State of Oregon, 869 F.Supp. 1491; Woolfrey, J, "What Happens Now? Oregon and Physician-Assisted Suicide," Hastings Center Report 28, 3 (1998): 9-17. Sullivan, AD, Hedberg, K, and Fleming, DW, "Legalized Physician-Assisted Suicide in Oregon-The Second Year," The New England Journal of Medicine 342 (2000): 598-604. Sullivan, AD, Hedberg, K and Hopkins, D, "Legalized Physician-Assisted Suicide in Oregon, 1998-2000. New England Journal of Medicine 344 (2001): 605. Hedberg, K, Hopkins, D, Southwick, K, "Legalized Physician-Assisted Suicide in Oregon, 2001," The New England Journal of Medicine 346 (2002): 450-451.]

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