Great article on the Australian/NewZealand website, MercatorNet
In the first four years (1998 to 2001) there were 91 deaths or about 23 a year. In the last five years (2002 to 2006) there were 201 deaths or about 40 a year. In 2006 there were 46 deaths; there were 65 prescriptions for lethal doses of secobarbital or pentobarbital written by 40 doctors. Currently about one in 700 deaths in Oregon is from assisted suicide.
Why have these Oregonians chosen to end their lives? Although the sponsors of the PAS law claimed that uncontrolled physical pain was the primary reason for legalizing assisted suicide, we have since learned that pain is not the main reason that some Oregonians have chosen it. The assisted suicide movement itself has acknowledged that physical pain is not the main reason for ending life. Oregon assisted suicide patients have been described by their doctors as being fiercely independent and controlling people. They fear dependency. Control and choice are the key words now used in the promotion of assisted suicide.
Less incentive to care
The arrival of "death with dignity" in Oregon has not created a health paradise. The national organization, Last Acts, issued a "report card" in November 2002 to states regarding their end-of-life care. Oregon was given a D grade for hospice care and an E grade for palliative care programs. There are concerns regarding pain management in Oregon. After four years of assisted suicide, an Oregon medical university study reported that there were almost twice as many dying patients in moderate or severe pain or distress as there had been prior to the law change.
Once a patient has the means to take his or her life, there is less incentive to care for the patient's symptoms and needs. A detailed report in the American Journal of Psychiatry in 2005 told of a depressed lung cancer patient in Oregon who had been committed to a mental hospital unit. During planning for his discharge, a palliative care consultant wrote that he probably needed attendant care at home, but providing for that additional care might be a "moot point" because he already had "life-ending medication" at home. His assisted suicide doctor did nothing for his pain and palliative care needs, but did offer to sit with him while he took the overdose. This seriously physically and mentally ill patient received poor medical advice and care because he had been prescribed lethal drugs.
An excuse for rationing care
Legitimising suicide for some can create danger for others. At a time of rising health costs administrators may build assisted suicide into their calculations.For instance, Oregon Medicaid covers the cost of assisted suicide, but not the cost of curative or local medical treatment for patients with cancer who have a less than a five per cent chance of living five years, even when that treatment can prolong valuable life. In 2003 Medicaid stopped paying for medicines for 10,000 poor Oregonians; this included patients with AIDS, those needing bone marrow transplants, people who are mentally ill and those with seizure disorders. In 2004 and the first half of 2005, an additional 75,000 Oregonians were cut from the health plan to keep the state budget balanced.
There's plenty more; hit the link above for the whole article.
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