Physician-Assisted Death — From Oregon to Washington State

In November, residents of the state of Washington voted 58% to 42% to allow physician-assisted suicide.1 The Washington Death with Dignity Act is modeled on a similar law that has been in effect in Oregon since October 1997 and that was upheld in 2006 by the U.S. Supreme Court. The act permits terminally ill state residents, defined as adults with an illness expected to lead to death within 6 months, to request and receive a prescription for a lethal dose of a medication that they may self-administer in order to end their life. Booth Gardner, a former governor of Washington . . .