Oregon's Assisted Suicide Vote: The Silver Lining

Editorials15 January 1996Oregon's Assisted Suicide Vote: The Silver LiningMelinda A. Lee, MD and Susan W. Tolle, MDMelinda A. Lee, MDOregon Health Sciences University Portland, OR 97207 and Susan W. Tolle, MDOregon Health Sciences University Portland, OR 97207Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-124-2-199601150-00014 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail In November of 1994, voters in Oregon approved a physician-assisted suicide initiative. Its passage shocked many members of the health care community. The measure was barred by an injunction weeks after the election and was later found unconstitutional in federal district court. It is not known if or when it will ever become law, and yet passage of the measure has produced benefits that were not entirely expected. Since the election, the health care community has focused unprecedented attention on improving the care of dying patients.Ballot Measure 16, titled "The Oregon Death with Dignity Act," was narrowly approved in ...References1. Lee MA, Tolle SW. Oregon's plans to legalise suicide assisted by a doctor [Editorial]. BMJ. 1995; 310:613-4. Google Scholar2. Lee G, et al. v. State of Oregon, et al. U.S.D.C. No. 94-6467-HO (D. Or.). 10 Aug 1995. Google Scholar3. "Ballot Measure 16. In: Oregon Voters' Pamphlet. Portland, OR: Multnomah County Elections Division; 1994." Google Scholar4. "ORS 414.710, see also Oregon Laws of 1991, Chapter 753, section 4." Google Scholar5. Solomon MZ, O'Donnell L, Jennings B, Guilfoy V, Wolf SM, Nolan K, et al. Decisions near the end of life: professional views on life-sustaining treatments. Am J Public Health. 1993; 83:14-23. Google Scholar6. Buchan ML, Tolle SW. Pain relief for dying persons: dealing with physicians' fears and concerns. J Clin Ethics. 1995; 6:53-61. Google Scholar7. Singer PA, Siegler M. Euthanasia—a critique. N Engl J Med. 1990; 322:1881-3. Google Scholar8. Teno J, Lynn J. Voluntary active euthanasia: the individual case and public policy. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1991:39; 827-30. Google Scholar9. "Life's final days get better [Editorial]. The Oregonian. 1995 June 8:C10." Google Scholar10. Tolle SW. Measure 16: a wake-up call to medicine. The Oregonian. 1994 Nov 13:C1. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Oregon Health Sciences University Portland, OR 97207Acknowledgments: The authors thank all those who support the Center for Ethics in Health Care for making this work possible, and they specifically thank The Meyer Memorial Trust and The Open Society: Project on Death in America. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent endorsement by our sponsors.Corresponding Author: Melinda Lee, MD, Medical Service (111-A), Veterans Affairs Medical Center, PO Box 1034, Portland, OR 97207.Current Author Addresses: Dr. Lee: Medical Service (111-A), Veterans Affairs Medical Center, PO Box 1034, Portland, OR 97207. Dr. Tolle: Mail Code L-101, Center for Ethics in Health Care, Oregon Health Sciences Center, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, OR 97201. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byThe End of Life Option Act: Important Considerations for Pharmacists as California Implements Physician Aid in DyingHow California Prepared for Implementation of Physician-Assisted Death: A PrimerLessons from Oregon in Embracing Complexity in End-of-Life CareCalifornia's End of Life Option Act: Opportunities and Challenges AheadAid in DyingPhysicians Should "Assist in Suicide" When it is AppropriateSurvival, Mortality, and Location of Death for Patients Seen by a Hospital-Based Palliative Care TeamA CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF CRITICISMS OF THE OREGON DEATH WITH DIGNITY ACTNationwide Newspaper Coverage of Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Community Structure ApproachIncreased Family Reports of Pain or Distress in Dying Oregonians: 1996 to 2002Ethical Issues in the Management of Geriatric Cardiac Patients. Ethical Issue: A terminally ill colleague asks for a prescription for barbiturates to commit suicide at the time of need.Palliative Options of Last ResortBOOK REVIEWS"Unintended consequences": Can legalizing physician-assisted suicide actually result in improved palliative care practices?Oregon hospice nurses and social workers' assessment of physician progress in palliative care over the past 5 yearsA Clear View from One Side of the Looking GlassOn the Road to Reform: Advocacy and Activism in End-of-Life CarePhysician‐assisted suicide in Oregon: why so few occurrences?Physicians' and Nurses' Perspectives on Increased Family Reports of Pain in Dying Hospitalized PatientsHow Do the Mental Health Issues Differ in the Withholding/Withdrawing of Treatment versus Assisted Death?Responding to Legal Requests for Physician-Assisted SuicideJames A. Tulsky, MD, Ralph Ciampa, STM, and Elliott J. Rosen, EdD, for the University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics Assisted Suicide Consensus PanelNexus: Physician-Assisted Suicide and Health Services DeliveryEthics perspectives on end-of-life careSUICIDAL PATIENTS IN THE ED: ETHICAL ISSUESOregon's Death with Dignity Act: Ten Months LaterHoward Wineberg, PhDSurvival Rates and Cardiopulmonary ResuscitationThe Medicalization of Dying: A Positive Turn on a New PathIV. Pain, Symptoms, and Suffering: Possibilities and BarriersEthical Issues and DilemmasCapitated Risk-Bearing Managed Care Systems Could Improve End-of-Life CareOregon's Physician-Assisted Suicide Legislation: Troubling Issues for FamiliesA hospital-based comfort care team: Consultation for seriously ill and dying patientsOregon's physician-assisted suicide vote: Its effect on palliative care 15 January 1996Volume 124, Issue 2Page: 267-269KeywordsFearHealth carePatient advocacyPatientsPharmacistsPrevention, policy, and public healthPrimary care physiciansPsychiatry and mental healthQuality improvementSuicide ePublished: 15 August 2000 Issue Published: 15 January 1996 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 1996 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...