The Oregon Death with Dignity Act: Review and Proposals for Improvement

Abstract

This Article discusses the history of the Oregon Death with Dignity Act from its passage in 1994 to the present, evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the Act, and analyzes the Oregon Health Division's reports on the consequences of the Act since 1998. Several improvements to the Act are proposed, including modification of the Act to contain self-administered lethal injections in situations where oral medications cannot be taken, additional reporting by pharmacists, mandatory psychiatric consultations for patients considering physician-assisted suicide, and enhanced control mechanisms. The meticulous set of Guidelines will improve the working of the Act and make it less susceptible to abuse.