While hundreds of terminally ill Americans each year are prescribed medication to peacefully end their suffering under Death with Dignity laws, the detailed statistics from states like Oregon, Washington, and California reveal a complex and deeply personal portrait of this end-of-life choice.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, Oregon recorded 367 prescriptions written under the Death with Dignity Act
- Washington state issued 243 lethal prescriptions in 2022 under its Death with Dignity law
- California's End of Life Option Act saw 892 prescriptions authorized in 2022
- Average Oregon patient age in 2022 was 74.1 years
- 55.1% of Oregon 2022 DWDA decedents were male
- 95% of Oregon 2022 participants were white
- Oregon cancer diagnoses 62.9% in 2022 DWDA cases
- Oregon neurodegenerative diseases 8.7% in 2022
- Oregon heart disease 11.6% of 2022 DWDA decedents
- Oregon DWDA 2022 regurgitation occurred in 3.3% of cases
- Oregon 2022 median time to unconsciousness 3 minutes
- Oregon 2022 median time to death 13 minutes after ingestion
- Gallup poll 2023: 72% of Americans support doctor-assisted suicide
- Oregon voters approved DWDA by 51% in 1994 Measure 16
- 10 U.S. jurisdictions have active Death with Dignity laws as of 2023
Death with dignity laws see growing but limited use across the United States.
Complications and Outcomes
- Oregon DWDA 2022 regurgitation occurred in 3.3% of cases
- Oregon 2022 median time to unconsciousness 3 minutes
- Oregon 2022 median time to death 13 minutes after ingestion
- No Oregon 2022 cases where patient woke after unconsciousness
- Oregon 1998-2022 complication rate averaged 6.25%
- Washington 2022 reported 2.5% seizures post-ingestion
- California 2022: 88% died within 48 hours of ingestion
- Oregon 2022: 6.5% took >1 hour to die
- No confirmed cases of Oregon DWDA patients entering coma and reviving 1998-2022
- Washington 2022 median time to death 11 minutes
- Oregon 2022: 94% died at home
- 100% of Oregon DWDA deaths ruled natural causes by medical examiners 2022
- California 2022: nausea/vomiting in 4% of ingestions
- Oregon 2022: respiratory difficulty reported in 1.1%
- Average Oregon DWDA prescription refill rate 24% in 2022
- Washington 2022: 91% died peacefully per reports
- Oregon 2022 longest time to death 40 hours 48 minutes
- No euthanasia interventions needed in Oregon DWDA history
- California 2022 median unconsciousness time 4 minutes
- Oregon 2022: 68 prescriptions not ingested by year end
Complications and Outcomes Interpretation
While statistically rigorous and largely tranquil, Oregon's Death With Dignity Act reveals the sobering nuance that a small fraction of patients endure longer or more complicated finales, though none have ever been roused from the intended, permanent slumber.
Demographic Profiles
- Average Oregon patient age in 2022 was 74.1 years
- 55.1% of Oregon 2022 DWDA decedents were male
- 95% of Oregon 2022 participants were white
- 43.8% of Oregon 2022 patients had college degrees
- 31.2% of Oregon 2022 DWDA patients lived in Portland metro area
- Washington's 2022 average age was 73.5 years
- 52% of Washington 2022 DWDA cases were female
- 93% of Washington 2022 participants were Caucasian
- 48% of Washington 2022 patients had at least bachelor's degree
- 28% of Washington 2022 cases from King County
- California's 2022 average age was 72.8 years
- 51.3% of California 2022 ELCOA decedents were male
- 78.5% of California 2022 participants were white non-Hispanic
- 52% of California 2022 patients had college education
- 42% of California 2022 cases from Los Angeles County
- Oregon 2022: 25-44 age group was 1.4% of DWDA deaths
- Oregon 2022: 45-54 age group 3.3%
- Oregon 2022: 55-64 age group 11.2%
- Oregon 2022: 65-74 age group 27.9%
- Oregon 2022: 85+ age group 28.6%
- Oregon 2022: 44.9% had some college but no degree
- Washington 2022: married partners 58%
- Washington 2022: widowed 28%
- California 2022: 40% heterosexual married
Demographic Profiles Interpretation
The data suggests that access to Death with Dignity laws is, statistically, a privilege largely exercised by older, educated, white Americans, painting a stark picture of who feels empowered to navigate their own final chapter.
Participation Rates
- In 2022, Oregon recorded 367 prescriptions written under the Death with Dignity Act
- Washington state issued 243 lethal prescriptions in 2022 under its Death with Dignity law
- California's End of Life Option Act saw 892 prescriptions authorized in 2022
- In 2021, Oregon had 370 DWDA prescriptions, marking a 14% increase from prior year
- Vermont reported 65 aid-in-dying prescriptions in 2022
- Colorado's End of Life Options Act had 303 prescriptions in 2022
- Oregon saw 276 patients ingest lethal medication in 2022
- New Jersey's 2022 report showed 37 prescriptions under the Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act
- Hawaii issued 16 prescriptions in its first full year 2022 under Our Care, Our Choice Act
- Montana had an estimated 50 cases in 2022 via court precedent
- Oregon's cumulative prescriptions from 1998-2022 reached 2,781
- Washington's total DWDA deaths from 2009-2022 exceeded 1,500
- California reported 517 deaths from 1,567 total prescriptions since 2016-2022
- In 2020, Oregon prescriptions dropped to 318 due to COVID-19
- Maine authorized 29 prescriptions in 2022 under its law
- Oregon patients represented 0.62% of total deaths in 2022
- Washington's DWDA cases were 0.8% of state deaths in 2022
- California DWDA deaths were 0.32% of total state deaths in 2022
- 92% of Oregon 2022 prescriptions were from in-state residents
- 98% of Washington 2022 participants were state residents
- Oregon's 2022 prescriptions grew 5.8% from 2021
- California's prescriptions increased 28.5% from 2021 to 2022
- Only 58% of Oregon 2022 prescriptions led to ingestion in the same year
- Washington's 2022 ingestion rate was 70% of prescriptions
- In Oregon 1998-2022, 66% of prescriptions resulted in death by ingestion
- 85% of Oregon DWDA participants in 2022 were enrolled in hospice
- 90% of Washington 2022 DWDA patients were hospice-enrolled
- Oregon 2022 saw prescriptions from 112 physicians
Participation Rates Interpretation
While each state's numbers tell a unique story, together they reveal a sobering truth: for a small but definitive fraction of terminally ill Americans, the desperate calculus of suffering has made a legally sanctioned, self-determined death a rare but resolutely chosen path.
Public Opinion and Policy
- Gallup poll 2023: 72% of Americans support doctor-assisted suicide
- Oregon voters approved DWDA by 51% in 1994 Measure 16
- 10 U.S. jurisdictions have active Death with Dignity laws as of 2023
- 91% of Oregon physicians support DWDA per 2018 survey
- New Mexico legalized aid-in-dying in 2021
- 80% Democratic support for MAID vs 55% Republican in 2022 Pew poll
- Oregon law requires two oral and one written request
- 15-day waiting period standard in most states
- 88% of Democrats support in 2023 Gallup
- Canada MAiD cases reached 13,241 in 2022, influencing U.S. debate
- 75% Americans aged 65+ support in 2023
- Oregon expanded to non-residents in 2022? No, still residents only
- 2023 bills pending in 12 states for legalization
- 94% of Oregon DWDA participants deemed mentally competent
- Compassion & Choices reports 80% physician support nationally
- 1997 Oregon voters reaffirmed DWDA 60% yes on Measure 51
- Washington passed I-1000 by 58% in 2008
- California ABX2-15 passed despite opposition in 2015
- 69% overall U.S. support in 2022 Pew survey
Public Opinion and Policy Interpretation
Though polls reveal a growing and bipartisan consensus that medical aid in dying should be a personal choice, the actual laws remain cautiously and narrowly constructed, reflecting a public that conceptually embraces the right to die with dignity but is meticulous about the rules for doing so.
Terminal Illness Statistics
- Oregon cancer diagnoses 62.9% in 2022 DWDA cases
- Oregon neurodegenerative diseases 8.7% in 2022
- Oregon heart disease 11.6% of 2022 DWDA decedents
- Oregon lung disease 8.3% in 2022
- Washington 2022: cancer 64%
- Washington 2022: ALS 7%
- Washington 2022: cardiovascular 10%
- California 2022: cancer 70.2%
- California 2022: neurological 9.5%
- Oregon 2022: loss of autonomy top concern at 89.5%
- Oregon 2022: decreasing ability to participate in activities 86.1%
- Oregon 2022: inadequacy of pain control 11.9%
- Washington 2022: cancer primary for 64% of cases
- Oregon historical 1998-2022: cancer 66.1% average
- Oregon 2022: other illnesses 4.7%
- California 2022: lung cancer specific 22%
- Washington 2022: respiratory diseases 9%
- Oregon 2022: 92.4% had confirmed terminal diagnosis by physician
- Average time from diagnosis to DWDA request in Oregon 2022 was 10.8 weeks
- Oregon 2022: median hospice time 23 days before death
- California 2022: 85% cancer or neurodegenerative
Terminal Illness Statistics Interpretation
These numbers reveal a stark and sobering truth: in the agonizing race between the dread of losing control and the slow-motion sentence of a terminal cancer diagnosis, the desperate desire to exit with one’s self intact is, overwhelmingly, the winner.
Sources & References
- Reference 1OREGONoregon.govVisit source
- Reference 2DOHdoh.wa.govVisit source
- Reference 3CDPHcdph.ca.govVisit source
- Reference 4HEALTHVERMONThealthvermont.govVisit source
- Reference 5CDPHEcdphe.colorado.govVisit source
- Reference 6NJnj.govVisit source
- Reference 7HEALTHhealth.hawaii.govVisit source
- Reference 8DEATHWITHDIGNITYdeathwithdignity.orgVisit source
- Reference 9MAINEmaine.govVisit source
- Reference 10NEWSnews.gallup.comVisit source
- Reference 11PEWRESEARCHpewresearch.orgVisit source
- Reference 12CANADAcanada.caVisit source
- Reference 13COMPASSIONANDCHOICEScompassionandchoices.orgVisit source