PROFESSIONOregon sees fewer numbers of physician-assisted suicidesThe percentage of patients receiving psychiatric referrals before they get a lethal prescription remained at 5%, unchanged from 2003.By Andis Robeznieks, AMNews staff. April 4, 2005. Fewer lethal prescriptions were written in Oregon last year than in 2003, and fewer people took them under the auspices of the state's Death With Dignity Act, which allows physician-assisted suicide. But what has opponents of the law most concerned is the lower number of people receiving psychiatric treatment before receiving their prescriptions. According to the Oregon Dept. of Human Services' recent report on physician-assisted suicide, 37 terminally ill Oregon residents committed suicide under the law in 2004, compared with 42 in 2003. Also, 60 lethal prescriptions were written in 2004 compared with 68 in 2003. In all, 208 people have now used the law to hasten their deaths. Although there was a drop-off from the previous year, these were the second-highest totals recorded in the history of the practice, and assisted-suicide opponents point to many areas of concern. "Physician-assisted suicide is not needed and not natural," said oncologist Ken Stevens, MD, vice president of the anti-assisted-suicide group Physicians for Compassionate Care. The AMA is opposed to assisted suicide, calling it incompatible with the physician's role as a healer. Dr. Stevens criticized the state's report as "inadequate and sloppy," and said there is no real monitoring of what happens when a patient dies, so the state must rely on second- and third-hand information. To receive a lethal prescription, patients must be adult residents of Oregon, diagnosed by two physicians as having a terminal illness that will lead to death within six months, and capable of making medical decisions. If either physician believes a patient has a mental disorder, the patient must be referred for a psychological examination. [...]Full text of AMNews content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2005 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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