Oregon Becomes National Destination for Assisted Suicide

Individuals who reside in states that outlaw euthanasia such as Texas have begun traveling to Oregon To receive assistance with their suicide, the state is the first “death tourism” Destination in the USA

According to Daily MailDr. Nicholas Gideonse is the director of Oregon End-of-Life ChoicesRecently, she admitted that she helped a Texas man suffering from Lou Gehrig’s Disease in his suicide attempt. “for a small number of patients who otherwise qualify or are determined to go through that and who have the energy and the resources … it has started to happen.”

According to Official website of OregonIn 1997, the state passed the Death with Dignity Act. “which allows terminally ill individuals to end their lives through the voluntary self-administration of lethal medications, expressly prescribed by a physician for that purpose.” The law allowed terminally ill people who expected to die within six month to ask for fatal drugs from doctors. They then take the drug and administer it themselves. The program was used to help 238 suicides in 2021. Doctors prescribed 383 fatal drug doses.

Original restriction applied to people outside of the state. Dr. Gideonse sued Oregon for lifting that restriction in 2021.

If a resident of another country wants to travel to Oregon for the fatal drug, they will be placed on a waiting list for 15 days. After this time, paperwork is processed. At the end of that period, two doctors and witnesses must sign off to authorize suicide by prescription. Oregon has yet to make Death with Dignity available to all out-of state residents, but House Bill 2279 is expected to codify it this year.

The law looks like Canada‘s state-sponsored euthanasia Program also known as Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD).This was originally meant for people with serious physical ailments, but it has been modified to be open to those with mental health issues. 

The original lawsuit against Dr. Gideonse was filed by Washington residents who sought suicide drugs. It has since been expanded to include residents from other states, as well as those with strict anti-euthanasia laws. 

The executive director of the Patients Rights Action Fund, a group pushing back against Oregon’s law, Matt Vallière, said “You end up in this Wild West scenario where people take the drugs back to their home states, and there are a lot more questions than there are answers about what would happen after that.”

Dr. Gideonse has also fought for the legalization of psilocybin as a treatment for depression. He has connections to the Compassion & Choices group. “grew out of the 1980s right-to-die movement of the Hemlock Society and Jack Kevorkian — the pathologist and notorious ‘Dr Death’ who assisted scores of suicides and was ultimately convicted of murder,” Daily Mail report.

Diane Coleman, President of Not Dead Yet said: “Many view these laws as a danger to people with serious illnesses, chronic conditions and significant disabilities in our cost-conscious healthcare system.”