skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

On 25th Anniversary, OR Medical Aid-in-Dying Law Sets the Standard

play audio
Play

Thursday, October 27, 2022   

Today marks the 25th anniversary of Oregon's first-in-the-nation law allowing medical aid-in-dying. The 1994 "Death with Dignity" law permits mentally capable people with less than 6 months to live to get a prescription for a medication, approved by two doctors, which they can then choose to take in order to end their suffering. Barbara Coombs Lee, former president of the group Compassion & Choices, co-authored the law. She said her work faced a long fight.

"It was under constant assault for 12 years at the state and federal level," Coombs Lee said. "I used to call this bill the little engine that could. It wasn't really finally resolved until 2006 when the last challenge was dismissed by the U.S. Supreme Court."

Attorney James Bopp Jr., with the National Right to Life organization, led the fight against Oregon's law. He argued, unsuccessfully, that pain control made the law unnecessary and that it would prevent depressed terminally ill adults from making an informed decision.

In the past 25 years, only about 5,000 terminally-ill Americans have used a medical aid-in-dying prescription. The state of Oregon shortened the waiting period and waived the state residency requirement.

Today, 9 states and Washington D.C. permit medical aid-in-dying. Current president and C-E-O of Compassion & Choices Kim Callinan notes, however, that 4 out of 5 Americans live in a state where medical aid-in-dying is not authorized.

"Medical aid-in-dying brings about a profound amount of peace of mind, not just for the dying person, but also for everybody within a state who might potentially want the option of medical aid-in-dying," Callinan said.

Currently, about a dozen states are considering or will soon consider medical aid-in-dying legislation. Governor Kate Brown has declared today "End of Life Options Day" in Oregon.

Disclosure: Compassion & Choices contributes to our fund for reporting on Civic Engagement, Health Issues, Senior Issues, Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …


Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …


More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social media platform X temporarily shutdown searches of "Taylor Swift" following the release of explicit deepfake images in early 2024. (Mdv Edwards/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021