Oregon will no longer require people to be residents of the state to use its law allowing terminally ill people to end their own lives, after a lawsuit challenged the requirement as unconstitutional
FILE - This Jan. 11, 2018, file photo, shows the state Capitol in Salem, Ore. Oregon has abandoned a requirement that restricted the use of its first-in-the-nation death-with-dignity law to residents of the state, after a lawsuit challenged the requirement as unconstitutional. Oregon will no longer require people to be residents of the state to use its law allowing terminally ill people to receive lethal medication, after a lawsuit challenged the requirement as unconstitutional.
“This requirement was both discriminatory and profoundly unfair to dying patients at the most critical time of their life,” said Kevin Diaz, an attorney with Compassion & Choices, the national advocacy group that sued over Oregon's requirement. While Washington has such a law, providers can be difficult to find in the southwestern part of the state, where many hospital beds are in religiously affiliated health care facilities that prohibit it. Requiring his patients to find other doctors to provide assistance in ending their own lives can compound their suffering, Gideonse said.
The Oregon Health Authority and the medical board declined to comment on why they settled the case. The state attorney general's office did not immediately respond to an interview request.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Sharpened pencils used to stab customer in head at Oregon coffee shop, police sayA man attacked a security guard waiting to order coffee in Portland with two sharpened pencils, Oregon police said.
Read more »
Four Killed at Oregon Homeless Camp After Driver CrashesA driver crashed into the homeless camp around 2 a.m. Sunday, killing two people at the scene instantly and injuring four others
Read more »
Driver Crashes Into Oregon Homeless Camp, Killing 4A driver crashed their car into a homeless encampment in Salem, Oregon, killing four people and injuring three others, including the driver.
Read more »
Four people are dead after a driver crashed a vehicle into Salem, Oregon, encampment of unhoused peopleSeveral people died early Sunday morning after a motorist crashed a vehicle into an encampment of unhoused people in Salem, Oregon, according to a news release from the Salem Police Department.
Read more »
2 Arizona sisters who never returned home from Switzerland trip died by assisted suicide, officials sayTwo Arizona sisters who were supposed to return from Europe in February died by assisted suicide, Swiss authorities confirm.
Read more »