Assisted-Death Rate Ticks Up In First Full Year After California Passed Aid-In-Dying Law
While the law faces an uncertain future, state officials released numbers Friday showing an increase in deaths from 16.5 per month in 2016 to 31.2 in 2017.
The Associated Press:
Nearly 400 People Used California Assisted Death Law In 2017
California health officials reported Friday that 374 terminally ill people took drugs to end their lives in 2017, the first full year after a law made the option legal. The California Department of Public Health said 577 people received aid-in-dying drugs last year, but not everyone used them. The law allows adults to obtain a prescription for life-ending drugs if a doctor has determined they have six months or less to live. They can self-administer the drugs. (6/22)
Sacramento Bee:
CA Assisted Death Law Used By Nearly 400 Patients In 2017
According to data compiled by the California Department of Public Health, more than 90 percent of individuals were 60 or older and about 89 percent were white. Almost 55 percent had completed a college education. The patients were nearly evenly split between women (51 percent) and men (47 percent). (Koseff, 6/22)
