Third of patients given lethal drugs under right-to-die laws ‘do not take them’

Third of patients given lethal drugs under right-to-die laws ‘do not take them’
The Telegraph (England), 12/23/23
More than a third of suicidal patients who are prescribed lethal drugs under right-to-die laws do not take them, data show. Just 1,905 of the 2,895 people prescribed assisted dying pills in Oregon, US, between 1998 and 2021 took them, according to the state’s public health data. The figures are mirrored in the neighbouring state of California, where in 2021, 286 of the 772 people prescribed a fatal dose ultimately decided against using it. Even in Canada, where medically-assisted deaths are the most pervasive and accepted in the world, around 13,000 people of the 15,500 with lethal drug prescriptions in 2022 used them—and around 300 people changed their mind. Experts consider the Oregon model, whereby a doctor specialising in end-of-life care prescribes a deadly drug to be taken at home by a patient, as the best option for Britain, should MPs vote for a change in the law.