2024 statistics on assisted suicide are released

PORTLAND – The Oregon Health Authority reports that in 2024 prescriptions for life-ending medications under the Death with Dignity Act increased about 8.2 percent from 2023, but the number of deaths went down by 2.6 percent. A total of 376 people chose to utilize the medications statewide.

The 2024 figures are a significant change from 2023. That’s when prescriptions increased about 29 percent, driven largely by an amendment to the act that no longer required the patient to live in Oregon. In 2024, only four percent of those receiving prescriptions lived outside of Oregon.

The report also breaks down the statistics geographically. In Eastern Oregon, four people chose to end their lives by taking the prescribed medication. That’s down from seven in 2023. From 1998-2022, a total of 40 chose assisted suicide. Eastern Oregon is defined as Baker, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Morrow, Umatilla, and Union counties.

The most common health diagnosis among the participants was cancer at 57 percent, neurological disease at 15 percent, and heart disease at 11 percent. Just over half the patients were male and just under half had a bachelor’s degree or higher.

The full report is on the Dignity Act webpage.

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