Oregon assisted suicide report sees record number of lethal prescriptions

Oregon's latest assisted suicide report shows that in 2025, the state dispensed a record high number of intentionally lethal prescriptions.

Key Takeaways:

• 637 lethal prescriptions were dispensed in Oregon in 2025, a record high.

• The number of deaths from assisted suicide in Oregon have likewise increased each year.

• The report indicates that assisted suicide tourism is increasing in Oregon as well.

The Details:

According to a state press release, the number of prescriptions written for assisted suicide in 2025 increased by 5% over 2024, from 609 to 637. This is based on data from Oregon's annual report on the Death With Dignity Act, which legalized assisted suicide in the state.

“What we've been seeing over the last several years is a steady overall increase in prescriptions and deaths among Death with Dignity Act participants," Tom Jeanne, deputy state health officer and epidemiologist at OHA's Public Health Division, which collects information on compliance with the Act and issues the annual report, stated in the press release.

But as Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, pointed out, it is suspected that there may be some inaccurate reporting regarding assisted suicide deaths. He explained that the numbers are often inconsistent and frequently change, and he predicts that they are higher than initially reported:

The 2025 Oregon report indicated that there were 421 reported assisted suicide deaths in 2024 and 400 in 2025. Due to reporting problems there were likely 450 assisted suicide deaths in 2025....

Similar to previous years the 2025 report updated the data from the 2024 report. The 2024 report stated that there were 376 assisted suicide deaths, but the 2025 report stated that there were 421 reported assisted suicide deaths in 2024. The 2025 report increased the number of 2024 reported assisted suicide deaths by 45 or more than 12%.

The OHA must have received 45 assisted suicide death reports from 2024 later in 2025. Some people suggest that the Oregon assisted suicide report is published too early for doctors to report all assisted suicide deaths. But that is not the case. The 2024 report was published on March 27, 2025 whereas in years earlier the report was published in late January or early February. Since there is no effective oversight of the law, some doctors are submitting their death reports much later and it is likely that some death reports are never submitted.

The 2025 report indicated that there were 400 reported assisted suicide deaths. I predict that the actual number is around 450 assisted suicide deaths or 12.5% higher.

Schadenberg also explained that the data is self-reported, and there is no third-party oversight ensuring the information being given is accurate. Because the deaths are self-reported, doctors concerned about a troubling or potentially disturbing case could simply choose not to disclose it.

The report also found that six percent (6%) of people given the lethal prescriptions outlived their prognosis, meaning they lived six months or longer than when the prescription was written. Likewise, six percent (6%) of the recipients had traveled to Oregon specifically to undergo assisted suicide, a four percent (4%) increase from 2024.

And sadly, as data from previous years revealed, most of those individuals did not opt for assisted suicide out of fear of a long, painful death. The most common reasons cited were a loss of autonomy, loss of dignity, and the inability to participate in activities that "made life enjoyable."

The Backstory:

Oregon's Death with Dignity Act took effect in October 1997, allowing "terminally ill individuals to end their lives through the voluntary self-administration of lethal medications, expressly prescribed by a physician for that purpose." Terminal illness is defined by Oregon as "an incurable and irreversible disease that has been medically confirmed and will, within reasonable medical judgment, produce death within six months."

First, the patient must:

• Make two oral requests to the attending physician at least 15 days apart

• Provide a written request to the attending physician, signed in the presence of two witnesses, one of whom is unrelated to the patient

The attending physician and the consulting physician must:

• Confirm the patient's diagnosis and status as terminal

• Determine if the patient is capable of making the decision to die and communicating on his own behalf

The doctor is required to inform the patient about alternatives, like comfort care, hospice care, and pain management, and must ask but not require the patient to notify their next-of-kin. If either of the two doctors believe the patient's judgment is impaired by a psychiatric or psychological disorder, the patient must undergo a psychological evaluation, but ultimately, is not necessarily barred from undergoing assisted suicide.

A change to the law in 2020 allowed patients to skip the waiting period (15 days between requests and 48 hours after the written request) if it was believed to exceed their life expectancy. The residency requirement was removed in 2023, allowing people who do not live in Oregon to travel to the state solely to die.

According to the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), "The law does not include any oversight or regulation that is distinct from what is done for other medical care.... OHA does not investigate whether patients met the DWDA criteria, nor how their diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment options were determined."