Oregon voters approved a law allowing terminally ill people to end their lives in 1994, but opponents persuaded a federal judge to issue an injunction temporarily blocking the law. Voters in November 1997 overwhelmingly reaffirmed the nation's first aid-in-dying law and it's been in place ever since.
According to state statistics compiled through Dec. 31, 2013:
- People who have used the law since late 1997: 752 (396 men, 356 women)
- People younger than 35 who have used the law: 6
- Median age of the deceased: 71
- Percentage of the deceased who were white: 97
- Percentage who had at least some college: 72
- Percentage of patients who informed relatives of their decision: 94
- Percentage of patients who died at a home: 95 percent
- Median minutes between ingestion of lethal drug and unconsciousness: 5
- Median minutes between ingestion and death: 25
- Number of terminally ill people who have moved to Oregon to die: unknown
