California has published data for the first half year of its 2016 End of Life.Options law.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has released data on the operation of that State’s 2016 End of Life Options Act. The Act, which is similar to Oregon’s ‘Death with Dignity Act, came into force on 9 June 2016. The first report on the Act’s outturn covers a little more than half a year – from 9 June to 31 December 2016. It records that during this period 191 prescriptions for lethal drugs were written by 173 doctors. As a result 111 people died through ingestion of the drugs, while 21 died of natural causes. The CDPH has no information on what happened to the remaining 59 recipients of lethal drugs. The 111 deaths by physician-assisted suicide (PAS) represent, according to the report, 6.06 per 10,000 deaths in the State as a whole. The report can be accessed here.