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March 27, 2025
Media Contact: Erica Heartquist, 503-871-8843, PHD.Communications@oha.oregon.gov
Aid-in-dying deaths drop while prescriptions increase, OHA report shows
Death with Dignity Act participant characteristics consistent with previous years
PORTLAND, Ore. — Prescriptions for life-ending medications under Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act (DWDA) increased between 2023 and 2024, while the number of deaths went down, according to new Oregon Health Authority (OHA) data.
According to OHA’s 27th annual report on the DWDA, the number of prescriptions written for lethal medications increased 8.2%, from 561 to 607; deaths from ingestion of lethal doses of DWDA medications dropped about 2.6%, from 386 to 376.
The 2024 data represent a significant change from 2023, when prescriptions increased about 29%, driven largely by a 2023 amendment to the DWDA that removed the state residency requirement. Deaths from ingesting the lethal medications increased that year by about 20%.
In 2024, 23 prescription recipients (4%) lived outside of Oregon, a slight decrease from 29 (5%) in 2023.
“What we’re seeing is, perhaps, a cooling of the heightened interest and participation in the DWDA that occurred when patients were no longer required to be Oregon residents to receive medical aid in dying,” said Tom Jeanne, M.D., M.P.H.., deputy state health officer and epidemiologist.
He added that OHA has not seen any dramatic shifts in demographics of people who participate in the DWDA, noting that “characteristics of participants have remained generally consistent with previous years.”
Despite the increase in DWDA patients during 2023, the report’s findings are similar to those of previous years. The number of physician-assisted deaths remains a small percentage of the estimated 44,000 annual deaths in Oregon.
As in prior reports, participants were more likely to be 65 or older (83%) and white (92%). The most common health diagnosis among participants was cancer (57%), followed by neurological disease (15%) and heart disease (11%).
In 2024, OHA made no referrals of prescribing physicians to the Oregon Medical Board for failure to comply with DWDA reporting requirements.
Other findings for 2024 include:
- Prescriptions for lethal doses of medication were written by 135 different physicians.
- Just over half of patients were male (53%).
- Just under half had a bachelor’s degree or higher (45%).
- Most patients died at home (83%), and most were enrolled in hospice care (92%).
- Excluding unknown cases, all patients had some form of health insurance. The percentage of patients with private insurance increased slightly from 2023 (from 21% to 23%), while patients with Medicare or Medicaid insurance saw a slight decrease (from 79% to 77%).
- As in previous years, the three most frequently reported end‐of‐life concerns were loss of autonomy (89%), decreasing ability to participate in activities that made life enjoyable (88%), and loss of dignity (64%).
OHA is legally required to collect information on compliance with the Death with Dignity Act and to make that information available on a yearly basis.
The full report is available on OHA’s Death with Dignity Act webpage.
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