California's doctor-assisted deaths surged 63% to 853 last year: critics say state law is unconstitutional, has made it too easy to get lethal drugs, and 'steers' disabled people to suicide

UK Daily Mail ^ | 08/15/2023 | James Reinl

[DFG]

Record numbers of people ended their lives in California last year in America's biggest doctor-assisted suicide program, after lawmakers made it easier for residents to get their hands on lethal drugs.

Last year, 1,270 people got fatal prescriptions under the state's End of Life Option Act (ELOA), and 853 people used them to end their lives, the California Department of Public Health said in its annual report.

That's a jump from 863 scripts and 522 deaths the previous year.

The data come amid growing concerns that California, Oregon, and other US states are liberalizing their assisted-suicide programs too quickly and following the example of Canada, where some 13,500 people were euthanized last year.

The surge in assisted suicides came after California lawmakers in 2021 backed a law that shortened from 15 days to 48 hours the time needed to apply for a cocktail of suicide drugs. That law took effect in January.

'It's no wonder that the number of assisted suicides soared in the year after the California legislature effectively removed the original 15-day cooling-off period,' Matt Valliere, director of the Patients' Rights Action Fund, told DailyMail.com.

'Most Medi-Cal patients cannot get a mental health consult in less than 72 hours and are not guaranteed palliative care, but now, they can get suicide drugs in 48 hours and the state will pay for it every time.'

[lastchance]

On the same subject regarding Canada.

Dr John Campbell, “The Importance of Human Life”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8H4xImdtrI