Can Legalization Improve End-of-Life Care? An Empirical Analysis of the Results of the Legalization of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide in the Netherlands and Oregon
Jackson Pickett, 16 Elder L.J. 333 (2009)
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Oregon, the only U.S. state with legalized physician-assisted suicide, and the Netherlands, the only country in Europe with legalized euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, have kept extensive records of the use of end-of-life treatments. These records show that physicians in Oregon and the Netherlands generally follow the law, that legalization shapes physicians’ behavior, and that legalization may improve end-of-life care. Dr. Jackson Pickett uses empirical data from these two jurisdictions to analyze the effects of legalization on end-of-life care and suggests some goals that any future legalization should seek to accomplish.
