Living in Oregon, we like to refer to our state as “God’s Country” because the scenic landscape suggests that only God could have created so much beauty.
Oregon is the fifth least religious state in the country. Ten percent of Oregon’s population is Catholic. Fifteen percent of Oregonians are affiliated with Protestant churches and another seventeen percent say they are Christians but are not affiliated with a Church. There is a small percentage of Buddhists and Jews as well.
Scenic Oregon
I point this information out to provide a background to the passing of the “Oregon Death with Dignity Act” in 1997. Catholics and other Christian groups strongly opposed this law, but it passed by a slim margin.
This law “Allows terminally ill Oregonians the right to end their lives through voluntary self-administration of lethal medications, (usually a combination of barbiturates) prescribed by a physician specifically for that purpose. Under the Act, ending one’s life in accordance with the law does not constitute suicide. The Death with Dignity Law prohibits euthanasia, allowing the patient, not the physician to administer the lethal medication. Physician assisted suicide is when a physician provides the prescription or means to end another’s life.” Washington and Vermont have since followed suit, passing similar laws.
It has been 16 years since the law and the guidelines for this law were established and enacted. The law states that you must be over 18 years old, a resident, capable of making and communicating health care decisions and must be diagnosed with a terminal illness with less than six months to live. One thousand and fifty terminally ill patients have received prescriptions. Six hundred seventy three of these patients have ingested the prescribed medications to hasten their deaths. Three hundred and seventy seven chose not to in the end either because they died of their own underlying illness, or because they opted out. Eighty percent chose to die in their own homes.
According to the Oregon Right to Die Committee, founders of the Death with Dignity Law,
After the passing of this legislation, there was a huge increase in improved palliative care and hospice care in the state drawing attention to this much needed issue. Prior to the passing of this law, dying patients were already hastening the process of dying secretly, most often by accumulating and ingesting prescriptions, sometimes even with the assistance of their physicians. Essentially, these patients would die from being over medicated.
They continue: “A large % of hospitals and doctors who refuse to participate with their patients requesting these prescriptions, are subsequently referring them elsewhere. Primarily this is due to religious and moral conflicts. Most of these patients choose to die in their own homes. The data collected thus far suggests that the number one reason, according to the family members of people who chose to end their lives, was patients wanting to control the circumstances of death and be allowed to do so at home.” Worries about future symptoms in general were more important than current symptoms. They were already tolerating much of their discomfort with treatment given for pain. It was, however, the “unknown” that caused them to choose to take the lethal prescriptions.
Saint John Paul II in the 19th International Conference of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care stated the following: “Neither suffering, old age, nor disability can diminish the intrinsic dignity of the human person created in God’s image. It calls upon medicine to direct all possibilities toward alleviation of suffering when a cure is no longer possible.”
As a Catholic and an Oregonian, I find myself conflicted about several things associated with this law.
Let’s look at this from a little different perspective. What this suggests to me is that as a country, we have spent billions of dollars insuring people’s health during their lifetime… but what about the end of life? I understand the goal to prolong life by teaching healthy alternatives and providing the drugs and research to do this. But what about dying? Why do people have to live in fear of dying in an “undignified” way? Isn’t there a better choice than forcing an early death?
Hospice care can be given in the home or at a hospice center. The focus on hospice care is to improve the quality of the remainder of your life at the end of your life. They focus on minimal medical care primarily pain management and symptom control. They provide continuous access 24 hours a day and counseling, allowing the family more time to be devoted to just their loved one. They help with meals if needed and provide assistance with medications. Hospice was created by volunteers and continues to be aided by volunteers. Insurance does help with the cost; however, it can still be a financial burden to families. The person left at home to be the end-of-life caregiver needs to be available to watch over the person dying, sometimes having to leave their employment for a long period of time without pay. Wouldn’t it seem more important to continue to improve hospice care across the United States?
I have been a caregiver for my husband, Jack, for over 30 years. He has been through heart surgeries, including bypass surgery, strokes, a variety of serious health issues such as diverticulitis, gout, hernias, ulcers, Barrett’s esophagus, an aneurism, and most recently, in the last year and a half, bladder cancer. The treatment for the cancer following surgery to remove tumors was painful and long. In the last six years, he has suffered four strokes. I bring up Jack because on four occasions he has been close to death and I have been asked about his wishes at the end of his life. Jack always chooses the option to live. We choose to go to St. Vincent Hospital for his care because it is a Catholic Hospital (even though he is not Catholic). He knows they will use every means to extend his life.
I appreciate living in “God’s country”. I appreciate the availability we have with hospice care in our State to help with dying patients. We know that God calls forth life and it is God that calls us home. I pray that God will continue to oversee those people making decisions about how we die, remembering that God always has a plan.
Catherine Mendenhall-Baugh (Cathy) completed her education at the University of Nebraska majoring in Special Education and minoring in English Literature and now works in the insurance industry. A mother and a grandmother, Cathy grew up in a large Catholic family and as spent the last 30 years as a caregiver for her husband, Jack. A writer for Tuscany Press, she is also working on several longer writing projects.
){kind=link}