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The claim by assisted suicide proponents, that Oregon's law is safe, cannot be independently verified: (1) Studies making the claim are invalid; (2) Oregon's data cannot be verified; and (3) Even law enforcement is denied access to information.
1. Any Studies Claiming That Oregon’s Law is Safe, are Invalid
During a Montana legislative hearing in 2011, State Senator Jeff Essmann made the following observation about Oregon’s law, that any study claiming that it’s safe is invalid. He observed:
[All] the protections end after the prescription is written. [The proponents] admitted that the provisions in the Oregon law would permit one person to be alone in that room with the patient. And in that situation, there is no guarantee that that medication is [taken on a voluntary basis].
So frankly, any of the studies that come out of the state of Oregon’s experience are invalid because no one who administers that drug . . . to that patient is going to be turning themselves in for the commission of a homicide. (Emphasis added).[1]2. Oregon’s Data Cannot be Verified
The State of Oregon (the Oregon Health Authority) publishes annual statistical reports about the people who died under Oregon’s law.[2] Much of this data cannot be verified due to a lack of record keeping and the destruction of source documentation. According to the Oregon Health Authority:
The identity of participating physicians is coded, but the identity of individual patients is not recorded in any manner. Approximately one year from the publication of the Annual Report, all source documentation is destroyed. (Emphasis added).[3]3. Even Law Enforcement is Denied Access to Information
In Oregon, even law enforcement is denied access to information about cases under Oregon’s law. Alicia Parkman, Mortality Specialist for the Oregon Health Authority, states:
We have been contacted by law enforcement and legal representatives in the past, but have not provided identifying information of any type. (Emphasis added).[4]Oregon attorney Isaac Jackson provides a similar account:
The [police] officer’s report . . . describe[d] that he was unable to get . . . information from the Oregon Health Authority . . . .[5]Footnotes
[1] Hearing Transcript for the Montana Senate Judiciary Committee on SB 167, February 10, 2011, at http://www.margaretdore.com/pdf/senator_essmann_sb_167_001.pdf
[2] The most recent annual statistical report for 2015 is attached to the declaration of William Toffler MD, which can be viewed at this link: https://choiceisanillusion.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/md-toffler-decl.pdf
[3] Oregon Health Authority, “Frequently Asked Questions,” page 2, available at https://choiceisanillusion.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/0ha-faqs_001.pdf
[4] E-mail from Alicia Parkman, Mortality Research Analyst, Oregon Health Authority, to Margaret Dore, January 4, 2012, available at https://choiceisanillusion.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/parkman-email.pdf [5] Attorney Jackson’s Declaration of Testimony is attached hereto at A-83 to 88. The quote is attached hereto at A-84. See also https://choiceisanillusion.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/isaac-jackson-decl.pdf