More on California’s Aid-in-Dying Law

We have blogged a couple of times at least about California’s Aid-in-Dying law, most recently about the judge declaring the law unconstitutional. While the constitutionality issue makes its way through the court system, California in late June released statistics to show how many folks had previously availed themselves of the law. The New York Times reported that Nearly 400 People Used California Assisted Death Law in 2017.

Here are some statistics from the article:

374 terminally ill people took drugs to end their lives in 2017, the first full year after a law made the option legal….

577 people received aid-in-dying drugs last year, but not everyone used them….

Of the 374 who died, about 90 percent were more than 60 years old, about 95 percent were insured and about 83 percent were receiving hospice or similar care. The median age was 74….

Most of the recipients were college educated and receiving hospice or similar care….

The 374 people who died include 11 people who were prescribed drugs in 2016 but died last year.

Another 86 people were prescribed the lethal drugs but died without taking them, while the fate of the remaining 128 people wasn’t reported.