ABSTRACT
Oregon's Death with Dignity Act (ODWDA) has been in effect for eight years. The United States Supreme Court recently decided that Oregon's law did not violate the Controlled Substances Act. Other states may consider a law similar to Oregon's through legislative process or ballot measures. Although social work is not mentioned in the law, our profession interfaces with the terminally ill, particularly in hospice. Eighty-seven percent of those who have used the law were enrolled in a hospice program. As a pilot project, this article explores conversations that the authors have had with patients, families, team members and health systems in hospices and oncology settings under Oregon's unique environment. The following four themes emerged from these conversations: (1) mental health, education, choice; (2) team concerns; (3) family issues; and (4) values, ethics, restricted conversations and professional struggles.
Subject(s)
Right to Die/legislation & jurisprudence , Social Work/organization & administration , Suicide, Assisted/psychology , Terminal Care/psychology , Ethics, Clinical , Family/psychology , Hospice Care/psychology , Humans , Mental Health , Oregon , Patient Care Team , Patient Education as Topic/legislation & jurisprudence , Patients , Religion , Suicide, Assisted/legislation & jurisprudenceABSTRACT
This article is written more like a conversation with the reader rather than a strictly academic piece. The purpose is to share from a more personal perspective the unique circumstances and challenges faced by two social workers in Oregon as they grappled with the Death with Dignity Law. The law has been in effect for six years and a May 2004 decision from the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court allowed the law to remain a legal end-of-life option. Each writer has a unique voice on the process of social work involvement in practice, research, and policy since the law was originally passed in 1994.
