Historical and Contemporary Issues in End-Of-Life Decisions: Implications for Social Work‪.‬

In 1997 the state of Oregon legalized physician-assisted suicide in which physicians can prescribe a lethal dose of medication at the request of terminally ill individuals who want to end their lives. By implementing the Death with Dignity Act (Oregon Health Division, 2001), Oregon became the first jurisdiction to implement a statute sanctioning medical interventions that directly lead to a person's death. Subsequently, in 2002 the Netherlands enacted the Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide Act (Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2002), formally legalizing both assisted suicide and euthanasia that had been practiced in the country for decades. Shortly thereafter, Belgium passed a similar law (Vollmer, 2002), making these the only two jurisdictions with explicit laws legalizing physician-facilitated euthanasia. These laws are indicative of a new era in which end-of-life (EOL) decisions and policies have become increasingly complicated. With medical advances in the past half century, decisions about whether to begin treatments, to terminate life-sustaining measures, and to intentionally end life are commonplace. SOCIETAL AND HISTORICAL ISSUES IN END-OF-LIFE DECISIONS