By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA
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| William Toffler, MD |
The proposed act in SB 1129 SD1 applies to persons with a “terminal disease,” meaning those predicted to have less than six months to live.[1] Such persons may actually have years or decades to live. This is true for three reasons:
A. Treatment Can Lead to Recovery
In 2000, Oregonian Jeanette Hall was given a terminal diagnosis of six months to a year to live, which was based on her not being treated for cancer.[2] Hall made a settled decision to use Oregon’s law, but her doctor convinced her to be treated instead. In a 2016 declaration, she states:
This July, it will be 16 years since my diagnosis. If [my doctor] had believed in assisted suicide, I would be dead.[3]
