It’s three decades since Ann Jackson voted against the first assisted-dying law in the world. But after watching two partners succumb to cancer, and fearing the prospect of a lingering death herself as she grapples with autoimmune diseases, Jackson is now a vigorous proponent of the Oregon legislation used by thousands of people to end their own lives, and providing a blueprint for other US states and countries considering similar laws, including the UK. “I voted twice against the law, but once it went into effect and I saw how it worked, I changed my mind,” said Jackson, the former chief executive of the Oregon Hospice Association.
“I really thought that if everyone had hospice care, they wouldn’t need this, which was very arrogant of me because hospice is something where others decide. One of the things that really bothers me is the idea that doctors should decide when to allow you to die. That is just awful.
I came to realise this is about choice. Someone should be able to decide for themselves when to die.” Oregon voters passed the state’s Death with Dignity Act in a 1994 referendum by a slim margin.
Since then, more than 3,000 terminally ill people with just months to live have used the law to end their lives using a prescribed combination of lethal medications. Along the way, the Death with Dignity Act has survived a second referendum, an attempt to kill it in the US Congress and a challenge in the US supreme court. The number of people using the law to en.
