Where We Stand
Section: Hospice / End of Life Care / Death & Dying
Subsection: Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS)

Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS)

The Oregon Medical Association does not approve of any legislation, which condones the deliberate act of precipitating the death of a patient, or confers upon that act the status of legality.
Adopted at the annual House of Delegates, 1973.


This does not imply, however, that a physician using his or her best judgment should not allow a patient to die with dignity.
Adopted at the annual House of Delegates, 1983.
Reaffirmed at the annual House of Delegates, 2011.


OMA neither affirms nor rejects AMA policy opposing the participation of physicians in the termination of a patient’s life and neither endorses nor opposes the initiative seeking to decriminalize physician-assisted suicide.
Adopted at the annual House of Delegates, 1994.
Reaffirmed at the annual House of Delegates, 2011.


OMA adopted the following policy positions with regards to the PAS statute:
  1. Physicians should not be obligated by law to include a patient’s diagnosis on a prescription.
  2. Physicians should either personally dispense medications under the law or, with a patient’s written consent, consult with a specific pharmacist and disclose the purpose of the prescription or prescriptions to the pharmacist.
  3. “Pharmacist” should not be included in the statutory definition of “health care provider.”
  4. A physician’s and consulting physician’s evaluation of a patient’s “capacity” is a sufficient statutory standard under the law.
  5. The law should not be amended to mandate an additional psychiatric or psychological evaluation.
  6. The law should be amended to specifically state that prescriptions under the Act are confidential.
  7. A demonstration of residency should include a requirement that the person be domiciled in Oregon for a minimum of six months prior to making a request.
  8. Consideration should be given to clarify that records collected by the Health Division and subsequently distributed to additional state or other governmental entities are specifically included under the law’s confidentiality provision.
  9. Creation of a statutory advisory committee to evaluate information collected by the Health Division is not necessary.
  10. Modifications of the Act to permit institutions to discipline physicians or sanction them should be carefully evaluated. 
Adopted at the annual House of Delegates, 1998.
Reaffirmed at the annual House of Delegates, 2011.


OMA’s position on the issue of physician assisted suicide – that it neither opposes nor supports it – is as adopted in May 1994. Its opposition to ORS Chapter 127.800.897 (Oregon’s physician assisted suicide law) is as adopted in May 1997. OMA affirms its policy on death with dignity, legal definition of death and palliative care as stated.
Adopted at the annual House of Delegates, 2005.

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