All three of these states have strict guidelines and requirements to ensure that there is no misuse of assisted suicide; key restriction that these states have and common--and would have in common with the California's ELOA--is that, in order to receive assisted suicide in their state, you must be a terminally ill, and you must be a resident of the state in which you are requesting assisted suicide. ("Death with Dignity Around"). Terminal illness is defined as an illness that has been medically confirmed as incurable and irreversible, which, according to medical judgment, will result in death from natural causes within six months (California, State Department of Public Health). Oregon has had overall success with the DWDA. DWDA reports from 2014 say that 155 lethal medication were prescribed under the provisions of the DWDA, while 105 people had took the medication, none of which regained consciousness. 37 of those who did not take the medication passed away from natural causes. The remaining are still pending status on either death or ingestion. Overall, there were 30 DWDA deaths per 10,000 total deaths in Oregon in 2014. No referrals for failure to comply with DWDA requirements were made to the Oregon Medical Board during 2014 (Oregon, Oregon Public Health Division).
Recently, a California resident name Brittany Maynard was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Brittany's story went viral when she and her family uprooted their lives from San Francisco, California, and relocated to Oregon, where 29 year old Brittany could have the right to die with dignity. Though after her diagnosis, Brittany underwent procedures to stop the growth of the tumor in her brain, her prognosis continued to get worse; not only did her tumor come back, but it was growing rapidly and Brittany was given six or less months to live. Brittany wanted to enjoy the time she had left with her loved ones, and she knew that debilitating treatments were not an option for her.