Sad Statistics: Over 100 People Have Killed Themselves in 6 Months Since Passing of California 'Right to Die' Law

Leah Marieann Klett : Jul 3, 2017
The Gospel Herald

"It's really tragic that doctors are now thinking that the best they can do for a patient is to give them a handful of barbiturates and leave them to their own devices." -Alexandra Snyder; attorney with Life Legal Defense Foundation.

(California)—[Gospel Herald] Over 100 terminally ill people took drugs to end their lives in the first six months after a 2016 "right to die" law made the option legal in California, sobering new statistics have revealed. (Photo Credit: Shaun Best /Reuters )

The California Department of Public Health reported on Tuesday that between June 9 and Dec. 31, 2016, a total of 191 people received life-ending drugs after being diagnosed with having less than six months to live. Out of those, 111 people took them and died.

Another 21 individuals died before taking the drugs, according to the report, which also found that of those who died, 87 percent were 60 years old or older, and most were white. In total, physician-assisted deaths made up 6 out of every 10,000 deaths in California between June and…

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