For Individuals & Caregivers
Understanding End-of-Life Options
End-of-life decisions can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to navigate them alone.
Oregon is a national leader in end-of-life autonomy, offering individuals several legally protected options when facing serious or terminal illnesses. These options include stopping or declining medical treatment or life-sustaining measures, hospice care, Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking (VSED), , and perhaps most notable: Medical Aid In Dying (MAID). Oregon was the first state in the nation to legalize Medical Aid In Dying through the Death with Dignity Act. Together, these options reflect Oregon's commitment to patient-centered care and the right for individuals to make informed, compassionate decisions about the end of their own lives.
EOLCOR is here to provide clear, unbiased information so you can understand all of your end-of-life options and make choices that feel right to you. Our Client Volunteers are specifically trained to provide compassionate support through your end-of-life journey.
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The Death With Dignity Act
Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act, allows terminally ill individuals, who meet the qualifications of the law, to end their lives through voluntary, self-administration of life-ending medication, prescribed by a participating Oregon physician.
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Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking (VSED)
VSED is a federally legal end-of life option in which a mentally competent individual chooses to deliberately stop consuming all nutrition and fluids with the intention of hastening death.
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Hospice
Hospice provides end-of-life comfort care and quality of life support for terminally ill patients and their caregivers when treatments have stopped or declined and the patient has been given a life expectancy of 6 months or less.
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Stopping or Declining Life Prolonging Treatment
An individual who has decision-making capacity has the legal right to decline any medical intervention, even when that decision may lead to or hasten death.
Considering Death with Dignity? We Encourage you to Connect with our Team as Soon as Possible.
If you are interested in utilizing the Death with Dignity Act and meet the eligibility requirements, please contact us as soon as possible. Delaying the qualification process can cause an inability to meet the law’s requirements. If you are unsure of when or if you want to use the life-ending medication, the pharmacy can hold the prescription until you are ready to use it or not fill it at all. It’s better to qualify as soon as possible so you are able to keep this as an option, rather than wait until your window of opportunity has closed.
Our Volunteers are Here to Help
EOLCOR has a state-wide network of trained volunteers who can provide expert guidance and support. Our volunteers can:
Answer your questions and provide detailed information on Oregon’s legal end-of-life options in person, by phone or virtual visit.
Provide suggestions for talking with your medical team about your end-of-life options.
Help you find qualifying physicians for the Death with Dignity Act and provide support throughout the qualifying process.
Provide information and guidance to your healthcare providers about the Death with Dignity Act.
Be with you at your planned death if you choose to take life-ending medication.
Provide information on VSED and organize caregiving.