Nearly two-thirds of people who are prescribed lethal drugs in Oregon say that one of their motivations for wanting to die is because they feel concerned about being a burden on their family, friends and caregivers.

In 2018, 63.6% of those who had an assisted suicide death ticked that they requested their lethal prescription, at least in part, because they were concerned about being a burden. These numbers and percentages are rising, up from 55.2% in 2017, and way up from the 22.4% who cited feeling like they were a burden in the first few years after the Death with Dignity Law was passed.

Source: Oregon Public Health Division, Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act: 2018 data summary (2019).