Death toll climbs as a result of California’s “End of Life Option Act”
Regional News
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According to state data released Friday, 374 people in California took their lives in 2017 using lethal medications prescribed by their doctors under the state’s physician-assisted suicide law.
The End of Life Option Act went into effect in June 2016. Since its inception, 485 Californians used it to take their lives, according to state data.
The LA Times reports the new data come amid an ongoing legal battle over the future of the law.
A judge temporarily suspended the law after ruling it was unconstitutional last month, only to have another court reverse that decision last week.
An appeals court is expected to rule in the coming months. The court could rule the law is unconstitutional and invalidate it.
Corrie O'Connor
