California 2020 Assisted Suicide report - 435 "reported" deaths.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

The 2020 California assisted suicide report which was released on July 1, 2021 indicates that there were 435 reported assisted suicide suicide deaths and 677 prescription for lethal drugs written in 2020 in California.

The assisted suicide lobby may focus on the data in the report stating there were 463 reported assisted suicide deaths in 2019 and 435 in 2020. 

It is very likely that the number of assisted suicide deaths were as high as 500 in 2020. Why do I think that?

The 2019 California assisted suicide report stated that there were 405 reported assisted suicide deaths in 2019 but the 2020 report states that there were 463 reported assisted suicide deaths in 2019.

The under-reporting in 2019 is based on the fact that the 2019 report stated that the ingestion status was unknown for 150 people who received lethal drugs while 82 of them were known to have died but no information was received. The 150 people with an unknown ingestion status likely comprised late reports, unreported assisted suicide deaths and some natural deaths.

The 2020 report handled the concern about the unknown status of people who received lethal drugs by stating:

The ingestion status of the remaining 164 individuals is unknown. Of the remaining 164 individuals, 83, ... have died, but their ingestion status is unknown because follow up information is not available yet. For the remaining 81 individuals, ... both death and ingestion status are pending.

Based on the fact that the 2020 report increased number of reported 2019 assisted suicide deaths by 58, I wouldn't be surprised if the 2021 report states that almost 500 people died by assisted suicide in 2020.

Under-reporting and abuses of the law are covered-up by the reporting system. The California assisted suicide data comes from reports submitted by the doctors who carry-out the assisted suicide death. Since this is a self-reporting system, it will never be known if a doctor does not send in a report or does not confess to abusing the law.

Order the pamphlet - Shedding light on assisted suicide in America.

At the same time, California legislators are debating the expansion of the assisted suicide law. Bill S.B. 380 removes safeguards and regulations in the law such as:

• Reducing the mandatory 15-day waiting period between the two oral requests for to 48 hours. 
• Forcing doctors who oppose assisted suicide to refer the person who requests it to a medical professional who will comply with the law. 
• Eliminating the original law’s sunset clause, which means they are eliminating the requirement to review the law.
  

S.B. 380 has not yet passed but it has received strong support at every legislative level.

I sadly predict that the 2021 California assisted suicide report will show a vaste increase in the number of assisted suicide deaths and that the 2020 report under-reported the number of reported assisted suicide deaths.

More information:

• California Assisted Suicide deaths increase by 20%. 405 reported assisted suicide deaths in 2019 (Link).
• California assisted suicide expansion bill will force physicians to refer patients to death (Link). 
• Assisted suicide deaths may not be quick or peaceful (Link).
• Suicide doctor conducts human experiments in killing people (Link).