last year the US state of Oregon had the highest number of assisted suicides since the practice began in 1998. Almost half believed they were being a ‘burden’ to other people.

The latest annual assisted suicide report ‘Oregon Death with Dignity Act: 2023 Data Summary’, released last month, has revealed a total of 367 people ended their lives by assisted suicide in 2023 in Oregon. This figure represents a 32pc increase in deaths by assisted suicide from 278 in the previous year. Assisted suicide involves a person taking a poison themselves as opposed to a doctor administering it which is euthanasia.

Among the end-of-life concerns listed by those who ended their lives, almost half (43.3pc) of those who ended their lives reported being concerned about being a “[b]urden on family, friends/caregivers”, and 8.2pc said they were concerned about the “[f]inancial implications of treatment”.

Almost 90pc said they were concerned about reduced ability “to engage in activities making life enjoyable”, 91.6pc mentioned concerns about “losing autonomy”, and 63.8pc of those who ended their lives in this way, said they were concerned about loss of dignity.