In 1994, Oregon became the
first state to legalize physician-assisted
suicide. As a result, any
individual whom two physicians
diagnose as having less than
six months to live can lawfully
request a fatal dose of barbiturate
to end his or her life. Since
1994, more than 500 Oregonians
have taken their mortality into
their own hands. In How to
Die in Oregon, filmmaker Peter
Richardson gently enters the
lives of the terminally ill as they
consider whether – and when – to
end their lives by lethal overdose.
Richardson examines both sides
of this complex, emotionally
charged issue. What emerges
is a life-affirming, staggeringly
powerful portrait of what it means
to die with dignity.
