What is 1994 Oregon Ballot Measure 16?
In 1994, the people of [[Oregon]] voted to approve '''Oregon Ballot Measure 16'''. This measure created the '''Oregon Death with Dignity Act''' ([[Oregon Revised Statutes|ORS]] 127.800-995). The Death with Dignity Act made [[physician-assisted suicide]] legal in some cases. This means that if a [[competency|competent]] adult with a [[terminal illness]] wanted to, they could get a [[prescription]] from a [[medical doctor|doctor]]. They could then use that prescription to kill themselves.<ref name=odwda>[https://public.health.oregon.gov/ProviderPartnerResources/EvaluationResearch/DeathwithDignityAct/Documents/statute.pdf ORS 127.800 - 127.897]</ref> The Death with Dignity Act made Oregon the first [[States of the United States|state]] in the [[United States]] to made physician-assisted suicide legal.<ref name=faqs/> The [[law]] survived many legal [[wikt:challenge|challenges]]. The [[Attorney General of the United States]] even tried to stop the law. However, in 2006, in a case called ''[[Gonzales v. Oregon]]'', the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] ruled that Oregon could continue to use the Death with Dignity Act. Over the next ten years, four more states made physician-assisted suicide legal for terminally ill people. ==Beginnings== Some states, like Oregon, allow citizens to vote on whether a law should be created.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sos.oregon.gov/elections/Pages/statelaw.aspx |title=Make or Change State Law |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=Office of the Secretary of State of Oregon |publisher=State of Oregon |access-date=April 4, 2016 }}</ref> This is called a [[ballot measure]]. In 1994, Ballot Measure 16 was added to the voting ballot (the voting ticket) in the state of Oregon.<ref name=legbrief>{{cite web |url=https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/citizen_engagement/Reports/BB2014OregonDeathwithDignityAct.pdf |title=Background Brief on Oregon Death with Dignity Act |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=September 2014 |website=Legislative Committee Servic