1994 Oregon Ballot Measure 16

Measure 16

November 8, 1994 (1994-11-08)
Death with Dignity Act: Allows Terminally Ill Adults to Obtain Prescription for Lethal Drugs
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 627,980 51.31% No 596,018 48.69%
Yes:     50-60%     60-70% No:     50-60%      60-70%

Measure 51

November 4, 1997 (1997-11-04)
Would have repealed Measure 16 if successful; referred by legislature
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 445,830 40.09% No 666,275 59.91%
Yes:     50-60% No:     50-60%      60-70%

Measure 16 of 1994 established the U.S. state of Oregon's Death with Dignity Act (ORS 127.800–995),^[1] which legalizes medical aid in dying (commonly referred to as physician-assisted suicide) with certain restrictions. Passage of this initiative made Oregon the first U.S. state and one of the first jurisdictions in the world to permit some terminally ill patients to determine the time of their own death.^{[citation needed]}

The measure was approved in the November 8, 1994, general election. 627,980 votes (51.3%) were cast in favor, 596,018 votes (48.7%) against.^[2] An injunction delayed implementation of the Act until it was lifted on October 27, 1997.^[3] Measure 51, referred in the wake of the US Supreme Court's 1997 ruling in Washington v. Glucksberg by the state legislature in November 1997, sought to repeal the Death with Dignity Act, but was rejected by 60% of voters.^[4] The act was challenged by the George W. Bush administration, but was upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States in Gonzales v. Oregon in 2006.

Measure 16 Results by County:

Measure 51 Results by County: