![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvom8_HKaFyIgfKaKhdnOn7kMkYnqlSV7hF251GDSyR7G-A8Gm7smTl0R9-1SLRJ8gHCyplfuYUN-XPd3gwwrqIighpVcCT262g2Wqg7QM7HXSYq8l-VwdUXUCA7s8mFgEpoZ9XCQdloU-/s200/Photo+William_Toffler.jpg) |
William Toffler, MD |
The Act applies to persons with a “terminal disease,” meaning those predicted to have less than six months to live.[1] Such persons may actually have years or decades to live. This is true for three reasons:
A. Treatment Can Lead to Recovery
In 2000, Oregonian Jeanette Hall was given a terminal diagnosis of six months to a year to live, which was based on her not being treated for cancer.[2] Hall made a settled decision to use Oregon’s law, but her doctor convinced her to be treated instead. In a 2016 declaration, she states:
This July, it will be 16 years since my diagnosis. If [my doctor] had believed in assisted suicide, I would be dead.[3]