DENVER – A state report says 69 Colorado residents were prescribed aid-in-dying medication during the first year of a law that gives terminally ill people the power to end their own life.
The state Department of Public Health and Environment report released on Thursday says that of the 69 patients approved for the medication, only 50 actually filled their prescription.
The Denver Post reports that patients who were prescribed the medication had a median age of 75, with men accounting for 54 percent and women 46 percent.
The primary diagnosis was cancer at 64 percent, with both amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, and heart disease accounting for 10 percent each and respiratory diseases 9 percent.
