Most people who utilize medical aid in dying in D.C. have terminal cancer

Between 2017 and 2022, seven in 10 people who ended their lives under the District's Death With Dignity Act were patients with cancer.

A bar chart that shows 17 out of 24 deaths under Washington D.C.'s Death with Dignity law involved patients with terminal cancer.
Data is available through February 2022. Diagnoses included brain, breast, lung and ovarian cancer; Lou Gehrig's disease; congestive heart failure; and advanced emphysema. All diagnoses are terminal with a life expectancy of less than six months.
Chart: Sapna BansilSource: D.C. Department of HealthCreated with Datawrapper