We know, for instance, that the law in Oregon is rarely used. From 1998 through 2013, it accounted for 752 deaths — 71 last year, or one out of every 500 deaths in the state. Most of these patients were suffering from cancer, and the prognosis was clear. Far from being disadvantaged — a concern when the law was first proposed — they were relatively affluent, well-educated and well-insured. Nearly all were receiving hospice care, and nearly all died at home.