But Diaz said that’s unlikely given the safeguards in the law, such as requiring doctors to determine whether a patient is mentally capable; it’s extremely difficult for a terminally ill person to travel long distances to another state; and many people want loved ones close to home Die in front of you – not across the country.

“There is no tourism,” Diaz said.

Compassion & Choices filed the lawsuit on behalf of Dr. Nicholas Gideonse, a Portland family physician and associate professor of family medicine at Oregon Health & Science University. A longtime proponent of end-of-life Medicaid, Gideons has been unable to prescribe end-of-life prescriptions for patients across the Columbia River in Washington state.

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While Washington has such a law, providers are hard to come by in the southwest of the state, where many hospital beds are banned from its religiously affiliated medical facilities. Asking his patients to find other doctors to help them take their own lives adds to their suffering, Gideonse said.

“Any restriction on medical assistance for death that does not fit a specific medical purpose is difficult,” Gideons said Monday. “My practice is by no means limited to Oregon residents, whether it’s past delivery of babies or other care I provide. .”

The lawsuit argues that the residency requirement violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which gives Congress the right to regulate interstate commerce, as well as privileges and immunities that prohibit states from discriminating against citizens of other states in favor of their own.

The Oregon Department of Health and the Medical Board declined to comment on why they settled the case. The state attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to an interview request.