Oregon House to Vote on 'Suicide Kit' Ban

State Senator Floyd Prozanski sponsored the bill following the death of Nick Klonoski, a 29-year-old Oregon resident who used such a kit to take his own life last year. Klonoski ordered the kit from the GLADD Group, an acronym for ''Glorified Life and Dignified Death.'' The company is run by Sharlotte Hydorn, a widow in her early 90’s who watched her husband die of colon cancer in the 1970’s. According to Hydorn, she offers a service that allows terminally ill patients the opportunity to die at home rather than in a cold, unfamiliar hospital setting.

However, the problem lies in the fact that absolutely anyone can obtain one of these kits. There is no screening process in place, no age minimum, and no consultation required. Anybody with $60 can purchase a ''suicide kit''. The issue is best summed up by Dr. Eric Hollander, a clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. ''The problem is that with increased access to such a device to terminate life, some individuals might be enabled to act on a whim or impulse to kill themselves, whereas if this was not readily available, patients might obtain help for their underlying mental disorder, or view their situation from an alternative or more realistic perspective.'' Hydorn admits that her customers rarely provide information on exactly how they intend to use her homemade suicide kits but they do sometimes include extra postage for rush delivery, lending fuel to the argument that the kits are often used on impulse.


As one of the few states in which assisted suicide is legal, Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act makes lethal prescriptions available to certain terminally-ill residents. However, the act provides a number of safeguards that are not provided by the ''suicide kit''. According to Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act, only those who have been diagnosed with an illness that will bring death within six months are eligible to receive a prescription for a lethal dose of medication. Adult patients, who are determined to be of sound mind, can initiate the request for suicide assistance. Two physicians are required to verify the patient’s diagnosis and two witnesses are required to affirm the patient’s request for the lethal prescription. Furthermore, there are waiting periods implemented into the process, which serve to block impulse suicides. According to state records, 65 terminally-ill Oregon residents ended their lives under the Death with Dignity Act in 2010.

However, despite the lack of such safeguards in the sale of ''suicide-kits,'' Hydorn accepts no blame for cases like that of Klonoski, who suffered from depression brought on by periodic symptoms of pain and exhaustion. Klonoski, a graduate of the University of Michigan, used the helium hood kit and a rented helium tank to end his life through helium asphyxiation. In defense of her role in such cases, Hydorn said, ''Somebody closer to that person than me could have helped that person. It’s not my responsibility to help emotionally sick people. There’s local help for that.''

According to Hydorn, business has only increased since Klonoski’s story hit the media. She also notes that since the introduction of the bill a large number of orders from Oregon have poured in from residents who want to obtain the kits before the bill becomes law. Hydorn’s homemade ''suicide-kits'' are largely sold to customers who have been sent to her by Derek Humphrey, the author of Final Exit and founder of the Hemlock Society, a right-to-die organization. Several years after her husband’s death, Hydorn met Humphrey and eventually became a board member for his organization.

Hydorn, who refers to her product as ''exit-kits'', insists that she is not involved in producing the kits as a means of financial gain. Rather, she says she does it for emotional gain and the knowledge that she is helping people who are ready to die. She further points out that selling the ''suicide-kits'' alone does not make her responsible for a customer’s death. ''So long as I’m not present when death occurs, and I’m not telling them to shut up and pull the bag down already, I’m not accountable,'' said Hydorn.

However, if voted into law, the pending measure could change that in the state of Oregon. The measure would ban companies and individuals from providing substances or objects to someone who will be using it to assist in the process of committing suicide.

''We want to send a message, to make it very clear, if you are in the business of marketing or selling 'suicide-kits' to people, you will be held accountable,'' said Prozanski.