OLYMPIA, Washington, March 30, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Assisted suicide is on the rise in Washington, data released this month by the Washington State Department of Health for 2010 indicates.

The Death with Dignity Act Report is the second released by the state after the legalization of assisted suicide by the voter-approved law that took effect in March 2009.

Assisted suicide drugs were dispensed to 87 patients in 2010, 51 of whom reportedly died after ingesting the drugs.  The data represents a 42 percent rise from the 36 assisted suicide deaths reported in 2009 – although that data only represented 10 months’ time, since legalization only went into effect in March of that year. However, the average number of assisted suicide deaths per month rose from 3.6 to 4.25.