Physician-assisted suicide is the voluntary termination of one's own life by administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician. Ninety percent of the people who die each year are victims of prolonged illnesses or have experienced a predictable and steady decline due to heart disease, diabetes or Alzheimer's disease. Those with a terminal illness should be able to die peacefully, quickly, and surrounded by the people they love. Physician-assisted suicide is legal in six states and people are still fighting today to get it legalized. Whether physician assisted suicide is compassion or murder is a question that is still asked today. Doctor-assisted suicide …show more content…
Specifically, “The patient must understand his or her condition and prognosis, which must be verified by an independent second opinion, all reasonable palliative measures must have been presented to and considered by the patient, and the patient must clearly and repeatedly request assistance in dying” (Rogatz). Patients who meet these specific criteria and even in some cases, patients who don't meet these criteria should be able to pick the terms of their death. If a patient is mentally capable to choose physician assisted suicide then many concerns of abuse would not occur. A case in point, “If the option of death with dignity is unappealing to anyone for any reason, they can simply choose not to avail themselves of it, those very protections are already in place” (Bever). This is exactly most people's point, physician assisted suicide and death with dignity should be legalized. The people who choose this path have not entered into this decision lightly. The people that disagree with doctor-assisted suicide suffer longer than necessary until their life cures pain with and naturally. Individuals each have a choice but it should be legal for the people who meet the qualifications and have a sound mind to make the decision to end their life with a doctor's assistance. Based on assisted suicide, People want to know that they have the right to make a choice, not all will take advantage of this but the people with the right qualifications and state of mind should be free to make their own decisions about their end of