Euthanasia or assisted suicide is a very sensitive and debatable topic in today's society. Webster's Dictionary defines euthanasia as a painless and easy death. However there are many religious, moral, and ethical arguments against this method that is currently illegal . Many people seem to fear and dread the thought of aging and death itself. It is not easy for most of us to see death as an inevitable part of life. However the issues that surround euthanasia are not only about death, they are about one's liberty, right to privacy, and control over one's own body. The question is can assisted suicide be accepted as a reasonable choice, or should a patients pain and suffering be prolonged in order to preserve life, without regard to the quality of that life?

Currently there are a few specific types of euthanasia which are distinctly classified. Passive euthanasia is removing life support or not providing CPR to a dying patient. One of the most common types of passive euthanasia is giving a patient large doses of morphine to control pain. Excessive amounts of morphine can slow down breathing and assist with death. Active euthanasia is directly causing death of a person who requests to

Some terminally ill choose assisted suicide because of large medical bills that begin to add up. People do not want to be a burden to their families. They want their beneficiaries to get as much of the money as they can. The longer they stay hospitalized, the more their assets diminish. Opponents argue that greedy family members will suggest an earlier death so they can inherit as much money as possible.

The issue of physician assisted suicide was interesting to me because in 1992, my grandfather was diagnosed with ALS. In a years time my family and I watched his muscular physique degenerate into nothing. He was in a lot of physical and emotional pain and assisted suicide did become an issue. He felt that it would be best to end his life before the disease overcame him completely. Most of my family supported his wishes; however no doctor was willing to perform an assisted suicide. My grandfather suffered up until the day that he died and it hurt both him and his family to watch him suffer. I feel that he should have been granted his wishes so that he could have died with dignity and pride. Instead he was forced to let nature takes its course on his body without any control over it.

Humans are the most incredible beings on this planet. Our minds set us apart from any other living thing on Earth. Humans have emotions that include anxiety, fear, love, compassion, sadness, and happiness. Most of all, humans are conscious of their own mortality. Of all these emotions listed, humans seem to be loosing one; compassion. People have the right to control their own destiny and although we are all living to die, no one should be forced to suffer because of other people's ethical beliefs. People say that assisted suicide is cruel, heartless, inhumane, and unethical. But in my opinion forcing a person suffer against their final wishes is extremely cruel, heartless, inhumane, and unethical

Many people diagnosed with degenerative diseases such as ALS, Huntington's Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, AIDS, and Alzheimer's fear the slow and painful loss of quality of life in the future. They no longer wish to live because they will eventually lose

Some topics in this essay:
Murphy Law, Dr Kevorkian, Webster's Dictionary, Hippocratic Oath, Assisted Suicide, Earth Humans, AIDS Alzheimer's, assisted suicide, Oregon America, God God, Choose Euthanasia, terminally ill, ill people, life support, terminally ill people, passive euthanasia, heartless inhumane unethical, opponents argue, decide self, people die, care terminally, excessive pain, care terminally ill, cruel heartless inhumane,