Katie, a thirty-five year old woman was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. For the past two years Katie has been receiving chemotherapy and taking numerous types of medication to try to prolong her life. All of the treatments and visits to the doctors have made her even more tired and now Katie has to battle just to get out of bed. Every day her condition is becoming worse and worse. The doctors tell Katie she has six to eight months to live, and she has to receive six hours of therapy every day. She decides she doesn't want to go through anymore pain or suffering and knows it is only a matter of time before she dies. She wants to end her suffering by taking her own life. Katie can not do it by herself and needs someone to assist her. How can someone assist a terminally ill person in taking a life and not risk going to jail for it?

In recent years, euthanasia has become a fiery debate. Euthanasia is a Greek word that means "easy death," but the controversy it has created is just the opposite. Opponents of euthanasia say it is a fancy word for murder. Whether the issue is unnaturally taking another human's life, assisting suicide, or active euthanasia, s

Jens, Walter, and Kung, Hans. Dying with Dignity. New York: Continuum, 1995.

You have to put aside all your religious beliefs, all your moral beliefs, and everything else you were raised to believe. A person has the right the decide for him or her self what is considered a good quality of life. Nearly all states follow guidelines of allowing patients to refuse treatment, even if they know death could be the result. If euthanasia where to become legal then dying patients could have this option if the pain became unbearable to them. Patients should also have the legal authority to decide their time of death, even if they don't have the legal authority to determine the method of it. It's about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and if taking your own life to ease your pain makes you happy, then so be it. Everybody has the right to choose the way they live or die!

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Approximate Word count = 3356
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)