A terminally ill patient suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) knew he was going to die. He stated, “When I can’t tie my bow-tie, tell a funny story, walk my dog, or kiss someone special I’ll know that life is over… It’s time to be gone” (Ball 1) This patient has predetermined that when the time approaches, he will end his life through the means of physician assisted suicide, or PAD. What exactly is PAD? Physician assisted suicide, or voluntary passive euthanasia, is a form of life termination in which, “… a physician supplies information and/or the means of committing suicide (e.g., a prescription for lethal dose of sleeping pills, or a supply of carbon monoxide gas) to a person, so that the individual can successfully terminate his or her own life” (“Euthanasia” 2). …show more content…
Although, this practice has been deemed as, “…there is no constitutional right to commit suicide, with or without assistance” by the Supreme Court under the case “People v. Kevorkian” (2). Several states such as Oregon have adopted a policy of PAD, which then in turn allows patients, under a specific set of circumstances, to end their lives as they please, and in doing so relinquishing themselves from a world of demise and agonizing torture. In the state of Oregon a patient must be, “Terminally ill, have six months or less to live, make two oral requests for assistance in dying…” and much more (8). So, as shown, not anyone can simply walk to into a clinic and medically have their lives terminated, the process is much more complex and ethical than mere slaughter, but some religions still label it