However, the phrase “right to die” can be used in various circumstances. A physician may allow a patient to refuse life-saving treatment because it is their personal choice, yet may not engage in active euthanasia. Active euthanasia is the act of assisting in painlessly ending a person’s life through poisonous substances. In a way, both scenarios could be considered forms of murder or mercy killing because the end result is still death. The distinction is that one is letting nature take its course while the other is initiating external death-causing agents and causing death almost immediately. In both cases the physician plays a vital role in ending a life. A physician who administers euthanasia at the request of their competent terminally-ill