ote about how the patient, named Debbie, was very ill from some medication she had been given and was having difficulty breathing. Apparently Debbie said, "Let's get this over with" to the doctor who then gave Debbie a lethal dose of morphine. The article described how, within a few minutes, Debbie fell asleep and passed away. Since this doctor's objective was to speed up the patient's dying, this is considered physician-assisted suicide, or active euthanasia. This case is very controversial because this doctor had not met Debbie before, did not look at her charts or talk to her primary physician before giving her the morphine.
             In most states in the United States, physician-assisted suicide is considered a crime. Numerous people think that euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide is immoral and since life is God-given, God should decide when a person dies. On the other hand, people argue that people with incurable and painful diseases should not have to suffer for a long period of time before they die.
             The legalization of the different types of euthanasia is a very controversial subject. No matter what a government says about it, people on one side of the argument will be angry. In the United States, the Supreme Court stated that, if patients have made their request known, they are allowed to refuse treatment, even if it will result in death. In 1997 the Supreme Court rejected a request to make physician-assisted suicide a person's right. However, throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the U.S. Supreme Court leaned towards giving each state the freedom to create its own laws regarding physician-assisted suicide. The Supreme Court let the states legalize this if they wished. Most states did not, but Oregon is the only state with a law that allows physicians-assisted suicide. The Oregon Death with Dignity Act was approved in 1994 and was brought up again in 1997. The voters decided not to repeal the act. ...