Euthanasia-Everyone Has the Right to Choose to Live or Die
             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, society is afraid of and not accepting of death. Especially with the prejudices of ageism, the dread of aging and dying. However, the issues that surround euthanasia are not only about death, they are about one's liberty, right to privacy and control over his or her own body. So, the question remains, who has the right?
             Under current U.S. law, there are clear distinctions between the two types of euthanasia. They are physician assisted death and euthanasia, which are different from one another. Physician assisted death involves a second party, usually a doctor, who gives the patient drugs and instructs him or her on how to take his or her own life. With euthanasia, it is a doctor who administers t...