You sit there, suffering slowly and painfully. You are confined to a small room where doctors and visitors look on, pondering your future, something you have had plenty of time to think about. Medical costs soar to phenomenal amounts. You honestly cannot see any reason to go on living. You request that the life support systems be removed, or a form of assisted suicide to finally end it all for you; however, technically it cannot be accomplished, as any form of euthanasia or assisted suicide is tried as a punishable crime. Of course, there are loopholes around this, but the principle remains that one should determine his own fate, rather than by an unbending law. A person who suffers from a terminal disease often has a horrendous quality of life. To many, it seems pointless to keep a person alive, only to suffer constant pain (McAteer). It also seems senseless to prolong the life of a human who is in a constant comatose state (Greenhouse).
             The argument over freedom of choice and the moral issues surrounding euthanasia and assisted suicide has become one of the most combated issues of our time. Euthanasia is the intentional killing by act or omission of a dependent human being for his or her alleged benefit. Euthanasia is slightly different than assisted suicide, which is defined as when someone provides an individual with the information, guidance, and means to take his or her own life with the intention that they will be used for this purpose. If it is a doctor who provides such information, it is called "physician assisted suicide".
             There are two forms of euthanasia that can be utilized, active and passive. Active euthanasia is the intentional killing of a patient, if the condition is so bad that life brings pain, suffering, and a loss of dignity and freedom. A possible solution may be an overdose of drugs, or the administering of a lethal injection. Passive euthanasia differs in that there is no direct kil...