Assisted Suicide
Assisted suicide is one of the forms of euthanasia. However, generally, if not stated further, assisted suicide and euthanasia are taken for one and the same thing. By definition, assisted suicide refers to “helping a person to end his or her life by request in order end suffering” (Humphry, 2006). There are many other forms of euthanasia, such as terminal sedation, mercy killing, voluntary and non-voluntary euthanasia, and several others. All of these are done with merciful intentions, and intentions to help the other person. Typically, assisted suicides happen in hospitals when doomed and suffering patients succumb and decide to die. This topic, of course, is highly debatable in all countries and all nations. Every country has its own laws pertaining to assisted suicide. But generally, there is always some uncertainty about the legal aspects of euthanasia, because of the constantly changing laws and terminology. However, regardless of the country or nation, assisted suicide has been and will always be a hot issue, which is highly charged politically, ethically, and emotionally. 
If a person is facing imminent death, and is tremendously suffering his or her last years, the person might lose control and wish to die several months/years earlier to avoid the sufferings. In such case, the person asks for assisted suicide. On one hand, this option is good because the doomed person would not suffer that much. In addition, to be more precise (though immorally), the person would save medications and other resources for those who need them. Ultimately, every person has a right to die, just as this person has a right to live. On the other hand, however, there are negative aspects of euthanasia as well. Regardless of the motivation, it is depriving a person his or her life anyway. Since the doomed person does not commit suicide him or herself, but asks for help, it means that the action is actually equal to murder. Thus, the person assisting is actually a murderer, even though the person to be killed agrees with it. Ultimately, if the person wants to die, he or she should do it him or herself (which is also questionable). However, there are cases when the person cannot do it physically, and thus asks for assistance. 
Euthanasia is treated differently around the world. State laws vary from country to country. For example, there are no laws about euthanasia at all in France. The Germans, removed penalty for assisted suicide in 1751. Interestingly, there are only 3 countries that authorize assisted suicide: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland (Ergo, 2002). England and Canada, on the other hand, are very strict about euthanasia, and such assistance can entail up to 14 years of confinement. In the United States euthanasia is illegal, except for Oregon state, where residents of Oregon older than 18 might be assisted if they are in senses, and mentally capable of consenting. This law gained power in 1997. Recent study showed that 75% of Americans support assisted suicide (Wiki, 2006). 	
Jack Kevorkian is a notable American doctor, a pathologist, who was the first one do claim that every person had the right to die. Kevorkian is the author of multiple articles concerning assisted suicide and the moral and ethical issues attached to it. He was a pioneer, who assisted over 100 ill patients with the help of a machine he had made himself. He even recorded a one-hour video featuring voluntary euthanasia of Thomas Youk (Wiki, 2006). Kevorkain lost his medical license, and was even imprisoned for murder by the “delivery of controlled substance” (Wiki, 2006) to that same Thomas Youk. Kevorkian was sentenced for a 10-to-25 year imprisonment. Currently he is prison in Michigan. The news reported that he promised to never assist suicide if he is granted parole, and he will only be eligible for it in 2007. Kevorkian was also known as Dr. Death for his notable research and field of study.
In such important decisions, whether to end life or not, the final decision must be drawn by the patient him or herself. In other words, patient autonomy must be honored. There are doctors who understand that euthanasia is one of the options for a certain patient, and might want to induce such patient to ask for assisted suicide. However, it should be taken into account that patients may be vulnerable and psychologically unstable, which means that doctors can easily influence their attitude towards euthanasia and their ultimate decision. Patient autonomy concept opposes such approach, and promotes the patients individual decision-making. Thus, only the patient has right to decide, and if the patient is unconscious, then his or her closest relatives make the decision.
Typically doctors or other people assist ill patients or those facing inevitable death only because of mercy, sympathy, and compassion. People understand that waiting for imminent death in sufferings is not very pleasant, and thus they agree to help people escape body and leave the sufferings. Surely, life is a gift granted to us from above, and we have not a right to decide whether or not to take it away, even from a person longing to die. The religious views on euthanasia touch upon the aspect of whether or not it is planned by God for this particular person to go through that particular path. Some views conclude that assisting a person is comparable not only to murder, but to intervening God’s plans about people as well. Fate becomes an important concepts and argument; and from a certain religious point of view, those assistants deprive the person not only his or her life, but they also deprive the person the unique path prepared by the Lord, although this path might include sufferings. The argument is that, if a person’s path includes sufferings, than this person should go through them, and it is not any person’s business to intervene with the natural process. 
Unfortunately, there are cases when doctors exhibit unethical and immoral behavior by simply murdering hopeless patients. From one perspective, these doctors are said to be playing God, for which they will pay big price. And truly, in states where euthanasia is not punished, like Belgium for example, legislature promotes abuse, and knowing that they would not punished doctors are literally encouraged to murder patients. 
Ultimately, assisted suicide, or to be more precise, euthanasia, is a highly debatable topic in many states around the world regardless of whether or not it is legalized in the country. Religious, political, emotional, cultural, moral, and ethical charges have long been and will be put to it as long as people are sick in hopeless conditions. On one hand, with euthanasia doctors help patients avoid pain and suffering. On the other hand, these doctors actually commit a crime from a moral and sometimes from a legal standpoint. Euthanasia was, is, and will continue to be one of the greatest ethical dilemmas of humanity. 
Bibliography
1.	Wikipedia contributors (2006). Euthanasia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 27, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voluntary_euthanasia
2.	Wikipedia contributors (2006). Jack Kevorkian. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 27, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kevorkian
3.	Humphry, D. (2006). Definitions of Euthanasia. Assisted suicide.  Retrieved February 27, 2006 from http://www.assistedsuicide.org/definitions_of_euthanasia.html
4.	World laws on assisted suicide. (2003). Ergo. Retrieved February 27, 2006 from http://www.finalexit.org/worldlaws.html