Introduction Any discussion of assisted suicide must include a definition of euthanasia. Euthanasia is any intentional, direct act causing someone's death under the guise of mercy. The means of euthanasia can include administration of a lethal drug, suffocation, carbon monoxide poisoning, a bullet, or the withholding or withdrawal of life sustaining medical therapies, including hydration and nutrition.
Assisted suicide is one form of voluntary euthanasia.
Laws proscribing suicide also proscribe assisted suicide. Even though they may sympathize with someone's desire for death, and are willing to help, doctors, friends and relatives hesitate to involve themselves in an act that might land them in jail. As support for assisted suicide mounts, several states have voted on physician-assisted suicide bills. Only one, Oregon, has legalized it so far. Opinion polls shed light on our hesitancy to accept assisted suicide outright.