Physician-assisted suicide: Why both sides are wrong

For the past three decades, the debate over whether physicians should be legally able to write lethal prescriptions has been the dominant medium through which American society has wrestled with what to do when someone who is seriously ill is suffering. In state after state, lawyers and legislative champions act as warriors for right-to-die and right-to-life organizations. In each camp, meetings are held, bills and citizen initiatives drafted, lawsuits developed, rallies organized and, of course, checks written. The arguments are all too familiar and, by now, feel stale. Although little has changed since Oregon became the first state to sanction the practice, year after year legislative time and attention are conscripted to participate in the fight.