Medical advances have allowed doctors to lengthen the lives of patients. But many patients ask for life ending procedures when faced with pain that is too much to deal with and devastating loss of quality of life. The loss of quality of life is one of the biggest reason why patients ask for there lives to be over with.

Many afflictions, such as Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and persistent vegetative states completely destroy the quality of life a patient has, often leaving them completely dependant on others or on machines for survival. Three main options are available to these patients: voluntary euthanasia, mercy killing, or physician-assisted suicide. A patient may ask for euthanasia or assisted suicide before an event or disease puts them into the grave circumstances necessary for these options to be considered.

The debate on euthanasia and physician assisted suicide has been ongoing for hundreds...