“I can understand that someone who is really sick might prefer to end their life quickly if they know they won’t ever get better, instead of suffering for weeks or months,” says Jorge. “But it would certainly be better if critically ill patients could receive better medicine so they don’t have to worry about being in pain.” 

“I bet most of the patients who pursue physician-assisted suicide are afraid their pain will only get worse for the rest of their lives,” says Lisa. “New advancements in pain medicine would probably lead to the prevention of many physician-assisted suicides.”

Jorge asked, “Do we actually know anything about the specific reasons why patients approach their doctors and request help in dying?”

“Thanks, Jorge! That’s a great question,” says Ms. Kahn. “Let’s look at this data set from the Oregon Public Health Division. Oregon was the first state in the U.S. to alter its laws to make physician-assisted suicide legal. This may help answer your question.”

Jorge and Lisa noticed that the percentages added up to way more than 100% in the chart. How could that be?

Lisa assumed pain would be the main reason why people who are really sick request assisted suicide. Was her assumption correct? How do you know?

Discussion Question:

There have been cases in which people have been told they will not recover from a disease when, in fact, they do. Would those cases alter your thoughts about this policy?