Today many people have heard of suicide, where one takes one's own life when things become difficult to manage and they feel there is no other way to face them. Not many people today have heard of assisted suicide. Assisted suicide is when a doctor helps a patient commit suicide by prescribing lethal doses of drugs or providing the drugs to the patient. To discuss the topic of death with dignity, this essay explores the complex ethical and moral issues surrounding assisted suicide and provides a platform to discuss this topic in a thoughtful and respectful manner. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayDr. Jack Kevorkian played an important role in assisted suicide. He was a doctor who lived in Michigan and helped his patients commit suicide. He helped assist more than 130 people from 1990 to 1998. He also helped his parents by assisting them in their deaths. He served 8 years in prison for second degree murder for administering the lethal injection instead of helping the patient do it himself. At the age of 83, he had died under the Death with Dignity Act on 3 June 2011. They say he died peacefully listening to his favorite composer. He died in the intensive care unit where he suffered from pneumonia and kidney problems. He subsequently developed pulmonary thrombosis. Assisted suicide is legal in 5 states including Oregon, Montana, Washington, Vermont and California. Anyone who lives in these states, is over the age of 18, is terminally ill and is mentally competent can undergo assisted suicide. The first state to allow the Death with Dignity Act was Oregon on October 27, 1997. In 2014, a total of 155 terminally ill Oregon adults received a prescription under the Death with Dignity Act. Of the 155 patients, 105 they ingested the drugs to die in peace. Since the law was passed in 1998, a total of 1,327 patients have received the prescription and 859 have ingested it and died. About 1 in 3 people who receive these drugs under the Death with Dignity Act decide not to use them. Most people who choose those to die under the Death with Dignity Act tend to be well educated and have excellent health care, good insurance, access to hospice, and financial, emotional, and physical support. Most people who choose this path have cancer or ALS. They typically choose to die at home and are enrolled in hospice care. Research shows that 2 out of 3 people are 65 or older, while the average age is 72. In 2014, Brittany Maynard, a 29-year-old with terminal brain cancer living in Portland, Oregon, chose the Death with Dignity Act. On New Year's Day, after months of chronic headaches, she learned she had brain cancer. brain. She had been married for just over a year and was trying to start a family. After learning of her diagnosis she learned that she had 6 months to live. She did some research on what the radiation would be like and found out that she would have first-degree burns on her scalp and lose all her hair. Since her tumor was so large, radiation wouldn't have done much for her. He had considered dying at home with hospice care but didn't want his family to witness something so tragic. He took the medication for weeks, he wanted people to know that he is not suicidal but is dying and wants to die on his own terms. Having this decision about when to die gave her peace of mind during this stressful time. She wanted to make it to October 26th to celebrate her husband's death and had planned to.