What is euthanasia? Levine (2012) states like truth telling, euthanasia is an old problem given new scope by the ability of modern medical technology to prolong life. Euthanasia is the intentional killing by act or omission of a dependent human being for his or her alleged benefit. There are four types of euthanasia listed by Levine: active euthanasia, passive euthanasia, voluntary euthanasia, and non-voluntary euthanasia. The controversy is not life ending, but when death is inescapable, how far should one go in accelerating it? On October 27, 1997 Oregon enacted the Death with Dignity Act which allows terminally-ill Oregonians to end their lives through the voluntary self-administration of lethal medications, expressly prescribed by a physician for that purpose (Oregon 2012). The Act requires the Oregon Department of Human Services to collect information about the patients and physicians who participate in the Act, and publish an annual statistical report. Many objections that arise on this topic is the act allowing patients to commit suicide? The Eighth Annual Report on Oregon's Death with Dignity Act states under the Act, ending one's life in accordance with the law does not constitute suicide (ProCon 2012). The Death with Dignity Act legalizes physician-assisted suicide (PAS), but specifically prohibits euthanasia, where a physician or other person directly administers a medication to end another's life.
In 1997 Oregon became the first state to permit physician-assisted suicide. On November 5, 2008 the state of Washington voted to allow legal assisted suicide according to the Oregon model. There is no specific federal law regarding either euthanasia or assisted suicide. All 50 states and the District of Columbia prohibit euthanasia under general homicide laws. Assisted suicide laws are handled at the state rather than the federal level: thirty-six states have