Physician-Assisted Suicide/Death (PAD): Is it Good or Bad? We talk about PAD when the doctor prescribes to terminally ill patients a lethal dose of drug, at the patient's request, which the patient intends to use to end his or her life (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2011); another option close to medically assisted suicide is euthanasia. Euthanasia is the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of irreparably ill or injured individuals (such as people or pets) in a relatively painless manner for the sake of mercy (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2011). Doctor-assisted suicide/death is different from euthanasia, the main difference being how the act of ending the patient's life is performed. Doctor-assisted suicide: the patient is the one who self-administers the lethal injection. The doctor is the provider of the drug and the patient chooses when to end his or her life. While euthanasia occurs when the drug is administered by a third person. They can also act directly to end the patient's life. Euthanasia is only legal in Washington (Clarence H. Braddock, 2009). The thought of helping a patient who is suffering and wanting to kill them is a very controversial topic as to whether or not it is ethical for a doctor to end an illness. the life of the person. People against medically assisted suicide believe it is an insult to God as well as murder. Others believe it is a matter of choice. I firmly believe that it is a matter of choice. In order for a patient to qualify for physician-assisted suicide, they would have to meet certain restrictions to have that option. Physician-assisted suicide should be made an option for all terminally ill patients (wha… middle of paper… 9, 1 April). The doctor helps to dieEthics in medicine. Retrieved July 8, 2011, from University of Washington School of Medicine: www.dept.washington.edu/bioeth/topics/pad.html.Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (2011). Euthanasia. (n.d.). Retrieved July 2, 2011, from www.merriam-webster.com.Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (2011). Doctor-assisted suicide. (n.d.). I. Merriam-Webster (Ed.), Retrieved July 2, 2011, from www.merriam-webster.com.Mosser, K. (2010). A brief introduction to philosophy. Bridgepoint Education.Wolf, S. M. (2008, October 1). The comparison with medically assisted suicide and euthanasia: my father's death. Hasting Center Report, 38(5), 23-26. Retrieved from the EBSCO host database located in the Ashford Online LibraryYour Dictionary. (2011). . In assisted suicide. Assisted suicide. Retrieved July 3, 2011, from www.yourdictionary.com/assisted-suicide.