The need for doctor-assisted suicideMan is born with death in his hands. We will all die. We may be able to postpone death, but we cannot avoid it. We all die of something, somewhere, somehow. Although we cannot prevent death, we can control death caused by a terminal illness. We can determine how, when, where and with whom we will die. Right now, there are over 10,000 patients in the United States who are in a permanent vegetative state. Furthermore, thousands of disabled children are born every year. With the technology we have today we are able to help people survive for long periods. About two million Americans die every year. About 85% of them are in an institution. 80% involve someone's decision to try to prolong life or let it go. An estimated four in five Americans will die of a chronic, persistent disease that cannot be cured but can be artificially prolonged. The odds of dying naturally at home are not in your favor. Below is some information to clear up any confusion between assisted suicide and euthanasia. Euthanasia is the act of mercifully ending the life of a hopelessly suffering patient; taken from a similar Greek word meaning "easy or good death". Physician-assisted suicide – assisted by a qualified physician in fulfilling the wish of a terminally ill and competent patient to end his or her life, usually by lethal injections. The difference between the two is that during euthanasia is that when the death itself occurs, it is performed by the doctor, but in doctor-assisted suicides, the patient takes the final step of ending their life. "Passive" euthanasia means ending a patient's life by withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatments, and "active" euthanasia causes a virtually painless death through means without which life would continue naturally, usually referring to lethal injections and finally suicide is the act of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally. Dr. Jack Kevorkian talks about the doctor who witnesses the suicide. He highlighted the benefits of assisted suicide. Some of these are that it reduces the suffering of the patient's family and friends. Dr. Kevorkian also asks his patients to donate vital organs or undergo a critical medical experiment, which helps science, medicine, society and the lives of others..