Doctor-assisted suicide?

[TwoOuter]

Assembly Bill 651, known as the California Compassionate Choices Act, was rejected by the State Senate Judiciary Committee recently. The bill was modeled after Oregon's law and would have allowed a doctor to prescribe a lethal prescription to a terminally ill patient diagnosed with no more than six months to live.

I have very strong feelings in favor of such legislation. I've seen several loved ones literally deteriorate before my eyes and it's simply a horrible way to end a life.

Ask anyone over the age of say 70 about death and you'll hear the same thing over and over: It's not a terrible thing when someone suddenly passes away. People say: "That's the way I want to go." And when someone with a terminal illness finally succumbs, everyone says the same thing: It's such a blessing that his/her suffering is over.

It seems ironic that in certain circumstances we welcome death with open arms and yet we're unwilling to give people the choice to end their own suffering.