Jeanette Hall once had a desire to die; a desire so strong that she even asked her doctor for help. Jeanette lives in Oregon, where assisted suicide is legal. On July 17, 2000, Jeanette was rushed to Portland Hospital to be given a maximum survival time: six months. He was diagnosed with an inoperable form of colon cancer. Jeanette was afraid of losing her job, not being able to take care of her loved ones, paying her hospital bills and suffering. It was her choice to die and she was ready to reject chemotherapy and radiation, but luckily Jeanette's doctor, Dr. Kenneth Stevens, encouraged her to fight. Jeanette states: “If he [Dr. Stevens] believed in physician-assisted suicide, I wouldn't be here 13 years later to thank him, I would be dead” (Hall 1). Today, Jeanette is alive, happy and healthy and speaking out against legalization, but because of the current legalization of physician-assisted suicide, she barely survived. Physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia are similar in that they end the lives of terminally ill people. patients, but they vary depending on where they are legalized. In 1997, the United States Supreme Court ruled that there was no constitutional right to assisted suicide, but left it up to each state to regulate medically assisted dying (Ardelt 1). Although states still have the option to legalize assisted suicide, the federal government has made euthanasia illegal in all states. Euthanasia is only legal in Belgium and the Netherlands (Somerville 1). Euthanasia refers to the practice of ending another person's life to relieve pain and suffering and is usually performed by a physician. Legal in Montana, Oregon, Vermont and Washington for terminally ill adults, with the assistance of a doctor...... middle of paper ......s, 21 January 2011. Web. February 20, 2014.Rockett, Barbara. “Physician-assisted suicide “in direct conflict” with the role of the physician. “National Rights To Life News. National Rights to Life News, August 1, 2012. Web. February 10, 2014.Saad, Lydia. “US support for euthanasia depends on how it is portrayed.” American support for euthanasia depends on how it is described. Gallup, May 29, 2013. Web. February 10, 2014. Somerville, Margaret. “What would we lose by legalizing euthanasia?” ABC.net. American Proadcasting Corporation, May 24, 2013. Web. February 24, 2014. “Sunday Dialogue: Choosing How We Die.” » The New York Times. The New York Times, March 30, 2013. Web. February 24, 2014. Swarte, Nikki B. “Effects of Euthanasia on Bereaved Family and Friends: A Cross-Sectional Study.” " Home. BMJ, June 17, 2003. Web. February 10, 2014. “The impact of euthanasia on society”. Home. Np, and Web. February 10. 2014.