Euthanasia has come to represent either an active or passive termination of a person's life, in modern-day usage. (Outerbridge, 95) "It is estimated that more than five thousand people die each year in the Netherlands through active euthanasia." (Outerbridge, 96) "The guidelines under which a physician can perform euthanasia are narrowly drawn. First, the patient must be competent. Second, the patient must request euthanasia persistently over time, thereby eliminating the possibility for someone who might be suffering …showed first 75 words of 1342 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1342 total…a certain and dignified self-deliverance, they will often renegotiate the timing of their death." (Humphry, 22) "All in all, laws allowing assisted suicide have provided the world with a model for how to offer dying people a real choice about how they should bid farewell to the world." (Kristof, 2) According to Nicholas Kristof, "the right to die will become a hotter issue over the next decade or two as baby boomers confront their own morality." (Kristof, 2)