Not just because people want choice and control over suffering at the end of life, but because by regulating assisted dying we will do more to protect people from abuse than the current law, which investigates cases after someone has died not when they request to die.
There are rules that are supposed to be observed before a physician can snuff out a patient's life i.e., children must be at least 12; patients must request to die; a second doctor must independently verify the request.
Certainly, many dying patients request to die but Jeremy (Palliative Specialist) also points out that requests to hasten death are frequently made by family members of the dying patient.
"I always wanted to respect her request to die peacefully at home," Rich later told me.
"This is not simply a matter of one person's request to die.
They stipulate that a patient's request to die must be voluntary and persistent, and made while the person is lucid.
Under the Netherlands' 2002 Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide Act, doctors may grant patients' requests to die without fear of prosecution as long as they observe certain guidelines.
Under the new law, passed in April, doctors can still be prosecuted if they fail to follow strict rules, which say that an adult patient must make a voluntary, well-considered and lasting request to die.
