According to WIKIPEDIA, assisted suicide is the process by which an individual, who may otherwise be incapable, is provided with the means (drugs or equipment) to commit suicide. . A film was broadcast on TV in Britain several days ago, showing a terminally-ill man ending his own life at a Swiss clinic. It sparked debates around the world. Should we allow this kind of action to happen?

The first question is why some terminally-ill people want to take this course of action. The answer is cruel but easy: to end their own sufferings and  remove the burden  from their families. Another way is they get their beloved family members involved in this affair instead of committing suicide secretly. In an interview of BBC, a man told how his ill father had killed himself and how his mother could never get over the shock. “I wish we were inSwitzerland,” he said, “so we could be there when he chose to die.” In some  less religious countries, people also claim that it is a basic human right for an individual to choose to end his own life. They claim  it’s better to die with dignity than to sustain painful life with the help of machines and drugs.

Despite all these reasons, others still worry that assisted suicide can be misused. One human right activist said: “What if the family put pressure on the ill person to choose assisted suicide? It is not his own will, but he has no other option considering his condition.” But the fact is if the family really want to do so, there is no reason for them to treat the patient kindly when he is alive. In this case, the poor man has to suffer from physical pains as well as  mental anguish  So it is better for him to go peacefully.

The truth is healthy people like you and me have no say on this issue. If one has not experienced extreme pain, one can never understand how death can be more beautiful than life. So we should respect the choice of the terminally-ill. Whether they will go to heaven or hell, it does matter.