Physician-assisted suicide is “the voluntary termination of one's own life by the administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician. Physician-assisted suicide is the practice of providing a competent patient with a prescription for medication that the patient can use with the primary goal of ending his or her own life. (medterms.com) Surveys have shown that physician-assisted suicide is gaining more support among doctors and "up to half of adults think it should be legal in cases of terminal illness" . (Vaugn, page 597) In a large 2000 survey, oncologists found that 22.5% favored the use of physician-assisted suicide for a terminally ill patient suffering from unrelenting pain, 6.6% favored active euthanasia in these circumstances, 56.2% had received patient requests for physician-assisted suicide, 38.2% for active euthanasia, 10.8% had performed physician-assisted suicide and 3, 7% for active euthanasia. (Vaughn, page 598) Not only is physician-assisted suicide beginning to gain more support among doctors, but also among the public. In a 2007 survey by Ipsos-Public Affairs, results showed that 48% of the public believe it should be legal or that doctors help terminally ill patients end their lives by prescribing lethal drugs , while 44% think this should be the case. be illegal. (Vaughn, page 603) In the 2007 Gallup poll, results showed that 56% of the public believed that when a person has an incurable illness and lives in severe pain, doctors should be allowed to help the patient to commit suicide if the illness is incurable. patients ask for it and 38% believe it should not be allowed and 49% of the public believes physician-assisted suicide is morally acceptable while 44% believe...... middle of paper ..... . describes Diane as a mortal person. dose of barbiturates so that she commits suicide. (Vaughn, page 612) Indeed, Dr. Quill gave his approval to her decision to commit suicide and helped her commit suicide. He implied to Diane and her family that his decision was moral, rational and justifiable given her situation, even though she had a 25% chance of surviving. However, those who had great influence in Diane's life and a strong reason for her to prolong her life, all supported her decision in what was seen as her desire to die. Surely, if Dr. Quill refused to help Diane die, then she would have to decide whether to commit suicide without assistance or try to prolong her life. With these choices, she may have chosen the option of trying to prolong her life. From a Christian perspective, physician-assisted suicide is morally prohibited because of the sanctity of human life..