Jeanette Hall once had a wish to die; a desire so strong that he even asked his doctor for help. Jeanette lives in Oregon, where assisted suicide is legal. On July 17, 2000, Jeanette was rushed to Portland Hospital only to be given a maximum survival time: six months. She had been diagnosed with an inoperable form of colon cancer. Jeanette was afraid of losing her job, of not being able to care for her loved ones, of paying hospital bills, and of suffering. Dying was her choice and she was prepared to refuse 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 thanking him, I would be dead” (Hall 1). Today Jeanette is alive, happy and healthy and speaks out against legalization, but due to the current legalization of physician-assisted suicide, she barely survived. Doctor-assisted suicide and euthanasia are similar in that they end the lives of terminally ill patients, but vary depending on where they are legalized. In 1997, the United States Supreme Court ruled that there is no constitutionally protected right to physician-assisted suicide, but left it up to individual states to regulate physician-assisted death (Ardelt 1). Although states still have the option to legalize assisted suicide, the federal government has made euthanasia illegal in every state. 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 doctor. Legal in Montana, Oregon, Vermont and Washington for terminally ill adults, medical care on...... middle of document ......, January 21, 2011. Web. February 20, 2014. Rockett, Barbara. "Physician-assisted suicide" in direct conflict "with the role of the doctor". "National news on the rights to life". National Rights to Life News, Aug. 1, 2012. Web. Feb. 10, 2014. Saad, Lydia. “US support for euthanasia depends on how it is portrayed.” US 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 to 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.” House. BMJ, June 17, 2003. Web. February 10, 2014. “The Impact of Euthanasia on Society.” House. Np, nd Web. 10 February. 2014.