Doctor-assisted suicide is the practice in which a doctor prescribes a lethal drug to a terminally ill patient as a form of active, voluntary euthanasia. These patients, rather than suffering slowly and painfully, often request this procedure as a means to experience a more “dignified” death. The debate on this topic is heated, especially among the general public, whose attitudes are profoundly influenced by the patient's level of pain and discomfort (Frileux et al. 334). At the heart of the issue is the conflict between the patient's right to choose between life and death and, as expressed by one social scientist, "society's obligation to protect its most vulnerable members from hasty and unintentional death." all voluntary" (Ardelt 424). The healthcare industry recognizes the role of medical technology, which has extended the lives of many patients through life-support therapies such as feeding tubes and dialysis, in creating a lower quality of life characterized by painfully prolonged and costly death (Martin 54). This phenomenon has made medically assisted suicide a highly relevant and timely issue. But while some defend physician-assisted suicide as a form of medical autonomy for the terminally ill, others argue that such voluntary euthanasia is too extreme a solution for most situations and that improving patient and palliative care is a more acceptable option and would help maintain the patient-doctor relationship. The purpose of this literature review is to present these academic perspectives in an attempt to provide a relatively broad overview of attitudes regarding physician-assisted suicide in the medical community, with an eye to how they compare to public opinion. In “Eu. ..... middle of paper ......acceptable anasia?." Journal of Medical Ethics. 29.6 (2003): 330-6. Print.Martin, Brian J. "Techniques to pass down: technology and euthanasia. " Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society. 30.1 (2010): 54-9. Web. 28 October 2011. .Martyn, Susan and Henry Bourguigon. "Physician decisions about patient capacity: the Trojan horse of doctor-assisted suicide doctor. " Psychology, Public Policy and Law. 6. (2000): 1-13. Print.Momeyer, Richard A. "Does Physician-Assisted Suicide Violate the Integrity of Medicine?" Journal of Medicine and Philosophy. 20.1 (1995): 13 -24. Print. Robert J. "The Euthanasia-Physician Viewpoint".. 2011. .