“How would you want to die?”

It is a question all of us have asked, but few like to think about. While it is not something many feel comfortable discussing, it is a conversation that must be had.

For the first time this year, New York will be deciding on legislature concerning the controversial Right to Die law. If passed, terminally ill patients will have the ability to request prescriptions that, when taken, will end their life.

Often touted by opposing groups as “physician assisted suicide,” a Right to Die bill is by no means a form of suicide. Suicide is the ending of one’s life despite their ability to continue living. A patient who qualifies for the medication must have a prognosis of less than six months to live, not merely walking into a doctor’s office saying, “I want to die, please kill me.”

To obtain the medication that would end their life, a patient must be diagnosed by two doctors as both terminally ill and mentally capable of deciding their own demise.

With or without this medication, a terminally ill patient will die. A Right to Die bill offers a better way for them to have control in the end.

One of the most popular debates about healthcare lies on a fundamental right, the right to choose. Whether it is to have an abortion or to receive a flu shot, Americans are passionate about their ability to decide what is best for their own body. A Right to Die law offers that same opportunity for patients to choose what they want regarding their health.

Opponents to the act will argue that the Right to Die bill will allow doctors to murder their patients and contradict the Hippocratic oath to “do no harm.” However, when a patient is slowly losing brain function due to a fatal form of cancer, forcing them to continue treatment when they have had enough suffering is easily seen as more harm than allowing them to take a prescription.

The medication that will end the patient’s life is a mixture of several barbiturates that will induce a coma and eventually death, but it is a drink that must be taken orally by the patient themselves. The Death with Dignity Act in Oregon, the first state to pass such a law, clearly states that “the patient must self-administer” this medication. The doctor’s role is to sign the prescription. Once the prescription is filled, the choice of taking the medication and ending their life is in the hands of the patient alone.

The Right to Die law is all about choice. Doctors who do not believe in the law do not have to prescribe the medication for their patient. Terminally ill patients will not be forced to give up their battle against their disease if they choose to keep receiving treatment. Even patients who have the prescription in their possession do not have to take it if they change their mind.

As Americans, we have the unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. With a Right to Die law, all of these rights are upheld. You would have the choice to ultimately end your life and end your suffering. On the other hand, if you decide not to have a prescription filled and want to continue fighting your illness, that is your choice to make. This law would secure the option to always be there for when enough is enough. The decision in the end is entirely yours.