Additionally, insurance companies make money by reducing health care costs, and would benefit when patients choose assisted suicide. Thus, poor people without medical insurance may feel pressure to choose this option, as it is much cheaper than end-of-life care. There is a valid concern that insurance companies would begin paying less for end-of-life care in an attempt to coerce patients into choosing assisted suicide. Considering the unscrupulous tactics already employed by insurance companies, this theory does not seem too far-fetched.

This argument is likely to worry those who are not convinced by the previous criticisms, including myself. As troubling as these thoughts may be, however, we should not be overwhelmed by these obstacles and give up on assisted suicide all together. A better approach would be to examine where assisted suicide could go wrong and set up guidelines to ensure that it does not. It is important to establish enough oversight to make certain that patients are not choosing assisted suicide as a last resort after not getting the care they need. In Oregon, there is currently no official monitoring system to ensure that patients are not being coerced into taking life-ending drugs in their final moments. I believe that it is important for individuals to be able to die in the comfort of their own homes rather than a medical facility, but there needs to an unbiased individual present to monitor and later report on the procedure. The actions of insurance companies also need to be carefully monitored.

Companies should not be able to pay less for end-of-life care in an attempt to pressure patients into asking for assisted suicide. While it is important to set up these strict regulations, it should also be noted that in Oregon, the majority of people who have actually committed assisted suicide have been well-educated individuals with both health insurance and access to hospice care.

The knowledge that assisted suicide is an option gives many terminally ill patients the assurance that their quality of life will remain at a level comfortable to them. Their desire for this control does not cause harm to anyone else, and should be a personal right. We should not abandon assisted suicide due to the possibility of difficulties. We simply need a system that is as effective and ethical as possible to ensure that there will be very few abuses in assisted suicide.