Doctors and euthanasia Doctors are at the center of the debate on euthanasia. In their hands is the authority to act regarding the early termination of human life. When doctors graduate from medical school, who should decide whether they live or die? The parents? The patients? The government? In a perfect world, such a cruel question would never be asked. Not long ago, doctors were seen as an integral part of the community in which they practiced. Today, unable to make home visits, relying on exorbitant fees, often able to communicate only with their own peers, doctors are segregated and distanced from their patients and, indeed, from life itself. The question for every compassionate person is this: Should doctors, whose very existence can be tragically painful to them and their loved ones, have the right to die? Doctors are often condemned to a life of dependency. We know many who aren't even able to go shopping, do their laundry, fix their Mercedes, or even do their own cleaning. Instead, they must hire assistants to perform the basic functions that most of us take for granted. Doctors also pathetically rely on nurses to tell them how well they are, cover up mistakes, and interfere with patients and their families. To survive, doctors depend on an array of medical assistants, receptionists, secretaries, accountants, tax lawyers and insurance agents. Many believe doctors would starve if their Diners Club cards, an artificial means of life support, were withdrawn. Recent articles in respected journals have raised the question of whether doctors have sufficient awareness of pain to experience suffering. Having a doctor in the family can, and often does, cause severe stress to even the most stable and financially secure family. It is not uncommon for parents to exhaust their financial resources to meet the needs of medical students. Due to the growing number of physicians, there is a greater need for special education, housing, extended residencies, and teaching hospitals. They are all expensive and a drain on government funds and family savings. But the worry is far from over should the medical student survive to graduation. It takes more than $250,000 a year to support the average doctor's lifestyle, including expensive life supports such as country clubs, tanning salons, medical societies, European automobiles, malpractice insurance, and furnishings for their offices.