Few issues set off such impassioned debate as euthanasia and assisted suicide, but until now no one has shown what their practice means in the experience of patients, doctors, and families. Herbert Hendin has studied such experience in the United States and also in the Netherlands, where assisted suicide and euthanasia are accepted. Using interviews with leading medical and legal architects of Dutch practices, and evaluating actual cases, Dr. Rendin addresses difficult questions such as: Who actually makes the decision that a patient will die? How do the needs and character of family, friends, and doctor affect the choice? Dr. Hendin outlines what we can do to find more and better options in the final phase of life. In this fully revised paperback edition, he also considers the impact in the United States of the Court's decision and reviews troubling new evidence from the Netherlands.