But that stance puts the focus in the wrong place. This is not primarily about physicians or their self-image; it’s about patients — specifically patients for whom healing is no longer possible. We give patients the right to hasten their deaths by refusing dialysis, mechanical ventilation, antibiotics or any other life-sustaining treatment. Why deny them what is essentially the same choice, especially since it is limited to terminally ill patients? Moreover, there is no requirement in any state for physicians to participate if they do not wish to do so. The laws simply provide one more choice for physicians and patients as they deal with terminal illness.