Euthanasia: not just for the terminally ill Euthanasia or assisted suicide would not be available only for the terminally ill. This popular misconception is what this essay seeks to correct. There is considerable confusion on this point, perhaps further complicated by media reports. There are two issues here: the definition of "terminal" and the changes that have already occurred to extend euthanasia or assisted suicide to those who are not "terminally ill." There are many definitions for the word "terminal." For example, Jack Kevorkian , who was involved in the deaths of more than 130 people before being convicted of murder, said that a terminal illness is “any illness that shortens life for even a single moment.” (Dr. Death) Dutch psychiatrist Dr. Boudewijn Chabot, who administered a fatal dose of drugs to a depressed, but physically healthy woman, stated that "suicidal patients are, in fact, terminal." (CQ) Assisted suicide in Oregon the law defines “terminal” as a condition that “within reasonable medical judgment, will produce death within six months.” (Oregon) A prognosis of six months to live is also the basis on which patients qualify for hospice coverage with Medicare. (Cys) However, federal officials note that about 10% of patients live longer than the expected life expectancy of six months. (Id.) The use of a six-month prognosis to qualify a patient for assisted suicide or euthanasia has been challenged by the World Federation of Sciences. Even the Right to Die Societies newsletter: "The six-month standard" does not only invites doctors to make an unreliable prediction, but prescribes an unnecessary time limit: the longer the life expectancy, the greater the patient's suffering. The e...... half of the article ......a for Rational Suicide: A Survey of Psychotherapists," 25 Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior, (1995), p. 238. (Emphasis mine. )"Zurich Declaration on Assisted Dying", signed on 14 October 1998 at the 12th International Conference of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies, held 12-15 October 1998 in Zurich, Switzerland. For the full text, see Zurich Declaration Among the signatories were Richard MacDonald, MD, medical director of the Hemlock Society, Australian doctor Philip Nitschke and British doctor Michael Irwin of the United Kingdom "Dignity in Dying Bill 2001", Parliament of South Australia, introduced 14 March 2001 by. ; Australian Democrats deputy state leader Sandra Kanck [Excerpt from Hansard, Legislative Council, 14 March 2001. accessed at http:www.democrats.org.au/sa/parlt/autumn2001/0314_e.htm in May. 29, 2001.]