Does the patient have The "Right to Die"?

In 1997, Oregon became the first and only state to legalize the terminal patients Right to Die with Dignity. Since that time, in November 2008, the residents of Washington State have also adopted laws to support the patients’ right to physician assisted suicide. The term Right to Die “is used in a legal context to mean that an individual has a right to refuse medical treatment and the refusal of such treatment will cause death” (Matzo & Sherman, 2006, p. 189). In total, from 1998-2009, 460 residents of Oregon have chosen to ingest a lethal dose of medication to end their life and suffering (Oregon State Health Department, 2010). Does the patient have the right to die? Matzo, M. & Sherman, D. (2006) Palliative Care Nursing: quality at end of life (2nd Ed) New York, Springer Publishing. Oregon State Health Department. (OSHD) (2010) Physician Assisted Suicide Statistics, Retrieve from http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/pas/docs/statute.pdf?ga=t.