Watch The Suicide Plan on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.
An unforgettable portrait takes viewers inside one of the most polarizing social issues of our time. The debate over physician-assisted suicide has never been a simple one, and in the 48 states where the practice remains illegal, the issue has only grown more complicated in recent years.
Assisted suicide is legal in Oregon and Washington, but elsewhere around the nation, the right-to-die movement has struggled to make many inroads. Since 1992, efforts to legalize the practice have failed in California, Michigan, Maine, and most recently, in Massachusetts. Meanwhile, 41 states have passed laws making it a crime to assist in a suicide, legislation that has led many who want help dying deeper into the shadows.
As FRONTLINE reported in The Suicide Plan, this underground world of assisted suicide has added new layers of moral and legal complexity to one of the most polarizing issues in America. For example, what does it mean to actually assist in a suicide? Who, if anyone, should be allowed to pursue aid in dying, and what safeguards should be in place in states where the practice is legal?
There will be a live chat with filmmakers Miri Navasky and Karen O'Connor at Frontline's website to discuss these questions and take yours in a live chat on Thursday at 2:00 pm ET. You can leave your question now, and return to join the live discussion.
