Hi, everybody. I'm John Don Van, host and moderator of Intelligent Squared US debates.

And the debate you're about to hear, this one is a controversial medical issue. And it's

one that cuts to the core of personal liberty and freedom and morality and our understanding

of life and death. It's the topic of physician assisted suicide. And we recorded this debate

live back in 2014. Since then, five more states, including Maine and New Jersey in 2019,

and the District of Columbia, have affirmed the right to provide assisted suicide. Before

you hear the opening statements, I want to remind you that you can cast your pre-debate

vote online at IQ2US.org. That's IQ, the number two, US.org. Our online polling is still

open and you can help choose which team is the ultimate winner. Now, onto our debate

where the resolution was very directly and bluntly stated as legalized assisted suicide.

Sometimes numbers can tell a simple story. So here are some numbers from Oregon, which

has had a death with dignity accents 1997, allowing individuals with terminal illnesses

to get lethal prescriptions from their doctors to take their own lives. And the first

17 years of that program, the number of people who actually took their lives when they

had the pills, 752. 94% were Caucasian. More than half had finished college. 400 people

in Oregon got the pills, but never took them. So the problem with all of these numbers

I've just recited is that they actually don't tell a simple story of what is called

physician assisted suicide or sometimes assisted dying because it's not that obvious. And

getting at it is really something that will take a good solid debate. So let's have

it. Yes or no to this statement. Legalized assisted suicide. A debate from intelligent

squared US. I'm John Donven. We are at the Kaufman Music Center in New York City. We have

four superbly qualified debaters arguing for the motion. Please, ladies and gentlemen,

...