In this thesis I will contrast the fluid cultural, political, religious, legal, and ethical perspectives within and between the United States and the Netherlands on self-determination and the right to assisted suicide. This topic is under-researched considering the vast number of individuals joining the geriatric community as the baby boomer generation gets older and the medical advances that are capable of prolonging lives for all ages regardless of the quality of these lives. This paper compares real life cases of assisted suicide and refusal of treatment as well as the functioning of euthanasia in the Netherlands and the United States.