"Soon enough" for whom?!? Not for everyone. Spend some time with people who are terminally ill, and you'll find they are not clones. They are individuals, each with their own needs and desires and tolerances and views.
BTW, when talking about extreme pain, I personally have had times under extreme pain. I learned valuable life lessons at such times, and am grateful that no one thought to put me "out of my misery".
That's fine for you, and it's easy to say after the pain is gone, but would you deny relief to someone who wants it? What about someone who will never recover from it?
I know someone who ended her life when she'd finally recovered enough to get out of the hospital and take matters into her own hands. Unfortunately, she had to choose a very painful method, since she was stopped the first time. Does her experience merit any less consideration than yours?
There are many different aspects, as you point out, whether active or passive deliverance, or terminally ill or not, and whether the patient can give consent at that moment or not. I consider it an evil imprisonment, though, to force someone to live against his will, and we should have more civilized means available than dehydration, should a person wish it.
"That's fine for you, and it's easy to say after the pain is gone, but would you deny relief to someone who wants it? What about someone who will never recover from it?"
Pain killers. Sedation. Why kill? To save money?
I have personally witnessed four deaths (actually one was a friend who died a day or two after the last time I saw her) where nature took its course. When people are getting ready to die, they don't want to drink any more. You can call it dehydration, but they don't*want*to*drink. The individuals are gradually detaching from the body. Two of the individuals - when I was personally present - had no experience of pain whatsoever and had ceased taking any medication. Another one was more or less comatose due to morphine. And the fourth one was also pain free near the end, without any medication. It's amazing what can happen near death. Nature is really the best mother.
If people want to commit suicide, that's their business. Once it becomes the government's business to "assist", the slippery slope comes into effect, just as this article (and my comments) indicate. No amount of "feelings" and "my friend" anecdotes can change this reality.
I spend a lot of time with terminally ill people, btw.