These people mouthing 'death with dignity' slogans remind me of a recent news article about Terri Schiavo, wherein the patently biased reporter characterized Terri's parents as 'insisting on keeping her alive,' while her husband was described as 'willing to let go.'
Such pretty phrases, 'death with dignity' and 'willing to let go' !! Why, you'd think the fourteen day ordeal of dying from dehydration was a gentle slipping away into oblivion! You'd think the 'letting go' would not mean forcing a living, sentient being to die a slow and agonizing death, but would simply be a passive act, noble, even virtuous!
As you point out, nothing could be further from the truth.