Many of these people are in a great deal of pain and humiliation (losing control of body functions) and no longer want to endure it. Others have become a huge financial burden to their families and don’t want destroy their livlihoods. I can’t imagine how awful things are for them, so I don’t feel fit to judge them. This doesn’t mean that euthanasia is a good thing. We also need to realize that end-of-life care leaves much to be desired and that also needs to be addressed. Stopping assisted suicide is only part of the solution.
Much of the pain and suffering is emotional. If people in chronic end of life pain or suffering of one kind or another feel valued as their essence and not looked at like a bag of decrepitude, it is much better - more endurable. If the caretakers, whether hospice people, family, professionals - whoever it is - actually care about them, it is more endurable.
If medical intervention that merely prolongs suffering for a little while is not pushed on them and good care that helps alleviate their suffering and pain is offered - if people who are actually terminal are respected and cared for, whatever they have to go through is much more endurable. Taking care of the dying or those who incurable and/or crippling illnesses is an art as well as a science. If the cultural standard is that life is worthy because every person is a spark from God and that is our real value - not beauty, wits, money, etc - then every person is worthy of care and respect, regardless of external accomplishments or “value” in the eyes of the world.
Letting charitable institutions have more freedom - like the Little Sisters of the Poor (I pinged an article about them today) - will keep the costs of caring for the elderly or terminally ill much lower.