dr. lawrence egbert. but they were unable to reach a verdict on frank langsner, and three days later, the judge declared a hung jury. >> in the end, we just couldn't agree. i wanted to vote guilty. i just... based on what my impressions of the evidence and everything and the way i interpreted the law, i just didn't think i could. >> i voted guilty, and feel very strongly about it. i think it places us in a position of being a god when we take a life, and we're not that. >> i just feel like assisting suicide is too close to murder. it's too fine of a line to murder. >> i had to put the moral dilemma aside and decide on whether these two defendants were guilty of what they were charged with. but they put us in a tight spot here. they didn't give us all the information we needed to do our job. i mean, that's the way i look at it. >> the whole thing's just sad. it's just sad and unfortunate, and, you know, you hope it doesn't ever happen again, but it will. >> narrator: three months later, facing the prospect

dr. lawrence egbert. but they were unable to reach a verdict on frank langsner, and three days later, the judge declared a hung jury. >> in the end, we just couldn't agree. i wanted to vote guilty. i just... based on what my impressions of the evidence and everything and the way i interpreted the law, i just didn't think i could. >> i voted guilty, and feel very strongly about it. i think it places us in a position of being a god when we take a life, and we're not that. >> i just feel like assisting suicide is too close to murder. it's too fine of a line to murder. >> i had to put the moral dilemma aside and decide on whether these two defendants were guilty of what they were charged with. but they put us in a tight spot here. they didn't give us all the information we needed to do our job. i mean, that's the way i look at it. >> the whole thing's just sad. it's just sad and unfortunate, and, you know, you hope it doesn't ever happen again, but it will. >> narrator: three months later, facing the prospect

dr. lawrence egbert, a retired anesthesiologist. >> all the patients are asked to send their medical records in and we have a letter from the patient about why i want to die in writing so i'd have all that available. i would then evaluate that and then i would say, well that's easy, that's straightforward, the patient has a horrible pain, the patient has a horrible loss of dignity and therefore i would write accepted. in the time that i was medical director for final exit network, i approved approximately 300 cases and probably rejected ten. >> i think the majority of patients are quite content with helium. one reason that some don't is the idea of having this balloon over the top of your head. the balloon has the lack of dignity, but so does taking sleeping pills. it has nowhere near the loss of dignity that a shotgun carries, or a rope. let's see, i've got a bag here. >> narrator: dr. egbert insists that anyone who uses the helium method is completely in control, and makes the final decision alone. >> the point of no return is when a patient pulls it down and that's made very clear to them