| ISSUE SUMMARY |
| Disabilities Ethical History International Medical Psychological Religious |
Euthanasia Examined: Ethical, Clinical and Legal Perspectives Euthanasia: Opposing Viewpoints Language and Reality at the End of Life Suicide and Euthanasia, Are They Ever Right? The Case Against Assisted Suicide: For the Right to End-of-Life Care The Slippery Slope of Assisted Suicide When Killing is Wrong: Physician-Assisted Suicide and the Courts |
The Case Against Assisted Suicide: For the Right to End-of-Life Care Foley, Kathleen and Herbert Hendin, eds. The Case Against Assisted Suicide: For the Right to End-of-Life Care. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001.The debate over physician-assisted suicide has drawn attention to the complex issues of end-of-life care. This text brings together ethicists, lawyers, clinicians, and health care policy experts who have argued thoughtfully and cogently against physician-assisted suicide as a social policy. The editors hope that publishing their essays in this format will provide a resource of facts, opinions and general discourse while offering a comprehensive perspective on the case against physician-assisted suicide and for palliative care. The driving force in this publication is the editors' own clinical experience in caring for patients with serious life-threatening illnesses such as cancer and suicidal depression. Such patients, who are often elderly, are profoundly vulnerable in our current social and healthcare system, which devalues their quality of life and inadequately assesses and treats their pain, their psychological symptoms, their emotional distress, and the associated burden to their caregivers. They advance an open and tolerant discussion to learn how we as a society can provide better healthcare and social support to those who are uniquely vulnerable and suffering. The major goal is to draw attention to the vulnerability of the dying population, and the evidence that legalizing assisted suicide increases that vulnerability. That evidence is drawn largely from the Dutch and Oregon experiences with physician-assisted suicide. Contributors include Leon Kass, Edmund Pellegrino, Daniel Callahan, Yale Kamisar, Herbert Hendin, Zbigniew Zylicz, Kathleen Foley, Gregory Hamilton, Diane Coleman, Felicia Cohn, Joanne Lynn, Harvey Max Chochinov, Leonard Schwartz, and Cicely Saunders. Posted on June 26, 2004. |