If someone you love is suffering from a debilitating illness and wants to end their life and wants you to help them do it (asks you to assist with their suicide), what would you do? When the author discovers that the love of his life has a virulent case of Multiple Sclerosis, and that she does not want to endure the suffering any longer, he is forced to consider and enact the unthinkable. Guy Blews opens up the discussion of assisted suicide in a way that encourages the reader to see it as an act of unconditional love. This emotional journey is a tour de force that deftly and courageously allows love to conquer all. How Angels Die: A Confession is a love story that will shake you to the core. It will, at its very essence, give you hope and open your heart. Torn between a deep understanding of what she needs and the moral dilemma of what is right, Guy was left with one choice to support her in everything she did because he loved her more than anything.

A well-informed presentation of the case against assisted suicide, with reference to politics, society and medicine. This book addresses the the foundational imperative that cherishes life under all circumstances. This is about the choice of the kind of world we want to live in - a Christian heritage which is likely to be squandered. George Pitcher reaffirms the view that death is part of life: there is a long tradition of the acceptance of suffering. By contrast, the modern alternative - right to die becomes duty to die - looks utilitarian, the culling of the weak. There are worrying implications for the provision of care. We are being asked to consider the economics of suicide. Despite recent advances in palliative care there is a sad lack of investment, made worse by this callous approach. In Oregon and Holland, where euthanasia is licensed, there has been a marked fall in palliative care. George Pitcher concludes with a strong celebration of life, in which death plays its part. He argues that this approach empowers medical staff and leads to the regeneration of pastoral care.

This work is a personal journey into the issues surrounding assisted suicide that covers the widest range of topics and positions on the subject. Assisted suicide remains one of the most emotionally charged and controversial topics - and the issue isn't going away any time soon. As the baby boomer generation ages, many of us will watch as our parents - and ourselves - grow older, and wonder at the decisions that lie ahead. ""Understanding Assisted Suicide"" provides both a fresh take on this important topic and the framework for intelligent participation in the discussion. Uniquely, the author frames the issue using his own experience watching both his parents die, which led him to ask fundamental questions about death, dying, religion, and the role of medicine and technology in alleviating human suffering. In concerns about assisted suicide, each person's ""big picture"" has largely been created out of picking and choosing from nine separate snapshot albums. Understanding this offers a perspective for quickly determining the sources of another's opinion on assisted suicide, as well as the issues they are not considering. Most importantly, ""Understanding Assisted Suicide"" offers a clear, easy-to-traverse landscape over which those who are sincerely looking for their own answers can navigate. The ""nine-issue structure"" allows both careful exploration of separate issues and a view of the full spectrum of ideas involved.

The study of death has the capacity to bring together a range of policy areas. Yet death is often overlooked within policy debates in the UK and beyond, and within gerontology. Bringing together a range of scholars engaged in policy associated with death, this collection provides a holistic account of how death factors in social policy. Within this, issues covered include inheritance, palliative care, euthanasia, funeral costs, bereavement support, marginalised deaths and disposal practices. At the heart of the book, the volume recognises that the issues identified are likely to intensify and expand over the next twenty years, as death rates continue to rise.

"Ball's arguments are concise, compelling, and backed with considerable case law. This volume is highly recommended for upper-level undergraduates and above in law, philosophy, and the medical humanities interested in the 'right to die' debates. Summing up: Highly recommended." -Choice Over the past hundred years, average life expectancy in America has nearly doubled, due largely to scientific and medical advances, but also as a consequence of safer working conditions, a heightened awareness of the importance of diet and health, and other factors. Yet while longevity is celebrated as an achievement in modern civilization, the longer people live, the more likely they are to succumb to chronic, terminal illnesses. In 1900, the average life expectancy was 47 years, with a majority of American deaths attributed to influenza, tuberculosis, pneumonia, or other diseases. In 2000, the average life expectancy was nearly 80 years, and for too many people, these long lifespans included cancer, heart failure, Lou Gehrig's disease, AIDS, or other fatal illnesses, and with them, came debilitating pain and the loss of a once-full and often independent lifestyle. In this compelling and provocative book, noted legal scholar Howard Ball poses the pressing question: is it appropriate, legally and ethically, for a competent individual to have the liberty to decide how and when to die when faced with a terminal illness? At Liberty to Die charts how, the right of a competent, terminally ill person to die on his or her own terms with the help of a doctor has come deeply embroiled in debates about the relationship between religion, civil liberties, politics, and law in American life. Exploring both the legal rulings and the media frenzies that accompanied the Terry Schiavo case and others like it, Howard Ball contends that despite raging battles in all the states where right to die legislation has been proposed, the opposition to the right to die is intractable in its stance. Combining constitutional analysis, legal history, and current events, Ball surveys the constitutional arguments that have driven the right to die debate.

This book explores the phenomenon of suicide tourism. As more countries legally permit assisted suicide and do not necessarily bar the participation of non-residents, suicide tourism is becoming a larger and more complex global issue. The book sets out the parameters for future debate by first contextualizing the practice and identifying its treatment under international and domestic law. It then analyses the ethical ramifications, weighing up where the state's responsibilities lie, and addressing the controversial roles of accompanying persons. The book goes on to offer a sociological and cultural analysis of suicide tourism, including interviews with the various stakeholders: policy makers, assisted suicide associations, and medical and patients' organizations, in Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, and the UK. The book concludes with a summary of the legal, ethical, political, and sociological dimensions of suicide tourism.

This volume offers new perspectives on questions which are highly relevant in the context of dementia and the arts and the humanities. The issues concern the personal identity of dementia patients, their familial relationships, advance directives and the patients' autonomy, the cultural representation of the subjective experience of dementia, and the patients' stigmatization due to the disease. By considering topics from philosophy and medical humanities, from cultural studies as well as from German, English, American and Comparative literature, the volume aims to think beyond the boundaries of specific disciplines in order to bring philosophy, literary and cultural studies into a fruitful conversation about dementia and the challenges it entails for the individual and for society. Dieser Band ermoeglicht alternative Zugange zu aktuellen gesellschaftlichen Debatten uber Demenz. Ausgehend von zentralen Fragen der Philosophie sowie der Literatur- und Kulturwissenschaften diskutieren die Beitrage Probleme der personalen Identitat von Demenzerkrankten, ihren familiaren Beziehungen, zu Patientenverfugungen und zur Autonomie von Demenzbetroffenen sowie die kulturelle Reprasentation der subjektiven Erfahrungen von Demenz und die Stigmatisierung von Patienten infolge ihrer Erkrankung. Durch seinen interdisziplinaren Ansatz bringt der Band Beitrage aus der Philosophie, den Medical Humanities, der Germanistik, Anglistik und Amerikanistik sowie der Komparatistik in einen Dialog uber die Herausforderungen, die Demenzerkrankungen an unsere Gesellschaft und das Individuum stellen.

Ethical and legal issues concerning physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia are very much on the public agenda in many jurisdictions. In this timely book L.W. Sumner addresses these issues within the wider context of palliative care for patients in the dying process. His ethical conclusion is that a bright line between assisted death and other widely accepted end-of-life practices, including the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, pain control through high-dose opioids, and terminal sedation, cannot be justified. In the course of the ethical argument many familiar themes are given careful and thorough treatment: conceptions of death, the badness of death, the wrongness of killing, informed consent and refusal, the ethics of suicide, cause of death, the double effect, the sanctity of life, the 'active/passive' distinction, advance directives, and nonvoluntary euthanasia. The legal discussion opens with a survey of some prominent prohibitionist and regulatory regimes and then outlines a model regulatory policy for assisted death. Sumner concludes by defending this policy against a wide range of common objections, including those which appeal to slippery slopes or the possibility of abuse, and by asking how the transition to a regulatory regime might be managed in three common law prohibitionist jurisdictions.

This book is the first comprehensive report and analysis of the Dutch euthanasia experience over the last three decades. In contrast to most books about euthanasia, which are written by authors from countries where the practice is illegal and therefore practiced only secretly, this book analyzes empirical data and real-life clinical behavior. Its essays were written by the leading Dutch scholars and clinicians who shaped euthanasia policy and who have studied, evaluated, and helped regulate it. Some of them have themselves practiced euthanasia. The book will contribute to the world literature on physician-assisted death by providing a comprehensive examination of how euthanasia has been practiced and how it has evolved in one specific national and cultural context. It will greatly advance the understanding of euthanasia among both advocates and opponents of the practice.

This book is a critical response to a range of problems - some theoretical, others empirical - that shape questions surrounding the lived experience of suffering. It explores how moral and ethical questions of personal suffering are experienced, contested, negotiated and institutionalised. Bodies and Suffering investigates the moral labour and significance invested in actions to care for others, or in failing to do so. It also explores circumstances - personal, political and social - under which that which is perceived as non-moral becomes moral. Drawing on case studies and empirical research, Bodies and Suffering examines the idea of the suffering body across different cultures and contexts and the experience and treatment of these suffering bodies. The book draws on theories of affect, embodiment, the phenomenology of illness and moralities of care, to produce a nuanced understanding of suffering as being located across the assumed borders of time, space, bodies, persons and things. Suitable for bioethicists, medical anthropologists, health sociologists and body studies scholars, Bodies and Suffering will also be of use on health science courses as essential reading on suffering bodies, mental health and morality and ethics issues.

Assisted dying is still an extremely contested topic in Bioethics. Despite the strongly influential role human dignity plays in this debate, it still has not received the appropriate, multi-faceted treatment it deserves. Studies show that the notion of dignity already plays an important role in medical contexts: it is frequently used by health care professionals as well as patients. However, its use in these contexts needs to be analyzed and explained in more detail. Moreover, a review of the available literature clearly shows that the general, highly fruitful academic debate on human dignity is more than ready to take the next step into applied ethics: in particular, into the even more controversial area of assisted death. This book offers a detailed philosophical analysis of dignity and how it relates to assisted death. Its audience will benefit both from the general discussion of human dignity it offers as well as from the specific bioethical context to which it is applied.

In September 2018, Professor Sean Davison's peaceful life in the leafy suburbs of Pinelands, Cape Town is shattered. Arrested for the murder of Dr Anrich Burger, a once-fit athlete turned quadriplegic who begged Davison to assist him in ending his life in 2015, the unassuming academic and father of three now finds himself locked up in a prison cell.

Under investigation led by the Hawks, an additional two murders are added to the case for which he now faces a mandatory life prison sentence. Written in compelling detail, The Price of Mercy tracks the extraordinary journey that Davison embarks on to prepare for the gruelling legal challenge that lies ahead.

The desperate cries of many, begging for his assistance to help end their lives of suffering haunt him. Unwavering in his belief that we all have the right to die with dignity, Davison's selfless battle is made more bearable by his friendship with the late and great Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

A book that will change the way you see death.

Prof. Anton van Niekerk skryf oor iets waaroor daar in Afrikaans nog bitter min buite die teologie geskryf is. Hy praat openhartig oor die vrae waarmee ons worstel by die afsterf van geliefdes en verduidelik beide persepsies van die dood oor eeue heen sowel as die nuutste denkstrome. Omstrede kwessies soos bystanddood en selfdood kom ter sprake. Uiteindelik is dié boek ’n oproep om elke oomblik ten volle te leef.

The majority of gun deaths in the United States are suicide deaths, and the majority of suicide deaths are gun deaths. Most people are unaware that suicide, at nearly 43,000 deaths per year, is more common than homicide and other widely publicized tragedies. And yet, suicide is typically absent from discussions of gun violence. As such, the national conversation on gun violence is inadequate and unrelated to the majority of gun deaths in this country. In Guns and Suicide, Michael Anestis reframes our perspective on gun violence by shifting the focus to suicide. Guns play a uniquely profound role in American suicide, and Anestis explains how they have this effect-not by making otherwise non-suicidal people want to die, but by facilitating suicide attempts among suicidal individuals. He reviews the evidence - in suicide and other public health concerns - that focusing on specific means for contracting an unwanted outcome (e.g., HIV) can successfully reduce the frequency of that outcome. With suicide, this could mean the passage of legislation related to firearm ownership and storage, non-legislative encouragement of safe storage of private firearms, voluntary and temporary removal of firearms from the home during times of distress, or a combination of these factors. Importantly, this is not a book about gun control. Anestis does not argue in favor of tighter restrictions on ownership, assault weapon bans, or longer waiting periods for purchase because these will not substantially reduce the staggering gun suicide rate. Rather, Anestis aims for a cultural shift towards suicide-specific safe gun ownership and puts forth unemotional suggestions in hopes of leveraging common ground in the pursuit of a lower suicide rate.

The pressing and universally relevant issue of euthanasia is debated in this volume. Euthanasia has become increasingly contentious as populations age, and medical and scientific advances continue to transform and extend life. Euthanasia - Choice and Death examines the key philosophical arguments that have underpinned thinking and practice up till now: * The centrality of choice to our notion of the human being; * The challenge of changes to our concept of death in the face of medical, scientific and technological advances. Gail Tulloch develops a conception of dignity that does not depend on religious assumptions and can promote a broad ethical consensus in a liberal democracy. Examination of landmark cases and the approaches adopted by key countries - the U.S.A., the U.K., the Netherlands, and Australia - ground the book.

The aim of the book is to contribute to the development of Christian bioethics. Particularly, it constitutes a Christian critique of the sovereign bioethics - he kind of bioethics that shapes the relevant discussions in the public arena, and unjustifiably imposes particular values, boundaries and conditions on the discussion relevant to bioethical dilemmas - with special reference to the issues surrounding euthanasia. This critique is made, firstly, on the ground of the assumption that all theories of human existence, including sovereign bioethics share a common ground - all theories serve their own needs of self-presentation through presenting their subjective principles as objective and therefore as appropriate for power claims over human life. This is exemplified through a thorough analysis of the current discussion on euthanasia. Such a procedure is an innovative way on how current bioethics should be examined and evaluated. Such a critique of the sovereign bioethics is further developed on the ground of the patristic tradition and particularly the works of John Damascene and Symeon the New Theologian. Within such a context, the fundamental elements of a Christian anthropology regarding the constitution of man, the character of pain and death as well as the importance of the free will in man are discussed. This discussion is culminated in the presentation of the character of the Christian voluntary death along with its implications from a bioethical point of view.

Examining the evidence from Belgium - one of only five countries where euthanasia is practised legally - an international panel of experts considers the implications of legalised euthanasia and assisted suicide. Looking at the issue from an international perspective, the authors have written an invaluable in-depth analysis of the ethical aspects of this complex area. The discussion forms a solid foundation for informed debate about assisted dying. With contributors from a broad range of disciplines, this book is ideal for students, academics, legislators and anyone interested in legal, medical, social and philosophical ethics. A vital and timely examination of a growing phenomenon and one of the most challenging ethical questions of our time.

The issue of physician-assisted death is now firmly on the American public agenda. Already legal in five states, it is the subject of intense public opinion battles across the country. Driven by an increasingly aging population, and a baby boom generation just starting to enter its senior years, the issue is not going to go away anytime soon. In Physician-Assited Death L.W. Sumner equips readers with everything they need to know to take a reasoned and informed position in this important debate. The book provides needed context for the debate by situating physician-assisted death within the wider framework of end-of-life care and explaining why the movement to legalize it now enjoys such strong public support. It also reviews that movement's successes to date, beginning in Oregon in 1994 and now extending to eleven jurisdictions across three continents. Like abortion, physician-assisted death is ethically controversial and the subject of passionately held opinions. The central chapters of the book review the main arguments utilized by both sides of the controversy: on the one hand, appeals to patient autonomy and the relief of suffering, on the other the claim that taking active steps to hasten death inevitably violates the sanctity of life. The book then explores both the case in favor of legalization and the case against, focusing in the latter instance on the risk of abuse and the possibility of slippery slopes. In this context the experience of jurisdictions that have already taken the step of legalization is carefully reviewed to see what lessons might be extracted from it. It then identifies some further issues that lie beyond the boundaries of the current debate but will have to be faced sometime down the road: euthanasia for patients who are permanently unconscious or have become seriously demented and for severely compromised newborns. The book concludes by considering the various possible routes to legalization, both political and judicial. Readers will then be prepared to decide for themselves just where they stand when they confront the issue both in their own jurisdiction and in their own lives.

Examining the evidence from Belgium - one of only five countries where euthanasia is practised legally - an international panel of experts considers the implications of legalised euthanasia and assisted suicide. Looking at the issue from an international perspective, the authors have written an invaluable in-depth analysis of the ethical aspects of this complex area. The discussion forms a solid foundation for informed debate about assisted dying. With contributors from a broad range of disciplines, this book is ideal for students, academics, legislators and anyone interested in legal, medical, social and philosophical ethics. A vital and timely examination of a growing phenomenon and one of the most challenging ethical questions of our time.

This book presents an atheistic case against the legalization of assisted suicide. Critical of both sides of the argument, it questions the assumptions behind the discussion. Yuill shows that our attitudes towards suicide - not euthanasia - are most important to our attitudes towards assisted suicide.

Those involved in end-of-life decision making must take into account both legal and ethical issues. This book starts with a critical reflection of ethical principles including ideas such as moral status, the value of life, acts and omissions, harm, autonomy, dignity and paternalism. It then explores the practical difficulties of regulating end-of-life decisions, focusing on patients, healthcare professionals, the wider community and issues surrounding 'slippery slope' arguments. By evaluating the available empirical evidence, the author identifies preferred ways to regulate decisions and minimise abuses at the end of life, and outlines an ethical theory which can provide practical guidance for those engaged in end-of-life decisions.

This book examines the reactions of the friends and family of those who elect to die due to terminal illness. These surviving spouses, partners, relatives, and friends, in addition to coping with the death of a loved one, must also deal with the loved one s decision to die, thus severing the relationship. C. G. Prado examines how reactions to elective death are influenced by cultural influences and beliefs, particularly those related to life, death, and the possibility of an afterlife. Understanding the role of these cultural influences on the grieving processes of survivors is a crucial step in allowing them to accept both intellectually and emotionally the finality of elective death and to deal with the decision of their loved one.

This book examines the reactions of the friends and family of those who elect to die due to terminal illness. These surviving spouses, partners, relatives, and friends, in addition to coping with the death of a loved one, must also deal with the loved one s decision to die, thus severing the relationship. C. G. Prado examines how reactions to elective death are influenced by cultural influences and beliefs, particularly those related to life, death, and the possibility of an afterlife. Understanding the role of these cultural influences on the grieving processes of survivors is a crucial step in allowing them to accept both intellectually and emotionally the finality of elective death and to deal with the decision of their loved one.

"The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia" provides the most thorough overview of the ethical and legal issues raised by assisted suicide and euthanasia--as well as the most comprehensive argument against their legalization--ever published.

In clear terms accessible to the general reader, Neil Gorsuch thoroughly assesses the strengths and weaknesses of leading contemporary ethical arguments for assisted suicide and euthanasia. He explores evidence and case histories from the Netherlands and Oregon, where the practices have been legalized. He analyzes libertarian and autonomy-based arguments for legalization as well as the impact of key U.S. Supreme Court decisions on the debate. And he examines the history and evolution of laws and attitudes regarding assisted suicide and euthanasia in American society.

After assessing the strengths and weaknesses of arguments for assisted suicide and euthanasia, Gorsuch builds a nuanced, novel, and powerful moral and legal argument against legalization, one based on a principle that, surprisingly, has largely been overlooked in the debate--the idea that human life is intrinsically valuable and that intentional killing is always wrong. At the same time, the argument Gorsuch develops leaves wide latitude for individual patient autonomy and the refusal of unwanted medical treatment and life-sustaining care, permitting intervention only in cases where an intention to kill is present.

Those on both sides of the assisted suicide question will find Gorsuch's analysis to be a thoughtful and stimulating contribution to the debate about one of the most controversial public policy issues of our day.

The case of Terri Schiavo, a young woman who spent 15 years in a persistent vegetative state, has emerged as a watershed in debates over end-of-life care. While many observers had thought the right to refuse medical treatment was well established, this case split a family, divided a nation, and counfounded physicians, legislators, and many of the people they treated or represented. In renewing debates over the importance of advance directives, the appropriate role of artificial hydration and nutrition, and the responsibilities of family members, the case also became one of history's most extensively litigated health care disputes. The Case of Terri Schiavo assembles a team of first-hand participants and content experts to provide thoughtful and nuanced analyses. In addition to a comprehensive overview, the book includes contributions by Ms. Schiavo's guardian ad litem, a neurologist and lawyer who participated in the case, and scholars who examine issues related to litigation, faith, gender, and disability. The volume also includes a powerful dissent from the views of many scholars in the bioethics community. The book is intended for students, health care professionals, policy makers, and other in search of carefully reasoned analyses of the case that will shape our view of death and end-of-life medical care for decades.