Description
Book SynopsisF. Visser
Trade ReviewA very persuasive brief, combining empirical data, logical argumentation, and appeals to compassion. JAMA An excellent addition to the debate surrounding physician-assisted suicide and choice at the end of life. Reading this book along with The Case Against Assisted Suicide (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002) would provide a thorough grounding in this issue. Doody's Book Review Service Readers who are interested in a balanced counterpoint highlighting the best arguments of advocates and opponents of the legalization of assisted suicide should read both Physician-Assisted Dying and Foley and Hendin's book. New England Journal of Medicine 2005 This excellent book presents arguments supporting acceptance of physician-assisted death as an option for terminally ill patients who are suffering from extreme pain unrelieved by narcotics and whose only wish is to die. Choice 2005 The collection is the indispensable starting place for anyone wishing to become better informed about the present arguments over physician-assisted dying (especially in the United States), and it belongs in every high school, university, and medical library in the country. Humanist in Canada 2005 This is an excellent book for medical students, hospice personnel, and others involved in end-of-life care. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine 2005 An important contribution to the debate as to whether the choice of assisted death should be granted to those who seek it. Bulletin of Medical Ethics 2005 Provides a comprehensive account of the issue and will be of interest to professionals and patients at large. -- Antonio Casado da Rocha Metapsychology 2006
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements
List of Contributors
Introduction. False Dichotomy versus Genuine Choice: The Argument over Physician-Assisted Dying
Part I: Perspectives on Mercy, Nonabandonment, Autonomy, and Choice
Chapter 1. The Quality of Mercy
Chapter 2. Nonabandonment: A Central Obligation for Physicians
Chapter 3. The Role of Autonomy in Choosing Physician Aid in Dying
Chapter 4. Disability and Physician-Assisted Dying
Chapter 5. When Suffering Patients Seek Death
Part II: Clinical, Philosophical, and Religious Issues about the Ending of Life
Chapter 6. Why Do People Seek Physician-Assisted Death?
Chapter 7. Doctor-Patient Communication about Physician-Assisted Suicide
Chapter 8. When Hastened Death Is Neither Killing Nor Letting Die
Chapter 9. Physician-Assisted Suicide as a Last-Resort Option at the End of Life
Chapter 10. Death: A Friend to Be Welcomed, Not an Enemy to Be Defeated
Part III: Open Practice in a Legally Tolerant Environment
Chapter 11. The Oregon Experience
Chapter 12. The Distortion of Cases in Oregon
Chapter 13. A Model That Integrates Assisted Dying with Excellent End-of-Life Care
Chapter 14. Thirty Years' Experience with Euthanasia in the Netherlands: Focusing on the Patient as a Person
Chapter 15. The Death of My Father
Chapter 16. Assisted Death in the Netherlands: Physicians at the Bedside When Help Is Requested
Part IV: Political and Legal Ferment
Chapter 17. Political Strategy and Legal Change
Chapter 18. Legal Advocacy to Improve Care and Expand Options at the End of Life
Chapter 19. Physician-Assisted Suicide: Shifting the Focus from Means to Ends
Chapter 20. Choice in Dying: A Political and Constitutional Context
Chapter 21. Hastening Death: The Seven Deadly Sins of the Status Quo
Conclusion. Excellent Palliative Care as the Standard, Physician-Assisted Dying as a Last Resort
Index
