Euthanasia
Should our democracy permit physicians to assist in a patient's suicide?
While most citizens in a democracy want to protect life, they also believe and expect that they make their own personal decisions, particularly about their own bodies. Many people believe that the right to live autonomously includes the right to decide when and how they end their own lives, particularly when “life” means facing a terminal illness, depression, or terrible pain. Yet many people around the world oppose permitting suicide or enabling someone else to die. These divergent beliefs about protecting life and preserving autonomy come into conflict when people discuss whether the government should permit physicians to assist patients with suicide.
Lessons
Resources
Articles and Papers
- BBC News, “Belgium Legalises Euthanasia” (May 16, 2002)
- “Nazi Euthanasia,” World War II in Europe (Boston: The History Place, 1996)
- “Oath of Hippocrates” (for physicians)
- “Social Issues: Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide” (Portland, OR: Multnomah County Library, 2005)
- Vrakking AM, et al., “Medical End-of-Life Decisions Made for Neonates and Infants in the Netherlands, 1995–2001,” The Lancet (April 9, 2005), Vol. 365: 9467, pp. 1329-1331
- Washington v. Glucksberg, 000 U.S. 96-110 (1997)
Activities and Websites
- Anti-Euthanasia
- "Euthanasia" (Washington, DC: National Right ot Life Committee, n.d.)
- “International Anti-Euthanasia Task Force” (Steubenville, OH: IAETF, n.d.)
- The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition
- Pro-Euthanasia
- Compassion and Choices: Choice and Care at the End of Life
- Euthanasia Research and Guidance Organization: Assisted Suicide
- Shaw, Mary. "The Other Pro-Choice Movement" (January 21, 2006)
Audio Articles
- "Euthanasia" National Public Radio (February 21, 1996)
- "Euthanasia Law In the Netherlands" National Public Radio (April 11, 2001)
- "Kevorkian's Release Rekindles Suicide Debate” National Public Radio (June 5, 2007)
