The Case Against Assisted Suicide : For the Right to End-of-Life Care

In The Case against Assisted Suicide: For the Right to End-of-Life Care , Dr. Kathleen Foley and Dr. Herbert Hendin uncover why pleas for patient autonomy and compassion, often used in favor of legalizing euthanasia, do not advance or protect the rights of terminally ill patients. Incisive essays by authorities in the fields of medicine, law, and bioethics draw on studies done in the Netherlands, Oregon, and Australia by the editors and contributors that show the dangers that legalization of assisted suicide would pose to the most vulnerable patients. Thoughtful and persuasive, this book urges the medical profession to improve palliative care and develop a more humane response to the complex issues facing those who are terminally ill.

"A major contribution to our understanding of the practice, theory, and limitations of assisted suicide and euthanasia in seriously ill patients. The book is superbly written and intellectually challenging. I am convinced that it will become standard reading for all -- whether advocates or opponents of assisted suicide -- who want to think more deeply and learn more about what we need to do to improve end-of-life care." -- The Lancet

"The writing is of uniformly high quality, and the book achieves stylistic consistency while still reflecting an individual voice in each chapter. The book is sorely needed." -- New England Journal of Medicine

"The methods of palliative care, or comfort care, have in the past few decades reached a level of effectiveness such that suffering thought at first to be intractable can almost always be relieved. And this is the ultimate message of this vastly important book that now makes its timely appearance." -- New Republic

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Becky Stepp, BBA, MEd, BS, M, LMSW(Seton Medical Center)
Description:This is an in-depth analysis of the practice of assisted suicide where it is legally sanctioned. The authors argue thoughtfully against the social policy of physician-assisted suicide. The book notes that supporters of this legislation fail to address the actual situations of terminally ill patients, thereby offering a poor standard of medical care to this vulnerable population.
Purpose:This book advances an open and tolerant discussion to address how we as a society can provide better healthcare and social support to a vulnerable and suffering population.
Audience:According to the authors, and I would agree, this book is targeted to those taking medical ethics courses, physicians, lawyers, clinicians, ethicists, healthcare professionals, social workers, healthcare policy experts, hospice and palliative care professionls. It is appropriate for the graduate and continuing education levels. The authors lend a credible authority to the subject matter of this book, due to the host of experience and multidisciplinary approach brought by each author.
Features:This is a compilation of several authors including ethicists, lawyers, clinicians, and healthcare policy experts who formatted their chapters to reflect a coherent discussion of the physician-assisted suicide debate. The book covers its subject through a multidisciplinary approach: medical, ethical, legal, and psychosocial perspectives. It raises the issues of autonomy and compassion -- practice versus theory -- and it thoughtfully and persuasively considers the reason to be concerned and offers a better way to respond to the complex issues facing terminally ill patients.
Assessment:This is an original and unique presentation of the public health issue of the care of the seriously ill and dying. It is an unprecedented approach to this discussion and advocates for a strong social commitment to both respecting the individuality and dignity of dying patients and their families, while providing them with real choices for real care at the end of life.

"Few issues are as volatile or misunderstood as physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. In The Case against Assisted Suicide: For the Right to End-of-Life Care, Drs. Foley and Hendin unravel why such principles as patient autonomy, compassion, and rationality, which are often invoked by supporters of legalization, fail to address the actual situations of terminally ill patients. Incisive discussions by leading authorities in the fields of medicine, law, and bioethics from the United States and abroad provide compelling multidisciplinary perspectives and discussions on what is at stake at the end of life. Several chapters present the risks that legalization of assisted suicide poses to some of society's most vulnerable groups, particularly those who are elderly, are depressed, or have physical disabilities. The authors provide in-depth analyses of the actual practice of assisted suicide in places where it is legally sanctioned. The Case against Assisted Suicide spells out what the medical profession needs to do to improve palliative care. It also thoughtfully and persuasively indicates the changes in social policy necessary to develop a more humane response to the complex issues facing terminally ill patients."--Jacket. Contents Preface Acknowledgments Contributors Introduction: A Medical, Ethical, Legal, and Psychosocial Perspective Autonomy, Compassion, and Rational Suicide Chapter 1 - “I Will Give No Deadly Drug”: Why Doctors Must Not Kill Chapter 2 - Compassion Is Not Enough Chapter 3 - Reason, Self-determination, and Physician-Assisted Suicide Chapter 4 - The Rise and Fall of the “Right” to Assisted Suicide Practice versus Theory Chapter 5 - The Dutch Experience Chapter 6 - Palliative Care and Euthanasia in the Netherlands: Observations of a Dutch Physician Chapter 7 - The Oregon Experiment Chapter 8 - Oregon’s Culture of Silence Chapter 9 - Deadly Days in Darwin Reason to Be Concerned Chapter 10 - Not Dead Yet Chapter 11 - Vulnerable People: Practical Rejoinders to Claims in Favor of Assisted Suicide Chapter 12 - Depression and the Will to Live in the Psychological Landscape of Terminally Ill Patients A Better Way Chapter 13 - A Hospice Perspective Chapter 14 - Compassionate Care, Not Assisted Suicide Conclusion: Changing the Culture Notes Index Annotation Few issues are as volatile or misunderstood as physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. In The Case against Assisted Suicide: For the Right to End-of-Life Care, Drs. Foley and Hendin unravel why such principles as patient autonomy, compassion, and ratio