My Account Log in

1 option

Euthanasia, ethics and public policy : an argument against legalisation / John Keown.

LIBRA K3611.E95 K46 2018
Loading location information...

Available from offsite location This item is stored in our repository but can be checked out.

Log in to request item
Format:
Book
Author/Creator:
Keown, John, author.
Series:
Cambridge bioethics and law
Language:
English
Subjects (All):
Euthanasia--Law and legislation.
Euthanasia.
Terminal care--Law and legislation.
Terminal care.
Euthanasia--Moral and ethical aspects.
Terminal care--Moral and ethical aspects.
Physical Description:
xxiii, 531 pages ; 23 cm.
Edition:
Second edition.
Place of Publication:
Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, 2018.
Summary:
"Whether the law should permit voluntary euthanasia and/or physician-assisted suicide is one of the most weighty and controversial questions facing modern societies. Internationally, the main obstacle to legalisation has proved to be the argument that, even if they were morally acceptable in certain 'hard cases', they could not be effectively controlled and society would slide down a 'slippery slope' to practices that most people would agree to be morally unacceptable. In particular, the argument runs, the law could not prevent the killing of patients who did not make a truly free and properly informed request, or for whom palliative care would have offered a viable alternative, and for an ever-expanding range of reasons. How cogent is this argument? This book provides the general reader (who need have no expertise in philosophy, law or medicine) with a lucid introduction to this central question in the debate, largely by reviewing the experience of three jurisdictions that have relaxed their laws: the Netherlands, Belgium and the US state of Oregon. The book will interest readers, whatever their views on the ethics of voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, who wish to ensure that their opinion about whether they should be legally permitted is better informed"-- Provided by publisher.
Contents:
Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide
Intended versus foreseen life-shortening
The value of human life
The value of autonomy
Legal hypocrisy?
The slippery slope arguments
The guidelines
The first survey : the incidence of "euthanasia"
Breach of the guidelines
The slide towards NVAE
The second survey
The Dutch in denial?
The Euthanasia Act and the code of practice
Effective control since 2002?
Continuing concerns
A right to physician-assisted suicide by stopping eating and drinking?
Assisted suicide for the elderly with "completed lives"
The Belgian legislation
Belgium's lack of effective control
The Northern Territory
Oregon model
The US Supreme Court : Glucksberg and Quill
The Supreme Court of Canada : Carter
Canada's euthanasia legislation.
Notes:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN:
9781107043206
1107043204
9781107618336
1107618339
OCLC:
1035215650

The Penn Libraries is committed to describing library materials using current, accurate, and responsible language. If you discover outdated or inaccurate language, please fill out this feedback form to report it and suggest alternative language.

Find

Home Release notes

My Account

Shelf Request an item Bookmarks Fines and fees Settings

Guides

Using the Find catalog Using Articles+ Using your account