Regulating the End of Life

Regulating the End of Life PDF Author: Sue Westwood
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000439496
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 245

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Book Description
Regulating the End of Life: Death Rights is a collection of cutting-edge chapters on assisted dying and euthanasia, written by leading authors in the field. Providing an overview of current regulation on assisted dying and euthanasia, both in the UK and internationally, this book also addresses the associated debates on ethical, moral, and rights issues. It considers whether, just as there is a right to life, there should also be a right to death, especially in the context of unbearable human suffering. The unintended consequences of prohibitions on assisted dying and euthanasia are explored, and the argument put forward that knowing one can choose when and how one dies can be life-extending, rather than life-limiting. Key critiques from feminist and disability studies are addressed. The overarching theme of the collection is that death is an embodied right which we should be entitled to exercise, with appropriate safeguards, as and when we choose. Making a novel contribution to the debate on assisted dying, this interdisciplinary book will appeal to those with relevant interests in law, socio-legal studies, applied ethics, medical ethics, politics, philosophy, and sociology.

Regulating the End of Life

Regulating the End of Life PDF Author: Sue Westwood
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000439496
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 245

Get Book

Book Description
Regulating the End of Life: Death Rights is a collection of cutting-edge chapters on assisted dying and euthanasia, written by leading authors in the field. Providing an overview of current regulation on assisted dying and euthanasia, both in the UK and internationally, this book also addresses the associated debates on ethical, moral, and rights issues. It considers whether, just as there is a right to life, there should also be a right to death, especially in the context of unbearable human suffering. The unintended consequences of prohibitions on assisted dying and euthanasia are explored, and the argument put forward that knowing one can choose when and how one dies can be life-extending, rather than life-limiting. Key critiques from feminist and disability studies are addressed. The overarching theme of the collection is that death is an embodied right which we should be entitled to exercise, with appropriate safeguards, as and when we choose. Making a novel contribution to the debate on assisted dying, this interdisciplinary book will appeal to those with relevant interests in law, socio-legal studies, applied ethics, medical ethics, politics, philosophy, and sociology.

Approaching Death

Approaching Death PDF Author: Committee on Care at the End of Life
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309518253
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 425

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Book Description
When the end of life makes its inevitable appearance, people should be able to expect reliable, humane, and effective caregiving. Yet too many dying people suffer unnecessarily. While an "overtreated" dying is feared, untreated pain or emotional abandonment are equally frightening. Approaching Death reflects a wide-ranging effort to understand what we know about care at the end of life, what we have yet to learn, and what we know but do not adequately apply. It seeks to build understanding of what constitutes good care for the dying and offers recommendations to decisionmakers that address specific barriers to achieving good care. This volume offers a profile of when, where, and how Americans die. It examines the dimensions of caring at the end of life: Determining diagnosis and prognosis and communicating these to patient and family. Establishing clinical and personal goals. Matching physical, psychological, spiritual, and practical care strategies to the patient's values and circumstances. Approaching Death considers the dying experience in hospitals, nursing homes, and other settings and the role of interdisciplinary teams and managed care. It offers perspectives on quality measurement and improvement, the role of practice guidelines, cost concerns, and legal issues such as assisted suicide. The book proposes how health professionals can become better prepared to care well for those who are dying and to understand that these are not patients for whom "nothing can be done."

Physician-Assisted Death

Physician-Assisted Death PDF Author: James M. Humber
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1592594484
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 159

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Book Description
Physician-Assisted Death is the eleventh volume of Biomedical Ethics Reviews. We, the editors, are pleased with the response to the series over the years and, as a result, are happy to continue into a second decade with the same general purpose and zeal. As in the past, contributors to projected volumes have been asked to summarize the nature of the literature, the prevailing attitudes and arguments, and then to advance the discussion in some way by staking out and arguing forcefully for some basic position on the topic targeted for discussion. For the present volume on Physician-Assisted Death, we felt it wise to enlist the services of a guest editor, Dr. Gregg A. Kasting, a practicing physician with extensive clinical knowledge of the various problems and issues encountered in discussing physician assisted death. Dr. Kasting is also our student and just completing a graduate degree in philosophy with a specialty in biomedical ethics here at Georgia State University. Apart from a keen interest in the topic, Dr. Kasting has published good work in the area and has, in our opinion, done an excellent job in taking on the lion's share of editing this well-balanced and probing set of essays. We hope you will agree that this volume significantly advances the level of discussion on physician-assisted euthanasia. Incidentally, we wish to note that the essays in this volume were all finished and committed to press by January 1993.

Regulating how We Die

Regulating how We Die PDF Author: Linda L. Emanuel
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674666542
Category : Assisted suicide
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description
Addressing the subject of euthanasia, medical ethicist Dr. Linda Emanuel assembles testimony from leading experts to provide not only a clear account of the arguments for and against physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia--but also historical, empirical, and legal perspectives on this complex and often heart-rending issue.

International Perspectives on End-of-Life Law Reform

International Perspectives on End-of-Life Law Reform PDF Author: Ben P. White
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108808670
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 313

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Book Description
Much has been written about whether end-of-life law should change and what that law should be. However, the barriers and facilitators of such changes – law reform perspectives – have been virtually ignored. Why do so many attempts to change the law fail but others are successful? International Perspectives on End-of-Life Law Reform aims to address this question by drawing on ten case studies of end-of-life law reform from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium and Australia. Written by leading end-of-life scholars, the book's chapters blend perspectives from law, medicine, bioethics and sociology to examine sustained reform efforts to permit assisted dying and change the law about withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment. Findings from this book shed light not only on changing end-of-life law, but provide insight more generally into how and why law reform succeeds in complex and controversial social policy areas.

A Concise History of Euthanasia

A Concise History of Euthanasia PDF Author: Ian Dowbiggin
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780742531116
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
This deeply informed history traces the controversial record of "mercy-killing," a source of heated debate among doctors and laypeople alike. Dowbiggin examines evolving opinions about what constitutes a good death, taking into account the societal and religious values placed on sin, suffering, resignation, judgment, penance, and redemption. He also examines the bitter struggle between those who stress a right to compassionate and effective end-of-life care and those who define human life in terms of either biological criteria, utilitarian standards, a faith in science, humane medical treatment, the principle of personal autonomy, or individual human rights. Considering both the influence of technological and behavioral changes in the practice of medicine and the public's surprising lack of awareness of death's many clinical and biological dimensions, this book raises profound personal and collective questions on the future of euthanasia.

End-of-Life Decisions in Medical Care

End-of-Life Decisions in Medical Care PDF Author: Stephen W. Smith
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107378079
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
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.

The Art of Dying Well

The Art of Dying Well PDF Author: Katy Butler
Publisher: Scribner
ISBN: 1501135473
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
This “comforting…thoughtful” (The Washington Post) guide to maintaining a high quality of life—from resilient old age to the first inklings of a serious illness to the final breath—by the New York Times bestselling author of Knocking on Heaven’s Door is a “roadmap to the end that combines medical, practical, and spiritual guidance” (The Boston Globe). “A common sense path to define what a ‘good’ death looks like” (USA TODAY), The Art of Dying Well is about living as well as possible for as long as possible and adapting successfully to change. Packed with extraordinarily helpful insights and inspiring true stories, award-winning journalist Katy Butler shows how to thrive in later life (even when coping with a chronic medical condition), how to get the best from our health system, and how to make your own “good death” more likely. Butler explains how to successfully age in place, why to pick a younger doctor and how to have an honest conversation with them, when not to call 911, and how to make your death a sacred rite of passage rather than a medical event. This handbook of preparations—practical, communal, physical, and spiritual—will help you make the most of your remaining time, be it decades, years, or months. Based on Butler’s experience caring for aging parents, and hundreds of interviews with people who have successfully navigated our fragmented health system and helped their loved ones have good deaths, The Art of Dying Well also draws on the expertise of national leaders in family medicine, palliative care, geriatrics, oncology, and hospice. This “empowering guide clearly outlines the steps necessary to prepare for a beautiful death without fear” (Shelf Awareness).

Self-Determination, Dignity and End-of-Life Care

Self-Determination, Dignity and End-of-Life Care PDF Author: Stefania Negri
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004223584
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 487

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Book Description
By providing an interdisciplinary reading of advance directives regulation in international, European and domestic law, this book offers new insights into the most controversial legal issues surrounding the debate over dignity and autonomy at the end of life.

Contemporary Bioethics

Contemporary Bioethics PDF Author: Mohammed Ali Al-Bar
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319184288
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 267

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Book Description
This book discusses the common principles of morality and ethics derived from divinely endowed intuitive reason through the creation of al-fitr' a (nature) and human intellect (al-‘aql). Biomedical topics are presented and ethical issues related to topics such as genetic testing, assisted reproduction and organ transplantation are discussed. Whereas these natural sources are God’s special gifts to human beings, God’s revelation as given to the prophets is the supernatural source of divine guidance through which human communities have been guided at all times through history. The second part of the book concentrates on the objectives of Islamic religious practice – the maqa' sid – which include: Preservation of Faith, Preservation of Life, Preservation of Mind (intellect and reason), Preservation of Progeny (al-nasl) and Preservation of Property. Lastly, the third part of the book discusses selected topical issues, including abortion, assisted reproduction devices, genetics, organ transplantation, brain death and end-of-life aspects. For each topic, the current medical evidence is followed by a detailed discussion of the ethical issues involved.