Giving Death a Helping Hand

Notably in Switzerland and Germany, the attitudes of public bodies towards physician-assisted suicide are in a process of change, partly motivated by the wish to take the edge off the pressure for legalisation of active euthanasia. The present volume focuses on public policy issues related to physician-assisted suicide. It offers a detailed analysis of the current legal standing and practice of physician-assisted suicide in various countries and discusses the ethical principles underlying its legal and professional regulation. In addition, it contains a number of personal narratives by professionals who have for many years been involved in end-of-life issues.

Up-to-date overview of legislation on physician-assisted suicide all over the world Critical appraisals of the views taken by professional codes toward physician-assisted suicide Practice reports of some of the leading figures in the practice of physician-assisted suicide in Switzerland and in the Netherlands

Inhalt
Physician-Assisted Suicide and Public Policy.- Should Physician-Assisted Suicide Be Legalized?.- Slippery Slopes and Physician-Assisted Suicide.- Physician-Assisted Suicide and the Medical Associations.- Safe, Legal, Rare? Physician-Assisted Suicide and Cultural Change in the Future.- Palliative Options of Last Resort: A Comparison of Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking, Terminal Sedation, Physician-Assisted Suicide, and Voluntary Active Euthanasia.- Physician-Assisted Suicide An International Perspective.- Physician-Assisted Suicide in Oregon.- Physician-Assisted Suicide in the Netherlands and Belgium.- Physician-Assisted Suicide and the German Criminal Law.- Physician-Assisted Death An Australian Perspective.- Assisted Dying: The View from the United Kingdom.- Physician-Assisted Suicide Narratives from Professional and Personal Experience.- Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Doctor's Perspective.- Physician-Assisted Suicide in Switzerland: A Personal Report.- The European Convention on Human Rights Protects the Right to Suicide.