Physician-Assisted Dying

Timothy E. Quill, M.D., is a professor of medicine, psychiatry, and medical humanities at the University of Rochester and author of A Midwife through the Dying Process, also available from Johns Hopkins. Margaret P. Battin, Ph.D., is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and an adjunct professor of medical ethics at the University of Utah. She is the author of The Least Worst Death.

A very persuasive brief, combining empirical data, logical argumentation, and appeals to compassion. JAMA An excellent addition to the debate surrounding physician-assisted suicide and choice at the end of life. Reading this book along with The Case Against Assisted Suicide (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002) would provide a thorough grounding in this issue. Doody's Book Review Service Readers who are interested in a balanced counterpoint highlighting the best arguments of advocates and opponents of the legalization of assisted suicide should read both Physician-Assisted Dying and Foley and Hendin's book. New England Journal of Medicine 2005 This excellent book presents arguments supporting acceptance of physician-assisted death as an option for terminally ill patients who are suffering from extreme pain unrelieved by narcotics and whose only wish is to die. Choice 2005 The collection is the indispensable starting place for anyone wishing to become better informed about the present arguments over physician-assisted dying (especially in the United States), and it belongs in every high school, university, and medical library in the country. Humanist in Canada 2005 This is an excellent book for medical students, hospice personnel, and others involved in end-of-life care. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine 2005 An important contribution to the debate as to whether the choice of assisted death should be granted to those who seek it. Bulletin of Medical Ethics 2005 Provides a comprehensive account of the issue and will be of interest to professionals and patients at large. -- Antonio Casado da Rocha Metapsychology 2006

• AcknowledgementsList of ContributorsIntroduction. False Dichotomy versus Genuine Choice: The Argument over Physician-Assisted DyingPart I: Perspectives on Mercy, Nonabandonment, Autonomy, and ChoiceChapter 1. The Quality of MercyChapter 2. Nonabandonment: A Central Obligation for PhysiciansChapter 3. The Role of Autonomy in Choosing Physician Aid in DyingChapter 4. Disability and Physician-Assisted DyingChapter 5. When Suffering Patients Seek DeathPart II: Clinical, Philosophical, and Religious Issues about the Ending of LifeChapter 6. Why Do People Seek Physician-Assisted Death? Chapter 7. Doctor-Patient Communication about Physician-Assisted SuicideChapter 8. When Hastened Death Is Neither Killing Nor Letting DieChapter 9. Physician-Assisted Suicide as a Last-Resort Option at the End of LifeChapter 10. Death: A Friend to Be Welcomed, Not an Enemy to Be DefeatedPart III: Open Practice in a Legally Tolerant EnvironmentChapter 11. The Oregon ExperienceChapter 12. The Distortion of Cases in OregonChapter 13. A Model That Integrates Assisted Dying with Excellent End-of-Life CareChapter 14. Thirty Years' Experience with Euthanasia in the Netherlands: Focusing on the Patient as a PersonChapter 15. The Death of My FatherChapter 16. Assisted Death in the Netherlands: Physicians at the Bedside When Help Is RequestedPart IV: Political and Legal FermentChapter 17. Political Strategy and Legal ChangeChapter 18. Legal Advocacy to Improve Care and Expand Options at the End of LifeChapter 19. Physician-Assisted Suicide: Shifting the Focus from Means to EndsChapter 20. Choice in Dying: A Political and Constitutional ContextChapter 21. Hastening Death: The Seven Deadly Sins of the Status QuoConclusion. Excellent Palliative Care as the Standard, Physician-Assisted Dying as a Last ResortIndex