Euthanasia Baird, Robert M., Rosennaum,

Euthanasia

Baird, Robert M., Rosennaum, Stuart E. Euthanasia: The Moral Issues (Contemporary Issues in Philosophy). New York: Prometheus Books, 1998.

This book is an excellent source for ethical debate and critical thought on the topic of euthanasia. This work is a collection of argumentative essays and commentary on both the prose and cons of euthanasia as a medical practice. Further, many of the presented argumentative essays are in the form of first person stories from people who have experienced either the horrors or the blessings of the euthanasia practice with family members and friends. There are also several group statements on the topic. The result is that both sides of the debate are fairly and fully presented.

Brock, D. Voluntary Active Euthanasia. Hastings Center Report 22, No. 2: 1993. p.p. 10-22.

In this study, the author explores the issue of voluntary active euthanasia from the unique perspective of self-determination. Accordingly, through self-determination individuals are able to evaluate their own lives in terms of accessing overall quality by using their own values and belief systems. Thus, in order to preserve human dignity, the public has to respect these individual evaluations and allow individuals to act accordingly. Therefore, based on this line of reasoning, euthanasia should be legalized as individuals are fully competent and therefore capable of making their own decisions.

Commission on the Study of Medical Practice Concerning Euthanasia. Medical Decisions Concerning the End of Life. The Hague: SDU, 1991.

This report is based on an internationally conducted study on the use of euthanasia as a medical practice. The study was conducted around the world, examining both the various forms of international policy relating to the practice, the ethical backgrounds of the medical professions in the nations that both allow euthanasia and prohibit it, along with the actual medical methods on administering euthanasia within the medical field. Being an international document coming out of the Hague, the report takes a human rights approach to the issue as opposed to a strictly medical or ethical approach to the act. In other words, the approach is more focused on the rights of the patient instead of the ethics of the doctor.

Beck-Friis, B., Strang, P. "The Family is Hospital-Based Home Care with Special Cancer Patients." Journal of Palliative Care. 1993, Issue 9, p.p. 5-13.

This study was conducted on 87 next of kin, 80 spouses and 7 adult children who were the primary caregivers of terminally ill patients cared for at the hospital-based home care unit of a local hospital. All of the patients involved died at their homes. The care-givers were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their experiences and perceptions of the home care system. The overwhelming majority were satisfied with the system and felt it was more humane than simply leaving the individual in a hospital setting.

Cherny, N.I., Coyle, N., Foley, K.M. "Suffering in the Advanced Cancer Patient: A Definition and Taxonomy." Journal of Palliative Care. 1994, Issue 10, p.p. 57-70.

This study focuses on the area of assessing and attempting to understand the pain that a patient suffering from advanced stages of cancer suffers from. The findings reveal that the pain is unbearable yet the patients tend to become immune from it, or at least surrender to it. The purpose of this article as it relates to the topic of euthanasia is that one popular argument for the legalization of euthanasia is that it is inhumane to let a patient suffer. This study attempts to validate this argument by showing what exactly the patient is suffering from.

Coyle, N., Adelhardt, J., Foley, K.M. "Character of Terminal Illness in the Advanced Cancer Patient: Pain and Other Symptoms During the Last Four Weeks of Life." Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 1990, Issue 5, p.p. 83 -93.

This study focuses on assessing and evaluating the levels of pain that a terminally ill, advanced cancer patient suffers from, particularly during the last four weeks of their life. This article relates to the topic of euthanasia in that it finds that the pain the patient suffers from is immense and thus gives validation and credibility to the pro-euthanasia argument which believes it is inhumane to allow another human to suffer when the end result will be death anyways.

Rachels, J. The End of Life: Euthanasia and Morality. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986.

Rachels approaches the sensitive topic of euthanasia as a moral issue and begins her study with the proposal of the question of what it really means to respect human life. Using this question as a guide, she then examines the topic of euthanasia as a question of respecting human life. Throughout her work, the author critically examines the ideas and assumptions behind the ethics of euthanasia. She then concluded by proposing a new moral code based on a general belief that there is a fundamental and profound difference between the ideas of "living" and of "being alive."