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Bioethics/Sanctity of Human Life: Euthanasia/Physician Assisted Suicide

Death is the inevitable fate of all humans but how we die is an issue of great concern for many of us. Fear of pain, loss of control and being a burden to our loved ones are common issues surrounding death and dying. But, to what degree should individuals be allowed to control the circumstances of their death — even to the point of involving a physician?

The proposed legalization of physician-assisted suicide (and to some degree euthanasia) is a topic of debate in state legislatures, medical journals and family gatherings, raising many questions along the way: Should personal autonomy in medical decision-making extend to having a physician assisted you in suicide? If so, should this “right” be limited to terminally ill patients or also extended to those who are chronically ill? What about depression and adequate pain relief to lessen the patient’s desire to die? And, what impact would legalizing physician-assisted suicide have on the doctor-patient relationship?
 

Features

Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia

Recent proposals to legalize physician-assisted suicide have raised this question and triggered intense legal, medical and social debate.

Lessons I Learned from Terri Schiavo

I never met Terri Schiavo but in some ways, she changed my life. I never heard her speak a word but her living and dying clarified truth for me in unexpected ways. Her life and death impacted how I view life and death, and decisions that are made in the crossing.

Prescribing Death - Euthanasia Exposed

Proposals to legalize physician-assisted suicide have triggered intense legal, medical and social debate in the United States. For some Americans, the debate is fueled by their fear that medical technology may someday keep them alive past the time of natural death.

Status of Physician-Assisted Suicide

In the spring of 1996, two separate federal appeals court rulings launched the debate about physician-assisted suicide into judicial overdrive.

The Dutch Disaster

Euthanasia advocates argue that strict guidelines will protect the dependent, disabled and elderly from family members or medical professionals who deem their lives are no longer worth living.

The Faces of Life

The faces of Laci and Conner Peterson, Holly Patterson and Terri Schiavo serve to remind us of the importance of pro-life public policy.

Exploring the Issue



Note: Some of these resources refer to sites not produced by FOF. These are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement.

Back to the Drawing Board: The Future of the Pro-Life Movement

Forced Exit

Spence Publishing, 2003

Hospice: Offering Quality of Life to the End of Life

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