Euthanasia, Death with Dignity and the Law

Description

Many advocates of euthanasia consider the criminal law to be an inappropriate medium to adjudicate the profound ethical and humanitarian dilemmas associated with end of life decisions. This work examines the legal response to euthanasia and end of life decisions and considers whether legal reform is an appropriate response to calls for euthanasia to be more readily available as a mechanism for providing death with dignity. Through an analysis of consent to treatment and medical decision making, euthanasia is carefully located within its legal, medical, and social contexts. This book focuses on the impact of euthanasia on the dignity of both the recipient and the practitioner while emphasizing the legal, professional, and ethical implications of euthanasia and its significance for the exercise of clinical discretion.

Hazel Biggs is a Lecturer in Law at the Kent Law School,University of Kent.

...a timely contribution the non-law reader will find the author's overview accessible succeeds in presenting complex issues in an approachable way and will undoubtedly stimulate further exploration of this troublesome area. -- Wendy E. Hiscox * Cambridge Law Journal * The author certainly succeeds to encapsulate and address the most important philosophical, ethical and legal issues pertaining to the modern, but contentious euthanasia debate. The book comes highly recommended and provides a valuable addition to the euthanasia debate. -- P A Carstens, University of Pretoria * Stellenbosch Law Review *