Review by Choice Review
Do patients have the right to die and, if so, do physicians have the right to assist them? In this timely work, McKhann (surgery, Yale Univ.) considers the many legal and ethical issues surrounding physician-assisted dying. The author bases his descriptions of dying patients and families' needs on interviews with patients who had serious illnesses and with physicians and nurses who cared for them, plus personal experience. A historical review of the issues follows, with a discussion of the role of the physician at the end of life, a comparison between a failed suicide attempt in the US and an assisted death in Holland, physicians' concerns about assisted dying, public concerns about assisted dying, legal precedents, and finally, the need for public policy to support appropriate options for assisted dying. As medical technology extends the quantity of life, quality of life issues will be of greater concern. With thoughtful regard to these issues and the firsthand experience of those who care for seriously ill patients, McKhann develops a cogent and compelling argument for physician-assisted dying in particular circumstances. Written in a clear and easy style with chapter notes, this book is recommended for all academic audiences, undergraduate through faculty, as an attentive resource on end-of-life concerns. J. D. Campbell; University of Missouri--Columbia
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Each of these books favorable to physician-assisted suicide is worthwhile. The most scholarly is by a physician. McKhann watched his father, also a doctor, die a lingering, unpleasant death from cancer in 1988 in "one of the best hospitals in the country." He believes that physician-assisted suicide is not only desirable but inevitable. Humanity is divided in two parts, he says: those who have seen a loved one die a miserable death and those who have not. Since a physician helps a person through disease, trauma, and other medical problems, it is natural for the same doctor to help the same patient through life's last stage. McKhann argues level-headedly about patients, doctors, and laws. Writing from Scotland, McLean and Britton report on a survey on physician-assisted suicide and on current thinking there and elsewhere. Respect is a vital component of the capability to leave life, they argue. They are especially good at showing the circularity of the arguments often employed by assisted-death opponents. Their paperback is an inexpensive source of thought-provoking material. Woodman experienced the miserable death of an elderly aunt in London. Woodman examines various groups and individuals who have been fighting for the individual's control over the conditions of death, discusses the apparently changing viewpoints of some of the stronger opponents to the right to die, and points out that the Internet can be a good source of information and discussion. --William Beatty
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
