Assisted Suicide
Assisted Suicide | Chapter 1 Preface
On March 30, 1995, in his Evangelium Vitae (Gospel of Life),Pope John Paul II declared assisted suicide unethical. “Suicide is always as morally objectionable as murder,” he maintained. “‘Assisted suicide’ means to cooperate in and at times be the actual perpetrator of an injustice that can never be excused, even if it is requested.” The pope’s view is shared by many religious leaders, ethicists, and other people who feel that assisted suicide is unethical because it usurps what they consider to be God’s right to determine a person’s lifespan. Many also oppose...
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- Introduction
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Chapter 1
- Chapter 1 Preface
- Assisted Suicide Shows Compassion for the Dying
- Assisted Suicide Is Consistent with Christian Beliefs
- Christian Arguments Against Assisted Suicide Are Misguided
- Allowing Competent People to Commit Suicide Is Ethical
- Physician-Assisted Suicide Undermines Medical Ethics
- Assisted Suicide Distorts the Meaning of Mercy
- Assisted Suicide Violates Christian Beliefs
- Assisted Suicide Violates the Dignity of Patients
- Assisted Suicide Is Not Morally Equivalent to Letting Patients Die
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Chapter 2
- Chapter 2 Preface
- Bans on Assisted Suicide Violate the Fourteenth Amendment
- Assisted Suicide Is an Individual Freedom
- Assisted Suicide Is a Fundamental Constitutional Right
- Assisted Suicide Is the Ultimate Civil Right
- Bans on Assisted Suicide Do Not Violate the Fourteenth Amendment
- Arguments Supporting a Constitutional Right to Suicide Are Illogical
- A Constitutional Right to Assisted Suicide Would Threaten Patients’ Right to Refuse Treatment
- The Supreme Court’s Position on Assisted Suicide Is Valid
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Chapter 3
- Chapter 3 Preface
- Legalized Physician- Assisted Suicide Would Improve Treatment of the Terminally Ill
- Safeguards Can Prevent the Abuse of Physician- Assisted Suicide
- Legalizing Physician- Assisted Suicide Would Not Threaten the Disabled
- Arguments Against Legalizing Physician- Assisted Suicide Are Unconvincing
- Support for Legalized Physician-Assisted Suicide Is Based on Mistaken Notions
- Legalized Physician- Assisted Suicide Would Lead to Abuses
- Legalizing Physician- Assisted Suicide Would Harm Society
- Legalized Physician- Assisted Suicide Would Damage the Physician- Patient Relationship
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Chapter 4
- Chapter 4 Preface
- Assisted Suicide Would Threaten the Nonfatally Ill
- Assisted Suicide Would Threaten the Rights of the Disabled
- Assisted Suicide Would Create an Inhumane Society
- Assisted Suicide Will Be Encouraged for Economic Reasons
- Assisted Suicide Would Respect the Rights of the Terminally Ill
- Assisted Suicide Would Respect the Rights of the Elderly
- Voluntary Euthanasia Would Not Lead to Involuntary Killing
- Some Individuals Have a Duty to Die
- Organizations to Contact
- Bibliography
- Copyright
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