| Should it be legal to assist suicide? | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 20367858 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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This paper argues that because it is a matter of dispute whether to assist suicide is ever morally right, the question whether assisted suicide should be legal should be decided independently of the moral issue and with reference to whether to assist suicide is genuinely to carry out the wishes of the person requesting it. It is then argued that it is possible to devise a set of criteria, based on those used in the Netherlands with regard to euthanasia, which would allow assisted suicide when the request is reasonable and genuine, but keep it illegal under other circumstances. It is further argued that there is no evidence that legalizing assisted suicide will lead us down the slippery slope to involuntary euthanasia. Finally, the question is raised to whether these assisted suicides should be legalized or, as at the moment in the UK, simply not prosecuted, but, as is about to happen, with the criteria for non-prosecution made explicit. It is suggested that, although it is in some ways both irrational and unjust, non-prosecution is politically easier to achieve and also more cautious as a first move. |
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Authors:
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Harry Lesser |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Journal of evaluation in clinical practice Volume: 16 ISSN: 1365-2753 ISO Abbreviation: J Eval Clin Pract Publication Date: 2010 Apr |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2010-04-06 Completed Date: 2010-07-29 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 9609066 Medline TA: J Eval Clin Pract Country: England |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 330-4 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Centre for Philosophy, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK. anthony.h.lesser@manchester.ac.uk |
Export Citation:
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APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Great Britain Humans Liability, Legal* Suicide, Assisted / ethics, legislation & jurisprudence* |
| Comments/Corrections | |
Comment In:
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J Eval Clin Pract. 2010 Apr;16(2):335-6; discussion 337
[PMID:
20367859
]
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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