A Concise History of Euthanasia: Life, Death, God and Medicine (CRITICAL ISSUES IN HISTORY) - Tapa dura

Anyone desiring a more deeply informed sense of the historical background to our current debates over end-of-life issues will appreciate this thoughtful and dispassionate introduction by Ian Dowbiggin, one of our most accomplished scholars of the subject. They will learn that the burning controversies of the moment, while unprecedented in many respects, are not entirely new, precisely because they emerge out of the most fundamental problems of human existence.--Wilfred M. McClay, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

This deeply informed history traces the controversial record of mercy-killing, a source of heated debate among doctors and laypeople alike. Dowbiggin examines evolving opinions about what constitutes a good death, taking into account the societal and religious values placed on sin, suffering, resignation, judgment, penance, and redemption. He also examines the bitter struggle between those who stress a right to compassionate and effective end-of-life care, and those who define human life in terms of either biological criteria, utilitarian standards, a faith in science, humane medical treatment, the principle of personal autonomy, or individual human rights. Considering both the influence of technological and behavioral changes in the practice of medicine and the public's surprising lack of awareness of death's many clinical and biological dimensions, this book raises profound personal and collective questions on the future of euthanasia.