1. Introduction -- 2. The Glucksberg and Quill controversies : the judiciary's (non)resolution of the assisted suicide debate -- 3. The debate over history -- 4. Arguments from fairness and equal protection : if a right to refuse, then a right to assisted suicide? -- 5. Casey and Cruzan : do they intimate a right to assisted suicide and euthanasia? -- 6. Autonomy theory's implications for the debate over assisted suicide and euthanasia -- 7. Legalization and the law of unintended consequences : utilitarian arguments for legalization -- 8. Two test cases : Posner and Epstein -- 9. An argument against legalization -- 10. Toward a consistent end-of-life ethic : the "right to refuse" care for competent and incompetent patients -- App. Certain American statutory laws banning or disapproving of assisted suicide
Summary
"In clear terms accessible to the general reader, Neil Gorsuch thoroughly assesses the strengths and weaknesses of leading contemporary ethical arguments for assisted suicide and euthanasia. He explores evidence and case histories from the Netherlands and Oregon, where the practices have been legalized. He analyzes libertarian and autonomy-based arguments for legalization as well as the impact of key U.S. Supreme Court decisions on the debate. And he examines the history and evolution of laws and attitudes regarding assisted suicide and euthanasia in American society."--BOOK JACKET
