Understanding Your Living Will: What You Need to Know Before a Medical Emergency

Book Description

Is Your Living Will Compromising Your Safety?

If you have a living will, you probably had it prepared so your wishes could be carried out if you became incapable of making your own medical decisions. But, did you realize there is a risk of your living will being misinterpreted?

Patients who are not terminally ill die in hospitals every year because of medical staff misinterpretations of living wills. These are patients who would have otherwise lived if treated. But, too often, patients with living wills are treated as DNR—a code status understood by physicians and staff to mean “do not resuscitate.” However, in many cases their status should have been “Full Code,” which tells those in authority to use aggressive efforts to save patients’ lives. Unfortunately, living wills do not contain patient code status designations and therein lies the problem.

As an emergency room physician, Ferdinando L. Mirarchi, D.O. understands how these misinterpretations happen. In Understanding Your Living Will, Dr. Mirarchi explains how to include lifesaving patient code status information in your living will and in the living wills of your loved ones. Among the questions he answers:

· How can you be sure your living will makes your wishes clear?
· What are the hidden dangers in living wills?
· How can you avoid the misinterpretation of a DNR code status?
· When does a living will become active?
· Why is it important to have a health care power of attorney?
· What is a health care proxy?

A Book to Help You Ensure Your Living Will Follows Your Wishes

Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying

Average customer rating:

Straightforward
THE Book
'Final Exit' named as one of the 25 most memorable
Final Exit
We All Should Know

Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying
Derek Humphry
Manufacturer: Carol Publishing Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0960603034

Book Description

As the legal controversy continues--this newly revised and updated third edition of the landmark bestseller contains new, critically important information for patients, loved ones, and medical personnel.

The original publication of Final Exit stunned the nation by offering people with terminal illness a choice on how--and when--to end their suffering. It helped thousands by giving clear instructions to doctors, nurses, and families on how to handle a patient’s request for euthanasia.

In the wake of court cases and legislative mandates, this revised and updated third edition goes far beyond the original to provide new information about the legality of euthanasia and assisted suicide, and a thoughtful examination of the personal issues involved. It has become the essential source to help loved ones and supportive doctors remain within existing laws and keep a person’s dying intimate, private, and dignified.

With deep compassion and sensitivity, it spells out why a living will may not be sufficient to have a person’s wishes carried out--and what document is a better alternative. It updates where to get proper drugs and exactly how to carry out the quickest, most peaceful way to make a final exit. Finally, it gently talks to a person considering self-deliverance about alternatives, planning, and the means to make every death a "good death" at our time of greatest need.

Customer Reviews:

Straightforward .......2007-09-05

It's too bad we need to know this information but Mr. Humphry provides it in a straightforward, matter-of-fact fashion. In addition to the how-to information, the book very importantly includes how-NOT-to information. I am very thankful for freedom of the press and to Mr. Humphry for providing this necessary information.

THE Book.......2007-08-15

If you don't want to live forever as a vegetable, this is THE book to read!

'Final Exit' named as one of the 25 most memorable.......2007-06-11

In March of 2007, the editors and book critics of the American national newspaper USA TODAY selected 'Final Exit' as one of the 25 most memorable books published in the past quarter of a century.

Final Exit.......2007-05-18

A concise collection of possible ways to end ones life, including pros and cons, and related legal issues.

We All Should Know.......2007-05-16

The Clan of the Cave Bear

As so many of us babyboomers approach the beginning of the end we begin thinking of what shape we will end up in. Since our country doesn't allow us legally to help each other out, as we can with our beloved animals, then we must decide. This book will help you with the dignity and assurance of doing what is right for you.

Unplugged: Reclaiming Our Right to Die in America

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A Must Read
unplugged: reclaiming our right to die in america
The right-to-die debate is once again tackled
A Book for Everyone
A great read ... packed with helpful information

Unplugged: Reclaiming Our Right to Die in America
William H. Colby
Manufacturer: AMACOM/American Management Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0814408826

Book Description

The time has come for a frank discussion about how we die. Unplugged is the blueprint for that talk.

Medical technology has helped mankind conquer tuberculosis, polio, and countless other once certain-death diseases. It has given us hope against cancer and AIDS, allowed heart and brain surgeries that have saved untold numbers of lives, and delivered us from the pain and crippling legacy of injury. Medical technology, it seems, is a never-ending string of miracles. But it is also a double-edged sword. More often than not, death today happens because of a decision to stop doing something, or to not do it at all. As the tragic life and death of Terri Schiavo so poignantly illustrated, universal definitions of life, death, nature, and many other concepts are elusive at best. Unplugged addresses the fundamental questions of the right-to-die debate, and discusses how the medical advances that bring so much hope and healing have also helped to create today's dilemma.

This compelling book explores recent high-profile cases, including that of Mrs. Schiavo, and illuminates the complex legal, ethical, medical, and deeply personal issues of a debate that ultimately affects us all. Compassionate and beautifully written, the book helps readers understand the implications of current laws and proposed legislation, various medical options (including hospice), and the typical end-of-life decisions we all must face in order to make informed decisions for ourselves and our loved ones.

Customer Reviews:

A Must Read.......2007-02-21

If you have read William Colby's book Nancy Cruzan, The Long Goodbye, you will find his latest book equally informative. Mr. Colby provides an excellent medical history that has brought us to our current debate about killing vs. allowing individuals to die. He shares recent cases and offers insight to both sides of the issue. This book should be read by anyone who has been faced with making end-of-life care decisions and by all who want to ensure that their end-of-life care is clearly understood.

unplugged: reclaiming our right to die in america.......2006-10-05

unplugged delves into timely and essential subject matter with an entertaining, informative, wondrful style of writing. colby's insight to this pertinent topic is beneficial universally, as we all must confront these circumstances at some point in our lives.

The right-to-die debate is once again tackled.......2006-08-07

The right-to-die debate is once again tackled; this time by a lawyer who represented Nancy Cruzan in the first right- to-die case heard by the Supreme Court. While Nancy Cruzan's struggles were chronicled in a prior book by Colby, Unplugged: Reclaiming Our Right To Die In America offers a broader perspective on the topic, moving beyond Cruzan's struggle to offer answers to legal, ethical, medical and personal issues involved in the debate. Court records, interviews and the authors' own experiences lend to the discussion of current laws, proposed changes, and their effects on society.

A Book for Everyone.......2006-07-08

"Unplugged" is a book everyone who is going to die should read. It tells you what you need to do to make sure your wishes are respected when it comes to end-of-life decisions. Doing that will spare your loved ones unnecessary anguish. This book, believe it or not, is an engaging page turner and my 90-year-old mother just read it. We took its advice, talked about her wishes, and she now has a notarized health care power-of-attorney, giving us both much peace of mind. All this thanks to Colby's wonderfully written, timely, important book.

A great read ... packed with helpful information.......2006-07-04

"Unplugged" is superbly written and thoroughly researched. Colby provides an unbiased perspective on complex legal, medical, and ethical issues in terms easily understood by both the lay person and professional. This book is invaluable for anyone who cares about how they or their loved ones experience life - and death.

Three Patients - International Perspective on Intensive Care at the End of Life

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"Three patients" or America's preoccupation with autonomy
And this little treatment is just right!
Put this on your list!
Put this on your list!

Three Patients - International Perspective on Intensive Care at the End of Life

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0792376714

Book Description

This volume explores how the scarce resources of intensive care units should be distributed. Three hypothetical patients, each with a different chance of survival, desire intensive care. A multinational panel of experienced critical care physicians offers assessments of the patients' conditions and outlines approaches to treatment. These approaches are then examined by academic medical experts and a medical ethicist, as well as from a legal perspective. The result is a well-rounded and introspective look at care for critically ill patients at or near the end of life.

Customer Reviews:

"Three patients" or America's preoccupation with autonomy.......2003-02-05

An interesting book, probably unique in its kind. Dr Crippen is an intensive care specialist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who in 1996 started an international internet discussion group (CCM-L) to deal with many issues involving critically ill patients. More than 1,000 members have enrolled. This is exceptional in the sense that for the first time health care professionals and providers from all over the world were able to interact and exchange information and opinions in such a direct, facile, almost immediate way.

A fundamental problem - As the population ages and life may be "artificially" extended with the use of sophisticated and often expensive technical support, ICU availability and costs have become an issue of growing public importance and concern. Dr Crippen created three hypothetical patients and asked critical care providers from all over the globe to offer their comments on their management. The result is this remarkable book which is surprisingly easy to read despite the use of specialized terminology. Different perspectives based on different cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds emerge as the reader proceeds. A physician from South Africa describes the huge demand for ICU beds and the limited availability. Physicians from India and Russia underline the importance of the patient's social and financial status and what impact this may have on future decisions related to hers/his critical care. A physician from the Netherlands describes the universal coverage health system available in his country and how the decision for further care rests primarily on the physician's medical judgment. A physician from Israel tries to achieve a balance between religious constraints and futile care. And at the end of the book, non-physician critical care providers contribute with vivid descriptions of pertinent cases and with their perception of futility. Among them, a hospital chaplain describes how she helps her patients deal with the fear of the incoming inevitable death by bringing them closer to a picture of a God who is love, mercy and compassion instead of fear, punishment and revenge.

It is evident throughout the book that one of the major issues shaping critical care costs and distribution in the USA is unlimited patient autonomy and overzealous litigation. Increased physician mistrust on behalf of the patients is stated as a major cause of this phenomenon. Whereas many physicians outside USA would assume a role conceived as paternalistic for the USA standards, patients in the USA are often offered a menu of available option regarding their future critical care treatment ("Mr. Jones, in case your breathing worsens do you want us to proceed with mechanical ventilation? In the event your heart stops, do you want us to start chest compressions?" and so on... )

Under the editing of Dr's Crippen, Kilcullen and Kelly a balance and an answer is sought. It is not an easy task but the team involved is one of the best international teams available. I highly recommend this book. It underlines once again the concept that a good question is often more important than the answer.

And this little treatment is just right!.......2002-12-29

From Dr. Hoyt's chapter "Globalization of Critical Care"
"There is only one way to explain the birth of this book. That is CCM-L..., an electronic bulletin board that is devoted to critical care medicine), and Dr. David Crippen, one of the book's editors. An avowed nonconformist and refugee from the 1960's, Dr. Crippen has connected intensive care unit (ICU) physicians from around the world by means of the Internet. He has singlehandedly, without commercial sponsorship, woven a network of international intensivists. Nothing like this has ever occurred before. All readers of this book are being treated to a unique experience."

I might add a historical irony. One of Dr. Crippen's ancestors was Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen. This man was the first criminal to be arrested in 1910 via the use of wireless technology. The earlier Dr. Crippen had murdered and disposed of his wife, then sought escape by going on an ocean liner with his mistress (disguised as his 12 yr. old son). The Captain grew suspicious (he saw the "father and son" holding hands and appearing amorous) and wired back to shore. This then led to a spectacular arrest as a member of Scotland Yard traveled on a faster ship and arrived in time to board and arrest Dr. Hawley Crippen. The papers at the time had a field day and this case was part of the "inspiration" for the Alfred Hitchcock film "Rear Window" starring James Stewart, Gene Kelly, and Raymond Burr. Now at the turn of another century we have yet another Dr. Crippen again making history via the use of a new "wireless" technology-- the internet. And the issue of death is involved. But instead of the sensational and criminal death of one person, we have the issue of death and dying in ICU's all over the world.
The four issues interwoven and discussed throughout the book are 1) patient autonomy, 2) beneficence (providing benefit), 3) nonmaleficence (doing no harm), and 4) distributive justice. Does patient autonomy imply not only the right to refuse treatment, but also to insist upon whatever aggressive therapies they may desire (and may have looked up on the internet)? Could we provide more benefit by trying to ease suffering during the end of life as opposed to prolonging life by a matter of days to weeks? To what extent do patients, on the surface appearing calm and sedated, actually suffer as we apply futile resuscitation efforts in their last days? If we are to formally apply some legal formula for the just distribution of critical care resources, is this a decision best left for medical professionals? Or is it a political and ethical decision for the public at large? Those looking for easy and short answers to these questions will be disappointed with this book. Many of the chapter's authors take divergent viewpoints.
What I found interesting was how several authors pointed to a historical trend in the USA. In the old fee-for-service era, when all provided technology and service was very lucractively billed, it was the families whom were going to court to have futile life support terminated. Now, in the new era DRG's, capitation & shrinking reimbursement, it is the hospitals and MD's whom are seeking to legally no longer provide futile care. This seems to imply that there has always been an economic foundation as to the determination of what constitutes "futile care". If we are discussing the compassionate and just application of medical technology and service then "futile care" may be seen as one thing. If we are talking about the provision of billable medical services then "futile care" may be seen as quite something else.
If this book has any one failing in my opinion it is that the issue of Palliative Care isn't addressed adequately. I feel this issue warranted a full chapter at least. While "palliative care" was mentioned in passing by several contributors, a more in depth look at the international differences would have been quite revealing. In many countries Palliative Care is it's own specialty. "Doing everything" is usually meant to do everything in regards to prolonging life, not doing everything to ensure a good death-per many of our default biases. Indeed a recent SCCM pamphlet I received in the mail, titled "ICU, Issues and Answers" and meant for family members of ICU patients, answers the question ""What is meant by `doing everything' with the following.
"'Doing everything' implies tht any and all appropriate therapies will be utilized in order to preserve life." The pamphlet goes on to describe how MD's aren't required to offer therapies that would be medically ineffective. But what if we expanded our definition of "doing everything" to include effective and compassionate end of life care. That care may not be "critical" in the technological sense, but certainly it is "intensive" from the standpoint of patient need and clinician time, energy, and professionalism.

One chapter is by an RT and is titled "Advanced Medical Technology and End of Life, A Respiratory Care Practitioner's Perspective by David Walker, MA RRT. Mr. Walker eloquently describes a "day in the life" of a Respiratory Therapist.
Another chapter is titled "End of Life Care in the Intensive Care Unit" by Gabriele Ford CCRN. Ms Ford paints a rather disturbing picture of what it is like to oversee the provision of futile care.

This is one of the most interesting and riveting books I've read in a while. It is a book which deserves to be both read over again as well as passed around. No ready-made solutions pop out of the book, but I assure you that your cerebral matter will be quite stimulated.

Put this on your list!.......2002-08-12

For all the information packed into this book, it reads like a rich and compelling narrative rather than a stuffy textbook. Care plans for three critically ill patients are debated by a diverse panel of experts from around the globe. The debate is lively and energetic, engaging and candid. Geared for anyone with an interest in healthcare, it goes beyond clinical medicine to consider ethics, the law, and the three individuals behind the Three Patients.

Put this on your list!.......2002-08-12

Arguing Euthanasia: The Controversy Over Mercy Killing, Assisted Suicide, And The "Right To Die"

Average customer rating:

the hard issues
Medical and Ethical Issue of Our Day
interesting, but I wish it delved deeper

Arguing Euthanasia: The Controversy Over Mercy Killing, Assisted Suicide, And The "Right To Die"
Jonathan Moreno
Manufacturer: Touchstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0684807602

Book Description

The proliferation of life-prolonging technology in recent years has made the controversy over the "right to die" and physician-assisted suicide one of the most explosive medical and ethical issues of our day. Dr. Jack Kevorkian's "suicide machine" has commanded front-page coverage for several years, while in 1994 Oregon passed a measure allowing the terminally ill to obtain lethal prescriptions for suicide, and other states have placed similar proposals on their ballots.

Arguing Euthanasia brings together for the first time an impressive array of viewpoints from both sides of this emotionally charged question as well as voices from the gravely ill and their loved ones. Beginning with a selection of pieces from the New England Journal of Medicine, where the debate was ignited in 1988, Arguing Euthanasia features essays by such outspoken advocates of active euthanasia as Timothy Quill and Sidney Hook, and important social critics and commentators such as Nat Hentoff, Leon R. Kass, and Ronald Dworkin.

As they probe the legal and ethical issues at the heart of physician-assisted suicide, these essays offer invaluable insights not only for those caring for the terminally ill but for anyone concerned with the deeper philosophical conflict between enduring life-oriented values and personal dignity that lies at the heart of this controversy.

Customer Reviews:

the hard issues.......2007-04-10

It goes without saying that this is an immensely difficult subject--one about which I have many conflicting thoughts--so it was very gratifying to have someone present the relevant issues in such a clear and balanced way. Thanks to Jonathan Moreno for this book.

Medical and Ethical Issue of Our Day.......2003-12-25

Very thorough. Covers the Dutch model, the history of events in Oregon, and, best of all, includes the viewpoints from the gravely ill and their loved ones.

This is probably the most comprehensive and balanced book on this subject that is available.

interesting, but I wish it delved deeper.......2001-01-16

This book gave lots and lots of arguments that were very nice and well thoughtout, but it often seemed that the point-counterpoint "arguing" was a little redundant. The whole book consisted of an article or an event that had to do with the ethics of euthanasia and two people with conflicting views would write why. I wish that the book had some documented dialog between the two opinions. It was a little boring reading the same opinions over and over again. "euthanasia as long as it is consentual and necessary should be permitted yada yada yada" "killing another innocent being should not be permitted at all because it is murder yada yada yada" Each and every writer was very elegant and well spoken, but I simply wish there was more dialog between the two people, not simply between book editors.

The Case of Terri Schiavo: Ethics at the End of Life

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Essays cover everything from legal issues and points to ethical concerns

The Case of Terri Schiavo: Ethics at the End of Life

Manufacturer: Prometheus Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 159102398X

Book Description

After the Nancy Cruzan case was decided by the Supreme Court in 1990, and ultimately resolved by the Courts of the State of Missouri, the decision to withhold or withdraw life-prolonging nutrition and hydration appeared to many to be as noncontroversial as decisions to refuse respirators or dialysis. Even the Catholic Church held that, although there should be a presumption in favor of providing nutrition and hydration, the patient or the patient's surrogate could overrule this presumption, if either believed the treatment was disproportionate or burdensome.

The Schiavo case changed all that. Although the decision to remove Terri Schiavo's nutrition and hydration was made by her husband—her legal surrogate—based on his wife's belief that such treatment was disproportionate, Schiavo's immediate family protested so much that the case took years to resolve. It eventually involved all branches of government at both the state and federal levels.

The ethical dilemmas that such cases pose continue to stir great controversy. This in-depth examination of these dilemmas provides information and documentation from many perspectives. The editors have included a foreword by Dr. Jay Wolfson, Terri Schiavo's court-appointed guardian ad litem, as well as Dr. Wolfson's report to Gov. Jeb Bush on the case and Gov. Bush's reply; public statements by President George Bush and Senators David Weldon, Rick Santorum, Tom DeLay, Bill Frist, and Barney Frank; statements by the pope and other representatives of the Catholic Church on this issue; plus much medical and legal background material on both precedents to the Schiavo case and its aftermath, including the results of the autopsy report.

For anyone wishing an in-depth understanding of these complex ethical issues, issues many of us will have to confront in our own families, this volume is indispensable.

Customer Reviews:

Essays cover everything from legal issues and points to ethical concerns.......2006-05-21

At first glance it would seem that THE CASE OF TERRI SCHIAVO: ETHICS AT THE END OF LIFE is another focus on her case alone - but actually its focus on end-of-life ethical questions holds far more meaning for the living than for the dead of the past. The ethical dilemmas surrounding end of life are many - and are surveyed in depth in a coverage which uses not just Terri's case but similar cases to expose issues, struggles and obstacles to quality of life and survival. Essays cover everything from legal issues and points to ethical concerns.

Diane C. Donovan, Editor
California Bookwatch

The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia (New Forum Books)

Average customer rating:

A Courageous And Compelling Book
Erudite, but Accessible, Legal Analysis

The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia (New Forum Books)
Neil M. Gorsuch
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0691124582

Book Description

The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia provides the most thorough overview of the ethical and legal issues raised by assisted suicide and euthanasia--as well as the most comprehensive argument against their legalization--ever published.

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.

After assessing the strengths and weaknesses of arguments for assisted suicide and euthanasia, Gorsuch builds a nuanced, novel, and powerful moral and legal argument against legalization, one based on a principle that, surprisingly, has largely been overlooked in the debate--the idea that human life is intrinsically valuable and that intentional killing is always wrong. At the same time, the argument Gorsuch develops leaves wide latitude for individual patient autonomy and the refusal of unwanted medical treatment and life-sustaining care, permitting intervention only in cases where an intention to kill is present.

Those on both sides of the assisted suicide question will find Gorsuch's analysis to be a thoughtful and stimulating contribution to the debate about one of the most controversial public policy issues of our day.

Customer Reviews:

A Courageous And Compelling Book.......2007-08-30

Legal scholar, and now Federal Appeals Court Judge, Neil Gorsuch has written a comprehensive study of the legal and moral issues in the physician assisted suicide debate. This is the right book at the right time because the practical consequences of mindless "reform" have been largely ignored in the current discussions. The author's detailed descriptions of what has actually happened in Oregon and in the Netherlands which have legalized assisted suicide are especially helpful. The author also presents medical evidence from respected sources including the Journal of Clinical Oncology showing that the major motivation behind physician assisted suicide is not unbearable pain but clinical depression.

Generally those favoring physician assisted suicide are on the most liberal side of the American political spectrum. But Gorsuch convincing argues that the intellectual roots of their proposals are actually from Social Darwinism, the American eugenics movement, and the National Socialist Party of Germany of the 1930's. Adolph Hitler is directly quoted on page 36. What is publicly presented as a civil right involving "personal autonomy" would in practice present a serious threat to the safety of the most vulnerable members of society. Gorsuch quotes with obvious approval the 1994 British House of Lords study which argued that it would not be logically possible to frame sufficient safeguards to guarantee that all "voluntary" suicides would in fact actually be voluntary.

A "reform" which completely rejects the traditions of Western Civilization and makes homicide legal is not one which should be adopted without consideration of all the facts. Our author calls the debaters away from the realm of theory, speculation, and one liners--and back to the real world.

Erudite, but Accessible, Legal Analysis.......2007-08-01

Gorsuch, who has a law degree from Harvard and a doctorate in legal philosophy from Oxford, has written an erudite scholarly work that has the advantage of being accessible to a broad educated public. He argues that human life has intrinsic value and effectively dismantles arguments for the legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia. His analysis is completely rational and secular, not relying on any religious argumentation. He provides cogent analyses of the major legal cases in the US and Britain relating to assisted suicide and euthanasia. This is a must read for anyone interested in this issue. No matter what your position in this debate, you will need to understand and engage his arguments.

Last Rights?: Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia Debated

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Last Rights?: Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia Debated
D. C.) Ethics and Public Policy Center (Washington
Manufacturer: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide (For and Against)

ASIN: 0802841996

Between the Dying and the Dead: Dr. Jack Kevorkian's Life and the Battle to Legalize Euthanasia

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Between the Dying and the Dead: Dr. Jack Kevorkian's Life and the Battle to Legalize Euthanasia
Neal Nicol , and Harry Wylie
Manufacturer: University of Wisconsin Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0299217108

Book Description

Dr. Jack Kevorkian—the enigmatic and intrepid physician dubbed "Dr. Death"—has for years declined public interviews about his life and the events that led him to be a vehement advocate of doctor-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients. But here, finally, is his own life story, as told to Neal Nicol and Harry Wylie.
Dr. Kevorkian gained international notoriety in the 1990s for his passionate advocacy of choice for terminal patients, who have increasingly won the right to decide the time, place, and method of their own death in several western countries. In 1998, he assisted Thomas Youk, a terminally ill patient suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease, with a lethal injection that was broadcast on CBS's 60 Minutes. Immediately thereafter, Kevorkian was arrested, charged with second-degree murder, tried, and sentenced to 10-25 years in Michigan's maximum-security prison system.
Today, Dr. Kevorkian is in his late seventies and in failing health himself. He shares an eight-by-twelve-foot cell with another inmate in the Thumb Correctional Facility at Lapeer, Michigan. The unique story Prisoner Number 284797 shares far exceeds the battle to legalize euthanasia and end human suffering for terminal patients. "Personal choice is really what it is all about. Quality of life, as opposed to maintaining existence" (Kevorkian to Vanity Fair, 1994)

Co-published with Vision, U.K.

Forced Exit: Euthanasia, Assisted Suicide and the New Duty of Die

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A Must-Read on the Dangers of Death Fundamentalism

Forced Exit: Euthanasia, Assisted Suicide and the New Duty of Die
Wesley J. Smith
Manufacturer: Encounter Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Suicide | Death & Grief | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Suicide | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Ethics & Morality | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Medical Ethics | Physician & Patient | Medicine | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1594031193

Book Description

Filled with new reporting and research, this expanded edition of a classic book makes a compelling case against legalized euthanasia and takes a closer look at the truly humane and compassionate alternatives.

Customer Reviews:

A Must-Read on the Dangers of Death Fundamentalism.......2006-10-07

This newly revised and updated edition of Forced Exit provides a gripping overview and analysis of the assisted suicide and euthanasia movement and the threat it poses to human dignity and human equality. Author Wesley J. Smith lays out the chilling intellectual underpinnings of a movement that asserts there is such a thing as human life unworthy of life--and that other humans or "experts" should be called upon to determine whose life satisfies the criteria for continued existence. Smith gives readers clear and straightforward analysis of the important issues at stake and the implications for the most vulnerable among us.

Smith persuasively shows that he basic ideals that the assisted suicide/euthanasia movement hope to carve into federal and state laws through litigation and legislation are detrimental to the equality-of-life ethic that has long been recognized in this nation. In Forced Exit, Smith gives readers a strong defense of that important ethic. That ethic makes clear that the elderly, the sick and the disabled have as much importance, dignity, and worth than the young and the healthy.

Importantly, Smith provides solutions to the dilemmas faced by patients at life's so-called margins. Steps must be taken to educate doctors about how to recognize depression in patients and that depression must be treated. Current medical practice must place greater emphasis upon pain control, since palliative measures can significantly reduce--if not eliminate--the physical pain felt by many patients who have serious injuries or illness.

The false notion that assisted suicide somehow furthers patient autonomy is exploded by Smith. Through principled analysis and through countless concrete case studies, he demonstrates that the wishes of the sick, elderly, and disabled are all too often given short or ignored when it comes to important medical decisions. Smith describes the crucial distinction between the right to refuse unwanted life-saving medical procedures and the so-called "right to die"--proactive measures specifically intended to end life. Also, Smith deftly explains how administering food and water to patients is separate and distinct from medical measures.

Forced Exit receives my strongest recommendation.

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