To Die or Not to Die?: Cross-Disciplinary, Cultural, and Legal Perspectives on the Right to Choose Death

Dramatic advances in medical technology make it possible to keep an individual alive well after life would otherwise be untenable. These medical advances raise complex and disturbing questions about the appropriateness of allowing or even helping a person to die. This provocative new book provides guidelines for dealing with the sensitive legal and ethical issues surrounding an individual's right to die. Designed to give a global perspective on these contemporary issues, To Die or Not to Die? integrates the ideas and experiences of ten authorities from different disciplines, cultures, and legal systems, recognizing that no single discipline offers an insight that is broad enough to solve the problems caused by rapidly changing medical technology. The book discusses the issues in a comprehensive manner integrating the attitudes of various cultures, and investigates the approaches and solutions of several different legal systems.

Challenging many commonly held views on the issues surrounding an individual's right to die, this book builds a new foundation for thinking or rethinking these controversial questions. It allows the reader to consider new and diverse perspectives side by side for the first time. Valuable appendices supply references, statutes, judicial decisions, and important forms for more detailed study. To Die or Not to Die? will prove stimulating reading for professionals in medicine, nursing, theology, law, public health and the disciplines of philosophy, ethics, psychology, and sociology.