Before beginning this review, I think it is important for those reading it to understand what the terms mean so bear with me as I begin with this concept in mind. The word Euthanasia means “good death” or as others would explain it “the intentional termination of life by another at the explicit request of the person who dies.” However, there are different kinds of Euthanasia which allow for different options the first of which is Passive Euthanasia which allows for the hastening of death by the altering of support thus enabling nature to take its course. This type of euthanasia includes removing life support equipment and/or the stopping of currently employed medical procedures. The second type is Active Euthanasia which involves the causing of death by a direct action, in response to a request by the patient. The third type of euthanasia is Involuntary Euthanasia where a person has not explicitly requested aid in dying, such as a patient in a Persistent Vegetative State. Lastly, there is Physician Assisted Suicide where the physician supplies information and/or the means for committing suicide either through a prescription for a lethal dose of sleeping pills, or a supply of carbon monoxide gas.

In the book, Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide the authors explain how the development of new and improved diagnostic procedures and treatments have complicated the practice of medicine where elderly, frail, and disabled patients dying of chronic, irreversible conditions, is concerned. In this book, they address how the use of advanced “life-saving” technology is problematic, often only serving as a means to prolong the dying process, causing the physician to face many ethical and legal decisions when determining for whom these expensive diagnostic procedures and treatments are appropriate.

Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide is separated in two distinct parts. The first encompasses the moral and ethical issues for legalizing physician-assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia with Dworkin and Frey arguing (in a sometimes very hard to follow style) that physician-assisted suicide is morally permissible thus allowing the patient the opportunity to make their death as painless and dignified as possible. They continue their argument by stating that the current rights of family to withdraw life support is technically no different than physician-assisted suicide because there is no moral asymmetry between these two forms of treatment. They continue by stating that the only difference between switching off the ventilator, prescribing morphine to hasten death and providing a pill that will kill a patient is that with the pill the patient is allowed to be control. Furthermore, they argue that since refusing life-saving treatment is permissible any patient, not in the depths of depression, who has been determined to be competent, informed, and terminally ill should have the right to voluntarily request their physician’s assistance since it places the patient in control of their own destiny. Dworkin and Frey also cover the issue of public policy and physician-assisted suicide as they contemplate why the legal system would have a harder time dealing with physician-assisted suicide than with withdrawal of life support or termination of artificial hydration and nutrition.

In the second half of the book, Sissela Bok takes on a factual argument, which is much easier to follow, in which she argues against Dworkin and Frey’s morally based conclusions surrounding physician-assisted suicide. To accomplish this Bok shares her study of physician-assisted suicide in the Netherlands where out of the 9700 requests received for physician-assisted suicide 3700 were granted with 1000 of these people being legally incompetent to make such a decision. Her views offer a broader perspective and since it is backed with clinical and historical data is much more convincing than that of her co-authors.

Overall, the authors did a wonderful job of presenting both sides of the physician-assisted suicide debate and in educating the reader to the sensitive issues that are at the heart of this debate. Considering that this debate goes far beyond the active consideration of killing by physicians; it is a good book that supplies a lucid exposition of both sides of the argument. Between the two sides of the argument the reader will learn the differences between “letting a patient die” and “intentionally ending life”, as well as, hear the debate surrounding the moral reasons as to why this type of suicide should be legalized and the grave risks that society may have to deal with if it is. Although this book is designed to target readers who have not yet made a finalized opinion concerning the controversy of physician-assisted suicide, it is a book that will enable readers to better understand this highly controversial issue.

[tags]Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide (for and against), Dworkin, Frey, Bok, Euthanasia, Physician-Assisted suicide, controversy, passive euthanasia, Active euthanasia, patient rights, moral issues surrounding euthanasia[/tags]