Last Rights

by Woodman, Sue

• ISBN13: 9780306459955
• ISBN10: 0306459957
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-08-21
• Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books

Summary

Last Rights is a compassionate, comprehensive, up-to-the-minute examination of the right-to-die movement in America and the medical, legal, ethical, and social issues surrounding euthanasia. The stories behind the headlines are revealed - both (in)famous and lesser known - through stirring personal testimonies. Airing the views of activists and opponents, Sue Woodman considers the complex questions that will continue to engage us for as long as we live and die. In the end, we are left with this question: Could the right to die be humankind's ultimate civil rights struggle?

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION	7	(10)
CHAPTER 1 The Twentieth-Century Battle over Death	17	(8)
CHAPTER 2 The Anguish of a Difficult Death	25	(14)
CHAPTER 3 "Death with Dignity": The Hope of a Movement	39	(8)
CHAPTER 4 The Right to Die: An Argument as Old as Life Itself?	47	(22)
CHAPTER 5 Foreign Rights: A World-View of Death	69	(20)
CHAPTER 6 Dr. Death: Dispensing Mercy or Murder?	89	(30)
CHAPTER 7 The Leading Activists and Their Obsessive Quest	119	(20)
CHAPTER 8 The Rank and File: Just Your Normal Next-Door Neighbors	139	(22)
CHAPTER 9 The Medical Establishment: A Fortress Divided	161	(28)
CHAPTER 10 Rational Suicide: The Password to a New Frontier?	189	(16)
CHAPTER 11 Suspicion and Fear from the Vulnerable	205	(18)
CHAPTER 12 Religion and Ethics: Who Cares for the Soul?	223	(18)
CHAPTER 13 The Devil Is in the Details: Navigating the Nightmare Cases	241	(18)
POSTSCRIPT	259	(8)
BIBLIOGRAPHY	267	(6)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS	273	(2)
INDEX	275