Drug Use In Assisted Suicide And Euthanasia
Editors: Margaret P. Battin, Arthur G. Lipman
Pharmaceutical Products Press, 10 Alice St, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580 USA
1996/360 pp
Balanced discussion of a controversial topic
Overall Rating
Very good
Strengths
Balanced discussion of ethical, personal, legal, and pharmaceutical aspects of assisted suicide and euthanasia
Audience
All those (potentially) involved in decision making regarding assisted suicide and euthanasia
It is generally assumed that death by assisted suicide or euthanasia is to be caused by lethal doses of drugs, not guns or other violent means. This book addresses issues about the use of drugs in actively bringing about death. However, it offers much more than the title and the purpose suggest.
Many chapters, some written by opponents of assisted suicide and euthanasia and others by advocates of these practices, offer excellent discussions of multiple aspects of assisted suicide and euthanasia, creating deep awareness of the complex issues involved. The perspective of pharmacists, which has often been overlooked, provides insightful information about pharmacists’ attitudes about the use of drugs intended to end the lives of terminally ill patients. Concrete and specific information about the actual practice of drug use in assisted suicide and euthanasia is included.
An important message that is conveyed throughout the book is that, whether we favour or oppose these practices, we cannot deny that they happen. One of the papers demonstrates that self-enacted and assisted death is more common than previously suspected and provides a moving account of what happens when drugs fail.
Palliative care and pain control, which are often suggested as alternatives to assisted suicide and euthanasia, receive ample attention. However, as some papers suggest, it is not always the experience of pain but unbearable suffering that leads terminally ill patients to ask for termination of their lives.
A particularly important issue for physicians is the attention paid to patient-physician communication and the need for long-range planning with patients and families regarding pain control and symptom management.
The final section of the book contains many position statements of various organizations in the United States, followed by a series of brief clinical vignettes and commentaries. These provide a basis for readers to analyze their personal positions on active life-ending acts.
Everyone interested in end-of-life decision making is likely to find something valuable in this book.