Death with Dignity Act (DWDA)

Paper Summary:

This paper relates that some of the issues regarding physician-assisted suicide are the evolution of rights, ethics and "the slippery slope" argument. The author points out that the issue of physician-assisted suicide has rapidly moved from being a secret, marginal matter to a real topic of discussion for most people in the United States. The paper contends that the issue of physician-assisted suicide is related to the availability of end-of-life palliative care.

Table of Contents:
Literature Review
Dr. Jack Kevorkian
The Federal Government and States Treat Physician-Assisted Suicide in the Courts
Doctors Speak Their Mind on Physician-Assisted Suicide
Scope of the Problem
A Question of Healthcare
Do The Terminally Ill Really Want Physician-Assisted Suicide?
Breakdown of Policy
Legislative Counsel Committee of the Oregon Legislative Assembly
How the Act Was Brought Into Being
Subsequent Progression to Present Day

From the Paper:

"In 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld decisions in New York and Washington State that affected assisted suicide and made it illegal. They overturned rulings in the 2nd and 9th Circuit Courts of Appeal striking down state statutes banning physician-assisted suicide. Those statutes, which prohibited doctors from prescribing lethal medication to competent, terminally ill adults, were found to violate the 14th Amendment. In striking the appellate decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court basically declared that no constitutional "right to die" existed, but individual states might enact legislation permitting or prohibiting physician-assisted suicide."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Annas, GJ (2005). "Culture of life" politics at the bedside: the case of Terri Schiavo. New England Journal Med, 1710, (352-355)
• Bachman, J.G., Alcser, K.H, Doukas, D.J., et al (1996) Attitudes of Michigan physicians and the public toward legalizing physician-assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia. New England Journal of Medicine.334:303-309.
• Betzold, M. (1993). Appointment with Dr. Death. New York: Momentum Books.
• Boyd, A.D. Physician-Assisted Suicide: For and Against. (October 24, 2006) American Medical Student Association Journal. Retrieved October 24, 2006 from http://www.amsa.org/bio/pas.cfm.
• Canick, S.M. (1997) Constitutional Aspects of Physician-Assisted Suicide After Lee v. Oregon. American Journal of Law and Medicine. Vol. 23:69-96.

More papers on Death with Dignity Act (DWDA):

• Research Paper # 98353 : "Oregon DWDA"
• Persuasive Essay # 51967 : "Oregon's Death with Dignity Act"
• Research Paper # 52692 : "Voluntary Euthanasia in the United Kingdom"

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