Handbook On Euthanasia

This timely work is a balanced overview of end-of-life issues related to euthanasia and assisted suicide. Except for the Oregon Death with Dignity Act, there are no U.S. laws that allow physicians to assist patients in hastening death. Many who support physician-assisted suicide ask, "Why not?" After all, the Netherlands permits both euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, and polls suggest that many Americans want that choice available to them. Euthanasia: A Reference Handbook, Second Edition explores that question through a balanced, thoughtful discussion of the legal, medical, and spiritual components of end-of-life questions. What are the potential pitfalls of legalizing assisted suicide? How can the expenses of a lingering death impact an uninsured family? How would physician-assisted suicide impact healthcare costs? Through its objective exploration of these issues, as well as its historical and international perspective, this volume helps readers answer the difficult questions related to the end of life.

This timely work is a balanced overview of end-of-life issues related to euthanasia and assisted suicide. Except for the Oregon Death with Dignity Act, there are no U.S. laws that allow physicians to assist patients in hastening death. Many who support physician-assisted suicide ask, "Why not?" After all, the Netherlands permits both euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, and polls suggest that many Americans want that choice available to them. Euthanasia: A Reference Handbook, Second Edition explores that question through a balanced, thoughtful discussion of the legal, medical, and spiritual components of end-of-life questions. What are the potential pitfalls of legalizing assisted suicide? How can the expenses of a lingering death impact an uninsured family? How would physician-assisted suicide impact healthcare costs? Through its objective exploration of these issues, as well as its historical and international perspective, this volume helps readers answer the difficult questions related to the end of life.

"The Right to Die: A Reference Handbook provides a complete examination of right-to-die issues in the United States that dissects the complex arguments for and against a person's liberty to receive a physician's assistance to hasten death. It covers the legal aspects and the politics of the right-to-die controversy, analyzes the battles over the right to die in state and federal courts, and supplies primary source documents that illustrate the political, medical, legal, religious, and ethical landscape of the right to die. Additionally, the book examines how members of our society typically die has changed in the past 150 years and how the practice of medicine has evolved over that time; explains why the right to die is strongly opposed by many religious groups as well as members of the medical profession; considers the "slippery slope" argument against doctor-assisted suicide; and identifies the reasons that the disabled, the poor, the elderly and infirm, and some members of ethnic, racial, and religious minority groups typically fear physician-assisted death."--Publisher's website

Review: "More than 100 scholars contributed to this carefully researched, well-organized, informative, and multi-disciplinary source on death studies. Volume 1, "The Presence of Death," examines the cultural, historical, and societal frameworks of death, such as the universal fear of death, spirituality and varioius religions, the legal definition of death, suicide, and capital punishment. Volume 2, "The Response to Death," covers such topics as rites and ceremonies, grief and bereavement, and legal matters after death."--"The Top 20 Reference Titles of the Year," American Libraries, May 2004.

Provides documents and facts with which to understand and participate in the continuing debate over euthanasia. Includes a chronology, biographical sketches, statistics, documents, quotations, a directory of organizations, lists of print and non- print resources including World Wide Web sites, and a glossary without pronunciation. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Veterinary Euthanasia Techniques: A Practical Guide providesdetailed guidance on euthanasia procedures in a wide variety ofspecies, including dogs, cats, exotics, horses, and productionanimals. Based on the current AVMA guidelines, the book offersstep-by-step descriptions of the recommended methods of euthanasia,giving all the information needed to perform these techniques withconfidence. Veterinary Euthanasia Techniques helpspractitioners, students, and technicians expand their knowledgebase and provide competent, compassionate euthanasia services. Including information on client considerations, equipment,positioning, sedation, and aftercare, the focus of the book is onproviding detailed procedures for correctly performing euthanasia.Veterinary Euthanasia Techniques presents completeinformation on euthanasia, offering specific advice to improveskills and aid in decision making.

The Peaceful Pill Handbook is the leading self-help text that enables adults of sound mind to undertake informed planning around their end of life choices. Written in lay language, The Peaceful Pill Handbook covers an extensive range of need-to-know issues including useful drugs such as the barbiturates, drug administration, testing and shelf life, poisons and other substances including the lethal inorganic salts, the use of gases such as nitrogen, argon and helium, devices such as the carbon monoxide generator and the 'Korean method' and, of course, Swiss services such as Pegasos. All strategies are rated according to their Peacefulness, Reliability and, where appropriate, Accessibility.