TY - BOOK ID - 216974 TI - Giving Death a Helping Hand : Physician-Assisted Suicide and Public Policy. An International Perspective AU - Birnbacher, Dieter. AU - Dahl, Edgar. PY - 2008 SN - 1281205419 9786611205416 1402064969 1402064950 9400786883 PB - Dordrecht : Springer Netherlands : Imprint: Springer, DB - UniCat KW - Assisted suicide KW - Assisted suicide. KW - Law and legislation. KW - Assisted death (Assisted suicide) KW - Assisted dying (Assisted suicide) KW - Death, Assisted (Assisted suicide) KW - Doctor-assisted suicide KW - Dying, Assisted (Assisted suicide) KW - Patient-directed death KW - Patient-directed dying KW - Physician-assisted suicide KW - Suicide KW - Euthanasia KW - Medical laws and legislation KW - Medical ethics. KW - Ethics. KW - Theory of Medicine/Bioethics. KW - Deontology KW - Ethics, Primitive KW - Ethology KW - Moral philosophy KW - Morality KW - Morals KW - Philosophy, Moral KW - Science, Moral KW - Philosophy KW - Values KW - Biomedical ethics KW - Clinical ethics KW - Ethics, Medical KW - Health care ethics KW - Medical care KW - Medicine KW - Bioethics KW - Professional ethics KW - Nursing ethics KW - Social medicine KW - Moral and ethical aspects UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:216974 AB - If it comes to choosing between methods of last resort for severely suffering, physician-assisted suicide will probably prove more acceptable as a method of last resort than active euthanasia both to patients, to legislators and to the general public. From the perspective of patients, physician-assisted suicide is a more unambiguous expression of the patient's autonomous will. From the legislator's perspective it seems less liable to misuse and abuse. And often the availability of assisted suicide, instead of shortening the life of a patient, has proved to prolong it. Public policy has begun to respond to this prospect. Notably in Switzerland and Germany, the attitudes of public bodies towards physician-assisted suicide are in a process of change, partly motivated by the wish to take the edge off the pressure for legalisation of active euthanasia. The present volume focuses on public policy issues related to physician-assisted suicide. It offers a detailed analysis of the current legal standing and practice of physician-assisted suicide in various countries and discusses the ethical principles underlying its legal and professional regulation. In addition, it contains a number of personal narratives by professionals who have for many years been involved in end-of-life issues. ER -