More Resources
We have put together articles, books, organizations, and informational resources on the issue of physician assisted suicide. We also have information on serious illness support, health care choices, suicide prevention, as well as caregiver resources and reflections on aging.
Please check back to this page, as we will be updating these resources periodically.
Articles
- Definitions: What is physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia?
- A Brief History of Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia in Europe and the United States.
- Analysis of Washington State's Death with Dignity Act.
- The Troubling History of Physician-Assisted Suicide in Oregon.
- Suicide Groups Uncovered.
- Exit International's suicide promotion workshop
- Assisted Suicide in Montana: Information & Analysis
Books
A Concise History of Euthanasia: Life, Death, God, and Medicine, by Ian Dowbiggin"This deeply informed history traces the controversial record of mercy-killing,a source of heated debate among doctors and laypeople alike...Considering both the influence of technological and behavioral changes in the practice of medicine and the public's surprising lack of awareness of death's many clinical and biological dimensions, this book raises profound personal and collective questions on the future of euthanasia."
A Merciful End: The Euthanasia Movement in Modern America, by Ian Dowbiggin"Now, in A Merciful End, Ian Dowbiggin offers the first full-scale historical account of one of the most controversial reform movements in America. Drawing on unprecedented access to the archives of the Euthanasia Society of America, interviews with important figures in the movement today, and flashpoint cases such as the tragic fate of Karen Ann Quinlan, Dowbiggin tells the dramatic story of the men and women who struggled throughout the twentieth century to change the nation's attitude--and its laws--regarding mercy killing...Indeed, Dowbiggin argues that by joining a sometimes overzealous quest to maximize human freedom with a desire to "improve" society, the euthanasia movement has been dogged by the fear that mercy killing could be extended to persons with disabilities, handicapped newborns, unconscious geriatric patients, lifelong criminals, and even the poor."
Organizations
The following organizations are excellent life-affirming resources on the topic of opposing assisted suicide while advocating for compassionate care.
- International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide
- Physicians for Compassionate Care
- Christian Medical and Dental Association (please refer to end of life: assisted suicide)
- Euthanasia Prevention Coalition
Links for more information on assisted suicide
- Spotlight on Oregon, from the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide
- Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) assisted suicide page
- DREDF's position statement against legalization
- Op Ed, "Why Progressives Should Oppose the Legalization of Assisted Suicide"
- Op Ed, "What You Don't Know Can Kill You" (April 2007)
- New York Task Force on Life and the Law - one-page statement of The Risks of Legalization
- "Failed Attempts to Legalize Euthanasia/Assisted Suicide in the United States" from the International Task Force (Updated May 2007)
- ARTICLE by Dr. Herbert Hendin from the Psychiatric Times (February 2004)
- TESTIMONY by Dr. N. Gregory Hamilton about the lack of protections for people with mental illness in Oregon (December 2004)
- TESTIMONY by Dr. Henry (Rex) Greene against legalization (February 2006)
- CHART: "Oregon: Theory Vs. Practice," originally from Vermont coalition website (Vermont Alliance for Ethical Health Care) (January 2007)
- "Physician-Assisted Suicide in Oregon: A Medical Perspective"by Herbert Hendin and Kathleen Foley. This article, published in the Michigan Law Review, examines the Oregon Death with Dignity Act from a medical perspective. It makes explicit suggestions and is a very thoughtful review of the Oregon Experience. (June 2008)
- "Prevalence of depression and anxiety in patients requesting physicans' aid in dying: cross sectional survey" by Linda Ganzini, Elizabeth R. Goy and Steven K. Dobascha. This article from the British Medical Journal concludes that one out of four terminally ill patients who request a prescription for a lethal overdose under Oregon's landmark assisted suicide law may suffer from depression. (Oct. 7, 2008)