Euthanasia: All That Matters

All That Matters

by Richard Huxtable

Do we have a right to die? The Dignitas clinic in Switzerland may be a long way away. But the issues around euthanasia can suddenly become very close to home. To many, it seems remarkable that in a society where freedom of choice is eulogized, thousands of people find that there is one last choice that they are not free to make. But as this book will show, euthanasia is an issue at the intersection of new technology, old laws, and timeless ethical quandaries, so that even apparently clear-cut cases have many contradictions. Drawing on the latest research and cases from around the world, Richard Huxtable drills deep into the key issues around euthanasia. His is a new, balanced look at an important issue, and it will appeal to lawyers, medical students and - most importantly - those who find themselves or their relatives faced with end of life dilemmas.

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Medical

160 pages, Paperback

First published June 25, 2010

Reviews

[PolicemanPrawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Medical ethics is still in the Stone Age, and this book demonstrates that. (Actually, that is insulting to the Stone Age, as there are very strong arguments that that period is how we are supposed to live, and that it represents humanity’s apex.) It’s not to say that the book is bad per se, just that it’s a product of its time; it covers the subject in a wide-ranging manner, touching on the key arguments, and is relatively well-written. Reading it, however, is akin to reading an 18th or 19th century text on slavery, in which both proponents and opponents are given equal weight and both considered equally strong, with arguments like “some races are superior to others so need to be treated better than them” treated in a serious manner.

To me, it’s painfully obvious that the ethical position is that voluntary euthanisia should be available to any adult who wants it and is reasonably capable of deciding it themselves. That’s it: there is no argument against this position; to do so would be like arguing that some people should be slaves. Nobody chooses whether to live or not, so the least we can do is give them the option to go back; this right seems to be the most fundamental right, even more so than the others. People have no right to decide what other people do with their lives. This is the position we seem to be creeping towards at a snail’s pace, but some time down the line I expect us to have moved considerably closer.