Assisted Suicide

Assisted Suicide

Last Update: October 11, 2015
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	Apostolate of Death Aaron Kheriaty First Things, April, 2015 Provided in this article is an excellent overview of the legal and ethical issues surrounding the assisted suicide debate, focusing on several troubling aspects of the debate not usually covered in popular media reports.

	Canada Supreme Court Strikes Down Ban on Medically Assisted Suicide, Valerie Powell, Jurist Magazine, University of Pittsburgh School of Law, 2/6/15 This article explains the recent unanimous decision of the Supreme Court of Canada to strike down the country's ban on medically assisted suicide.

	Should assisted suicide be legal? (Includes video of debate) A broadcast debate sponsored by Intelligence Squared U.S., at the Kaufman Music Center in New York November 20, 2014. Two teams (Peter Singer, Princeton, and Andrew Solomon, Columbia argued in favor of the motion and Baroness Ilora Finlay, a palliative care physician and Dr. Daniel Sulmasy, University of Chicago a rgued against the motion). California recently became the fifth state to legalize assisted suicide. One in six Americans now live in states where assisted suicide is legal.

	Carter v. Canada, Stare Decisis and the Right to Life in Physician-Assisted Suicide Cases Jason Huang Jurist Magazine, University of Pittsburgh School of Law, 11/25/13 This article discusses the British Columbia Court of Appeals decision on assisted suicide that was appealed to the Canadian Supreme Court in 2013 and decided by the Supreme Court in February of 2015. The article provides an analysis of reasons to oppose assisted suicide and what the principle of right to life means in the context of assisted suicide in Canada. .

	Death with Dignity Act annual report shows a 43 percent rise in participation This is a press release issued by the Washington State Department of Health on June 4, 2014.

	Death with Dignity Act The full annual report on the Department’s 2013 Death With Dignity Act. Among many other findings, the report said that the top reasons reported for doctor-prescribed suicide were concern about the loss of autonomy, concern about the loss of dignity, concern about the loss of the ability to participate in activities that make life enjoyable.
	Assisted-suicide activists fail to pass bills in New England state legislatures Paients Right Council Since May, 2013, when an assisted-suicide bill was passed in Vermont, legislation has been introduced in several Northeastern states to legalize doctor-prescribed suicide. The legislation has failed in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The legislation is “alive” in New Jersey, but, even if it passed, Governor Christie has indicated that he opposes it.

The Human Family Research Center
Assisted Suicide