Easeful Death: Is there a case for assisted dying?
Easeful Death: Is there a case for assisted dying?
Mary Warnock and Elisabeth Macdonald
Book Review
Philosopher Mary Warnock and cancer specialist Elisabeth Macdonald provide a balanced and readable exploration of the philosophical, medical and legal arguments for a change in the law covering assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia.
There is a sensitively written chapter that is concerned with practical ways of easing death. For example, self-denial of food and fluid is examined in detail: “this may be a lengthy process placing intolerable anguish on the family and professional carers.” They conclude this is a legal but inhumane way to circumnavigate an unintentionally inhumane law.
The last chapter looks at some ways in which peoples attitude to death are changing, and why. Since Darwin, some of us have started to recognise that we do not have a soul that is separate from our body and therefore we have no need to maintain life in our disintegrating body for the sake of our soul. In addition, we now stay alive so long and suffer so much for many years at the end of life that “we are forced to ask ourselves what all the extra years that people live are actually worth to the people that live them.”
They conclude that, as part of a more honest culture of reflection on ageing, illness and death, the public is now ready to embrace a more compassionate approach. “Debate in this area,” they urge, “should no longer be dominated by a minority of critical, often faith-led voices. Those who disagree have every right to voice their disapproval and not to participate, but they should not impose their convictions on the quiet majority.”
Baroness Warnock’s ability to write about complex issues in crystal-clear language, combined with Dr Macdonald’s knowledge of how we die, has resulted in a powerful book. It is a welcome addition to world literature on the subject, and the first of this calibre from the UK.
Author Biographies
Baroness Mary Warnock is one of the UK’s most respected philosophers, with a long record for forming opinion and guiding legislation on moral issues; now an independent life peer in the House of Lords, she is a member of the House of Lords Select Committee on Euthanasia.
Elisabeth Macdonald provides a lifetime experience in clinical medicine. For many years a consultant Cancer Specialist at Guys and St Thomas teaching Hospitals in London, she has also worked in palliative care, and taught medical ethics.
Nan Maitland, Friends at the End
Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: OUP Oxford; 1 edition (6 Mar 2008)
ISBN-10: 0199539901
ISBN-13: 978-0199539901
Price: £8.44 from amazon.co.uk
Mary Warnock and Elisabeth Macdonald
Book Review
Philosopher Mary Warnock and cancer specialist Elisabeth Macdonald provide a balanced and readable exploration of the philosophical, medical and legal arguments for a change in the law covering assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia.
There is a sensitively written chapter that is concerned with practical ways of easing death. For example, self-denial of food and fluid is examined in detail: “this may be a lengthy process placing intolerable anguish on the family and professional carers.” They conclude this is a legal but inhumane way to circumnavigate an unintentionally inhumane law.
The last chapter looks at some ways in which peoples attitude to death are changing, and why. Since Darwin, some of us have started to recognise that we do not have a soul that is separate from our body and therefore we have no need to maintain life in our disintegrating body for the sake of our soul. In addition, we now stay alive so long and suffer so much for many years at the end of life that “we are forced to ask ourselves what all the extra years that people live are actually worth to the people that live them.”
They conclude that, as part of a more honest culture of reflection on ageing, illness and death, the public is now ready to embrace a more compassionate approach. “Debate in this area,” they urge, “should no longer be dominated by a minority of critical, often faith-led voices. Those who disagree have every right to voice their disapproval and not to participate, but they should not impose their convictions on the quiet majority.”
Baroness Warnock’s ability to write about complex issues in crystal-clear language, combined with Dr Macdonald’s knowledge of how we die, has resulted in a powerful book. It is a welcome addition to world literature on the subject, and the first of this calibre from the UK.
Author Biographies
Baroness Mary Warnock is one of the UK’s most respected philosophers, with a long record for forming opinion and guiding legislation on moral issues; now an independent life peer in the House of Lords, she is a member of the House of Lords Select Committee on Euthanasia.
Elisabeth Macdonald provides a lifetime experience in clinical medicine. For many years a consultant Cancer Specialist at Guys and St Thomas teaching Hospitals in London, she has also worked in palliative care, and taught medical ethics.
Nan Maitland, Friends at the End
Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: OUP Oxford; 1 edition (6 Mar 2008)
ISBN-10: 0199539901
ISBN-13: 978-0199539901
Price: £8.44 from amazon.co.uk