Physician assisted suicide
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Definition:
the voluntary termination of one's own life by the administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician.
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Life's Worth:
The Case against Assisted Suicide by Arthur Dyck
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(Eerdmans, 2002, 110pp, available from AD Books)
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A major shift in how we view human nature undergirds much of the euthanasia debate today. That is, we have shifted from an emphasis on the sacredness of human life to autonomy as the highest good.... self-happiness is the goal, regardless of how that is played out.
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That, coupled with the rise of secularism and the collapse of religion, has led to a quality of life ethic replacing the sanctity of life ethic.
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For more insights
re Life's Worth
please go to
www.ad2000.com
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Several concerns listed by Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, (Canada)
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- 'mercy killing' is being used as a solution to suffering, pain, aging, mental and physical challenges, etc..
-sanctioning of this has led to euthanasia without consent, circumvention of the law, and abuse of the vulnerable.
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- advances in hospice and palliative care and pain management methods are threatened when euthanasia and physician assisted suicide are sanctioned as a means fo relieving pain and suffering.