How did today's debate over euthanasia (taken from the Greek word for 'good death') become so divisive in American society? In "A Merciful End", Ian Dowbiggin tells, for the first time, the dramatic story of those reformers who struggled throughout the twentieth century to change the nation's attitudes towards mercy killing and assisted suicide. Having had access to confidential records in the United States, England and Canada, and having interviewed leading figures in the American euthanasia movement, he reveals that euthanasia has been a contentious issue in America for over a century, long before Jack Kevorkian began helping patients to die. Over the course of the twentieth century, a group of public-spirited men and women tried to break down ancient Judeo-Christian prohibitions against mercy killing, overturn state laws criminalizing assisted suicide, and convince the US Supreme Court that there is a right to die in the Constitution. In their eagerness to succeed, these euthanasia advocates have often sanctioned public policies that blur the fine line between choice and duty, freedom and coercion, the rights of the individual and the needs of society. By the dawn of the twenty-first century, they had won some small victories, and the debate over whose lives were worth living still raged, but Dowbiggin argues that more and more Americans seemed to prefer better end-of-life care to sweeping changes in laws about euthanasia. America's euthanasia movement entered the twenty-first century ready and willing to fight new wars but facing an uphill battle against sentiments such as these. Original, wide-ranging in scope, but sensitive to the personal dimensions of euthanasia, "A Merciful End" is an illuminating and cautionary account of the tension between motives and methods within twentieth century social reform. It provides a refreshingly new perspective on an old debate.
Show moreHow did today's debate over euthanasia (taken from the Greek word for 'good death') become so divisive in American society? In "A Merciful End", Ian Dowbiggin tells, for the first time, the dramatic story of those reformers who struggled throughout the twentieth century to change the nation's attitudes towards mercy killing and assisted suicide. Having had access to confidential records in the United States, England and Canada, and having interviewed leading figures in the American euthanasia movement, he reveals that euthanasia has been a contentious issue in America for over a century, long before Jack Kevorkian began helping patients to die. Over the course of the twentieth century, a group of public-spirited men and women tried to break down ancient Judeo-Christian prohibitions against mercy killing, overturn state laws criminalizing assisted suicide, and convince the US Supreme Court that there is a right to die in the Constitution. In their eagerness to succeed, these euthanasia advocates have often sanctioned public policies that blur the fine line between choice and duty, freedom and coercion, the rights of the individual and the needs of society. By the dawn of the twenty-first century, they had won some small victories, and the debate over whose lives were worth living still raged, but Dowbiggin argues that more and more Americans seemed to prefer better end-of-life care to sweeping changes in laws about euthanasia. America's euthanasia movement entered the twenty-first century ready and willing to fight new wars but facing an uphill battle against sentiments such as these. Original, wide-ranging in scope, but sensitive to the personal dimensions of euthanasia, "A Merciful End" is an illuminating and cautionary account of the tension between motives and methods within twentieth century social reform. It provides a refreshingly new perspective on an old debate.
Show moreIntroduction
1: Origins
2: Breathrough, 1920-1940
3: Stalemate, 1940-1960
4: Riding a Great Wave, 1960-1975
5: Not That Simple, 1975-1990
6: Conclusion: The 1900's and Beyond
Ian Dowbiggin is Professor of History at the University of Prince Edward Island.
"A 'must read' book on the history of euthanasia and
physician-assisted suicide.... If you wonder why 'living wills' and
health care 'power of attorney' won support at the ballot box but
physician-assisted suicide proposals mostly failed, this book
explains all."--Baltimore Sun
"Utterly fair and evenhanded. Instead of arguing the issue pro or
con, he provides an exhaustively researched and objective history
of euthanasia advocacy in the United States.... Dowbiggin's history
provides a fascinating study in how little the movement and its
tactics have actually changed over the years. Indeed, the book's
narrative discloses a remarkably clear and consistent pattern, both
in the strategy and substance of euthanasia advocacy, from its
inception to today."--First Things
"A Merciful End is a masterful historical account of the
transformation of the tiny and elitist American eugenics and
euthanasia movements of the first half of the 20th Century into the
much more complex 'right to die' mass movement that closed out the
century. Dowbiggin's balanced, well-documented, and insightful
history is a must read for anyone who wants to understand why
living will and health care proxy laws were enacted in all 50
states, while
physician-assisted suicide laws succeeded only in Oregon, and
active euthanasia laws had no success at all."--George J. Annas,
Professor of Health Law, Boston University Schools of Law,
Medicine, and Public
Health, and author of The Rights of Patients
"A deeply researched, well-written, and admirably well-balanced
book on the highly contentious subject of euthanasia in 20th
century American life. A skilled historian, he makes clear that the
issue has a considerable history in the United States, dating to
early in this century. He also places arguments over euthanasia,
past and present, in a broad historical social and cultural
context, relating these debates to a range of other claims for
personal 'rights,'
such as birth control and abortion. And he brings these debates
into our 21st century--all in an admirably lean and clearly
organized compass. This is a book that should engage readers
interested in
social, intellectual, cultural, legal, and medical history."--James
T. Patterson, Professor of History, Brown University, and author of
Dread Disease: Cancer and Modern American Culture
"In a fascinating and comprehensive analysis of the American
euthanasia movement, Dowbiggin rectifies the historical record,
demonstrating that the ideological justification for euthanasia
lies not in the advanced medical technologies of the late 20th
century, but in the social Darwinism, eugenics, and utilitarianism
of the late 19th century."--Ezekiel J. Emanuel, M.D.
"A 'must read' book on the history of euthanasia and
physician-assisted suicide.... If you wonder why 'living wills' and
health care 'power of attorney' won support at the ballot box but
physician-assisted suicide proposals mostly failed, this book
explains all."--Baltimore Sun
"Well-researched and even-handed: a valuable contribution to the
literature."--Kirkus Reviews
"Utterly fair and evenhanded. Instead of arguing the issue pro or
con, he provides an exhaustively researched and objective history
of euthanasia advocacy in the United States.... Dowbiggin's history
provides a fascinating study in how little the movement and its
tactics have actually changed over the years. Indeed, the book's
narrative discloses a remarkably clear and consistent pattern, both
in the strategy and substance of euthanasia advocacy, from its
inception to today."--First Things
"Dowbiggin's clear, nuanced prose untangles the complicated
interweaving of these arguments, and he is not afraid to fault the
morally dubious arguments of some euthanasia partisans.... Without
shying away from making his own ethical judgments, Dowbiggin offers
an intellectual and moral approach to a cultural flash
point."-Publishers Weekly
"A Merciful End is a masterful historical account of the
transformation of the tiny and elitist American eugenics and
euthanasia movements of the first half of the 20th Century into the
much more complex 'right to die' mass movement that closed out the
century. Dowbiggin's balanced, well-documented, and insightful
history is a must read for anyone who wants to understand why
living will and health care proxy laws were enacted in all 50
states, while
physician-assisted suicide laws succeeded only in Oregon, and
active euthanasia laws had no success at all."--George J. Annas,
Professor of Health Law, Boston University Schools of Law,
Medicine, and Public
Health, and author of The Rights of Patients
"A deeply researched, well-written, and admirably well-balanced
book on the highly contentious subject of euthanasia in 20th
century American life. A skilled historian, he makes clear that the
issue has a considerable history in the United States, dating to
early in this century. He also places arguments over euthanasia,
past and present, in a broad historical social and cultural
context, relating these debates to a range of other claims for
personal 'rights,'
such as birth control and abortion. And he brings these debates
into our 21st century--all in an admirably lean and clearly
organized compass. This is a book that should engage readers
interested in
social, intellectual, cultural, legal, and medical history."--James
T. Patterson, Professor of History, Brown University, and author of
Dread Disease: Cancer and Modern American Culture
"In a fascinating and comprehensive analysis of the American
euthanasia movement, Dowbiggin rectifies the historical record,
demonstrating that the ideological justification for euthanasia
lies not in the advanced medical technologies of the late 20th
century, but in the social Darwinism, eugenics, and utilitarianism
of the late 19th century."--Ezekiel J. Emanuel, M.D.
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