title: Privacy (or liberty) and assisted suicide.
abstract: There is renewed professional and popular interest in the questions surrounding the legality of assisted suicide. With the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the Cruzan case, the legal questions will be determined by state courts and legislatures. This article examines the arguments underlying the claim for legalization of assisted suicide. Although it appears to come within the confines of privacy, assisted suicide constitutes a more radical change in the law than its proponents suggest. Assisted suicide in the context of its own complexities and other problems facing society, represents a dubious advance in patient rights or social justice.
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Scofield
mesh_terms: D026686:Beneficence; D002961:Civil Rights / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005065:Euthanasia / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005610:Freedom; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012945:Social Values; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D013405:Suicide / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014481:United States; D035761:Wedge Argument; D028761:Withholding Treatment