title: Keeping Elizabeth Bouvia alive for the public good.
abstract: The case of Elizabeth Bouvia, a handicapped woman who wanted doctors to assist her in dying, reveals that autonomy is insufficient as the sole or even the most important public policy principle. Where the community is asked to endorse a course of action by granting medical and financial assistance, considerations of autonomy must give way to the broader notion of the public good, which gives primacy to the respect for life.
authors.forename: F I
authors.initials: FI
authors.lastname: Kane
mesh_terms: D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005065:Euthanasia; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009014:Morals; D010358:Patient Participation; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011640:Public Policy; D012935:Social Justice; D013405:Suicide / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D026712:Value of Life