Hospice care or assisted suicide: a false dichotomy.
In this paper, the author argues that making assisted suicide available is not a contradictory position to espousing hospice care. He draws on historical and political examples to explain the ethical basis for this assertion. By defining the issue at stake as one of personal autonomy (the loss or gain thereof), the author challenges the argument that making assisted suicide available leads to a slippery slope towards euthanasia, eugenics, or genocide. He asserts that narrowing choices by preventing people from seeking assistance in suicide is more likely to lead us down the slippery slope towards coercive medical and state intervention in our lives.
Miller
J L
JL
Trinity Home Hospice, Toronto, Canada, USA.
D001293:Attitude to Death; D002755:Choice Behavior; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006738:Hospices; D006801:Humans; D017236:Suicide, Assisted