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Author Ball, Howard, 1937-

Title At liberty to die : the battle for death with dignity in America / Howard Ball.

Publication Info. New York : New York University Press, [2012]
©2012

Copies

Location Call No. Status
 Manchester, Main Library - Non Fiction  344.7304 BALL    Check Shelf
 Newington, Lucy Robbins Welles Library - Adult Department  344.7304 BALL    Check Shelf
 University of Saint Joseph: Pope Pius XII Library - Standard Shelving Location  344.73041 B187A    Check Shelf
 Windsor, Main Library - Adult Department  344.7304 BA    Check Shelf
Description ix, 229 pages ; 24 cm
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 207-215) and index.
Contents The changing nature of death in America -- The plight of the incompetent patient in a "permanent vegetative state" (PVS) -- Terri Schiavo's tragic odyssey, 1990-2005 -- What freedom do we have to die with dignity? : The U.S. Supreme Court decides, 1997 -- The second path to PAD : passing legislation allowing death with dignity -- The pioneering PAD states : Oregon and Washington -- America's Transplants.
Summary "Over the past hundred years, average life expectancy in America has nearly doubled, due largely to scientific and medical advances, but also as a consequence of safer working conditions, a heightened awareness of the importance of diet and health, and other factors. Yet while longevity is celebrated as an achievement in modern civilization, the longer people live, the more likely they are to succumb to chronic, terminal illnesses. In 1900, the average life expectancy was 47 years, with a majority of American deaths attributed to influenza, tuberculosis, pneumonia, or other diseases. In 2000, the average life expectancy was nearly 80 years, and for too many people, these long lifespans included cancer, heart failure, Lou Gehrig's Disease, AIDS, or other fatal illnesses, and with them, came debilitating pain and the loss of a once-full and often independent lifestyle. In this compelling and provocative book, noted legal scholar Howard Ball poses the pressing question: is it appropriate, legally and ethically, for a competent individual to have the liberty to decide how and when to die when faced with a terminal illness? At Liberty to Die charts how, the right of a competent, terminally ill person to die on his or her own terms with the help of a doctor has come deeply embroiled in debates about the relationship between religion, civil liberties, politics, and law in American life. Exploring both the legal rulings and the media frenzies that accompanied the Terry Schiavo case and others like it, Howard Ball contends that despite raging battles in all the states where right to die legislation has been proposed, the opposition to the right to die is intractable in its stance. Combining constitutional analysis, legal history, and current events, Ball surveys the constitutional arguments that have driven the right to die debate"-- Provided by publisher.
Subject Right to die -- Law and legislation -- United States.
Assisted suicide -- Law and legislation -- United States.
Euthanasia -- Law and legislation -- United States.
Right to Die -- legislation & jurisprudence -- United States.
Euthanasia -- legislation & jurisprudence -- United States.
Persistent Vegetative State -- United States.
Suicide, Assisted -- legislation & jurisprudence -- United States.
ISBN 9780814791042 alkaline paper
0814791042 alkaline paper
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