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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Future Of Physician-Assisted Suicide, Yale Kamisar
The Future Of Physician-Assisted Suicide, Yale Kamisar
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I believe that when the Supreme Court handed down its decisions in 1997 in Washington v. Glucksberg and Vacca v. Quill, proponents of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) suffered a much greater setback than many of them are able or willing to admit.
Physician Assisted Suicide: A Bad Idea, Yale Kamisar
Physician Assisted Suicide: A Bad Idea, Yale Kamisar
Articles
It would be hard to deny that there is a great deal of support in this country - and ever-growing support - for legalizing physician-assisted suicide (PAS). Why is this so? I believe there are a considerable number of reasons. I shall discuss five common reasons - and explain why I do not find any of them convincing.
The 'Right To Die': On Drawing (And Erasing) Lines, Yale Kamisar
The 'Right To Die': On Drawing (And Erasing) Lines, Yale Kamisar
Articles
Until this year, no state or federal appellate court had ever held that there was a right to assisted suicide no matter how narrow the circumstances or stringent the conditions. In 1996, however, within the span of a single month, two federal courts of appeals so held; in an 8-3 majority of the Ninth Circuit (sitting en banc) in Compassion in Dying v. Washington and a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit in Quill v. Vacco. What heartened proponents of a right to physician-assisted suicide even more, and pleased those resistant to the idea even less, was that the two …
Assisted Suicide And Euthanasia: The Cases Are In The Pipeline, Yale Kamisar
Assisted Suicide And Euthanasia: The Cases Are In The Pipeline, Yale Kamisar
Articles
When I first wrote about this subject 36 years ago, the chance that any state would legalize assisted suicide or active voluntary euthanasia seemed minuscule. The possibility that any court would find these activities protected by the Due Process Clause seemed so remote as to be almost inconceivable. Not anymore. Before this decade ends, at least several states probably will decriminalize assisted suicide and/or active voluntary euthanasia. [Editor's note: In November, Oregon became the first state to legalize physician-assisted suicide, allowing doctors to prescribe lethal medication for competent, terminally ill adults who request it.] A distinct possibility also exists that …
Active V. Passive Euthanasia: Why Keep The Distinction?, Yale Kamisar
Active V. Passive Euthanasia: Why Keep The Distinction?, Yale Kamisar
Articles
In the past two decades, we have witnessed a "sea change in public, medical, and legislative judgments" about "letting die" and the "right to die." But it is no less true today than it was 35 years ago, when I first wrote about this subject, that in Anglo-American jurisprudence active euthanasia (what used to be called "mercy killing") is murder.
Who Should Live-Or Die? Who Should Decide?, Yale Kamisar
Who Should Live-Or Die? Who Should Decide?, Yale Kamisar
Articles
TRIAL asked Professor Kamisar questions on legal and ethical issues surrounding the right to die, a subject attracting increasing interest across the country and around the world.