header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
09 May 2019 / Charles Foster
Categories: Features , Human rights
printer mail-detail

Euthanasia, Ethics & Public Policy: An argument against legislation (Second Edition)

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
“A meticulous, highly readable, and profoundly disturbing examination of the merits of the slippery slope arguments”
  • Author: John Keown
  • Publisher: Cambridge University Press
  • ISBN: 9781107337909
  • Pages: 558
  • RRP: £31.99

Debates about ‘assisted dying’ (AD) (a sloppy, pejorative, but ubiquitous euphemism) always have two phases. First, there are the arguments of principle. The proponents of AD used to major on pain and suffering. It is immoral, they said, not to allow suffering to be terminated, even if that means death. One wouldn’t withhold such a mercy from your dog: why would you withhold it from your grandmother? With advances in palliative care, the rhetoric has changed, and the emphasis is now on autonomy: it’s my life: why shouldn’t I be able to end it when and in the circumstances I choose? Their opponents respond that intentional killing is always wrong, and that any derogation from that principle will be widely, deeply, and damagingly repercussive.

Then come arguments about the practicability of restricting AD to

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Speechlive LogoClick to know more
Switalskis—Sally Ann Masih, Suzy Overton & Jane Beaumont

Switalskis—Sally Ann Masih, Suzy Overton & Jane Beaumont

Trio of recruits strengthens Switalskis residential property team

Ward Hadaway—Steven Hayward

Ward Hadaway—Steven Hayward

Birmingham law firm appoints construction partner

Flint Bishop—six appointments

Flint Bishop—six appointments

Flint Bishop accelerates Northern growth through strategic senior appointments

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: A wider test for unsafe homes
A High Court decision has clarified that a home may be unfit for human habitation not only where conditions endanger health or safety, but also where they seriously undermine comfort and convenience
NLJ this week: Employment deadlines lengthen

A longer time limit for employment tribunal claims, new charity law thresholds, property tribunal recruitment and appellate guidance on small-claims costs feature in the latest Civil Way round-up

NLJ this week: Estoppel crosses borders
A recent High Court ruling could make issue estoppel considerably more complex in cross-border litigation, requiring parties to consider the foreign law governing the underlying claim
NLJ this week: Safeguards under strain
The Supreme Court has overturned Cheshire West’s bright-line test for deprivation of liberty, replacing it with a broader, more contextual assessment that gives greater weight to an individual’s wishes, feelings and apparent consent
NLJ this week: Fraud reform’s delivery test
Jonathan Fisher KC’s wide-ranging fraud report contains worthwhile proposals, but turning them into workable reform will require money, capacity and political will
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll