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
Constantine Law—Anita Vadgama

Constantine Law—Anita Vadgama

New senior partner hire at consultant-led employment / regulatory law firm

Ward Hadaway—Emma Swann & Jill Donabie

Ward Hadaway—Emma Swann & Jill Donabie

Firm adds two partners to growing education practice

mfg Solicitors—Lauren Collins, Emily Stancer & Sara Southall

mfg Solicitors—Lauren Collins, Emily Stancer & Sara Southall

Trio of newly qualified solicitors strengthens Worcester office law firm

NEWS
Read All
Treasury insists shift in AML supervision will be smooth
The treasury has sought to reassure the legal profession over concerns about cost, bureaucracy and independence when the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) takes over regulation of anti-money laundering compliance
Clients putting pressure on ethics at the Bar
One out of two barristers has come under pressure from clients to act unethically, according to the results of this year’s Barristers’ Working Lives survey
Bitter medicine for pharma giants
The Court of Appeal has held the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) was wrong to set aside a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decision on unfair pricing of phenytoin, an epilepsy drug
Six-month employee rights roll out
A flagship employment law reform is due to come into effect on 1 July, extending unfair dismissal rights to employees after six months in their job instead of two years
Youth mobility talks on hold in prime minister shuffle
The European Council has postponed the EU-UK summit, where discussions on a youth mobility scheme and other issues had been due to take place, due to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s resignation
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll