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The Right to Die Debate: A Documentary History Marjorie C. Zucker, Editor Westport, CT. Greenwood Press, 1999 ISBN 0-313-30522-6, 297 pp., hardcover $49.95
Marjorie Zucker has put together an impressive assortment of primary documents relative to the right-to-die debate. Recognizing the critical and complicated nature of this debate, she includes legal documents, government reports, personal testimonies, and religious statements. Her goal is to give a balanced treatment of the arguments concerning people making their own decisions relative to both the timing and method of their own death. A helpful discussion on the historical development of views and definitions of death (primarily in the United States) introduces the book while a brief explanatory note introduces each document. Intentionally developed for `the research needs of highschool and college students' (p. xxi), the book provides a wide range of documents that outline the history of this debate.
Part I sketches the historical development of medicine. It shows the evolution in the Western understanding of, and response to, death and dying which is a brilliant way to frame the debate historically. Likewise, Parts II and III outline the euthanasia debate up to 1965, providing an indispensable background for comprehending the state of the debate today. They reveal a general opposition to legalizing euthanasia as well has highlighted the strenuous objections from different segments of society. They...