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Getting the Law Right on Physician-Assisted Death
Citation
Otlowski, MFA, Getting the Law Right on Physician-Assisted Death, Amsterdam Law Forum, 3, (1) pp. 127-138. ISSN 1876-8156 (2011) [Non Refereed Article]
Abstract
My aim with this paper is to focus on how the law could be improved to better respect and protect patients seeking assistance at the end-of-life, as well as protecting the doctors who assist them. This paper takes as its starting premise the fact that there are currently a number of deficiencies in the law relating to physician-assisted death. I want to argue that these deficiencies have the cumulative effect of rendering the operation of the law inconsistent, discriminatory and hypocritical, and that as a consequence of this dysfunctionality, the law is brought into disrepute.
In exploring ways in which the law could be improved, I will be examining different legislative models for change: direct assistance at the request of a patient, based on the Netherlands model where the doctor administers the lethal dose, as well as the Oregon model of physician-assisted suicide where the doctor provides the lethal dose but the patient self-administers it, and I will be looking at the pros and cons of both of these models. Essentially, I argue that more functional, objectively realistic and transparent laws are needed to deal with end-of-life concerns.
Item Details
Item Type: | Non Refereed Article |
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Research Division: | Law and Legal Studies |
Research Group: | Other law and legal studies |
Research Field: | Other law and legal studies not elsewhere classified |
Objective Division: | Law, Politics and Community Services |
Objective Group: | Justice and the law |
Objective Field: | Justice and the law not elsewhere classified |
UTAS Author: | Otlowski, MFA (Professor Margaret Otlowski) |
ID Code: | 75447 |
Year Published: | 2011 |
Deposited By: | Law |
Deposited On: | 2012-01-30 |
Last Modified: | 2012-01-30 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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