Annotated Bibliography

Chemerinsky, Erwin. “Recognize the Right to Die With Dignity.” LA Times, 7 Oct. 1996. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.

This source talks about the different circuits of trials for the legalization of physician-assisted suicide. Chemerinksy also talks about how he watched his father suffer in the last few days of his life and how he does not want anyone else to have to go through that. This is a reliable resource because Chemerinsky is a certified professor of law at USC Law Center. It is a useful source because it gives information about how each circuit of court regarding physician-assisted suicide becomes closer and closer to being passed and why it has not been passed already. This source will be helpful to me because I will be able to use the information given to put together an argument for physician-assisted suicide using the knowledge I gained from the legal aspect as well as from the first hand point of view of someone who watched a family member suffer.

Chin, Arthur, Katrina Hedberg, Grant Higginson, and David Fleming. “Legalized Physician-Assisted Suicide in Oregon—The First Year’s Experience.” The New England Journal of Medicine (1999). Web. 8 Mar. 2015.

This source talks about the rules and regulations of physician-assisted suicide in Oregon, which is only one of four states that have legalized it in the U.S. The specific rules listed would most likely be the ones that will be implemented if the rest of the states are to legalize physician-assisted suicide. It also talks about the concerns of being disproportionately chosen by or forced on terminally ill patients who were poor, uneducated, uninsured, or fearful of financial consequences of their illness and how there was no evidence of such. This source is reliable because each person involved in conducting the study has a medical degree and experienced it first-hand. This source will be helpful to me when proposing the legalization of physician-assisted suicide because it shows the positive outcome of the legalization in Oregon and how the fears that are commonly stated are non-existent.

Diaconescu, Amelia Mihaela. “Euthanasia.” Contemporary Readings in Law and Social Justice 4.2 (2012): 474-83. ProQuest. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.

In the article “Euthanasia,” Amelia Diaconescu talks about social, ethical, religious, and legal aspects. The social debate includes the worries the high cost of treatment in terminal phases whereas the ethical debate includes the struggle for life is a fundamental requirement of our societies and medical ethics in particular. There is also a religious debate “to not kill” and legal debate, the right to respect life, which prohibits and prosecutes homicide; but also the right to respect and guarantee the individual’s autonomy, the self-determination of the subject with regard to his own body. It is very useful in the sense that it helped me to understand the difference between euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide and increased my knowledge about the different aspects that are involved in the topic of euthanasia. This particular article has given me a better understanding of euthanasia and the different parts that come along with it which will help me construct a better argument for it to be legalized.

Frunza, Mihaela, and Sandu Frunza. “INSTITUTIONAL ASPECTS OF THE ETHICAL DEBATE ON EUTHANASIA. A COMMUNICATIONAL PERSPECTIVE.” Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies 12.34 (2013): 19-36. ProQuest. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.

In the article “Institutional Aspects of the Ethical Debate on Euthanasia,” Mihaela and Sandu Frunza emphasize the importance of a public debate so that the communication of all the different stakeholders stays intact. This article is extremely useful in helping me develop and understand the importance of everyone that legalizing euthanasia would affect, not just the individuals who want a dignified death. The goal of this article is to stress that there are more parties involved in this topic than you may think. This can help me shape my argument by being able to appeal to certain stakeholders and not just the individuals who are choosing to die. This article has helped me to understand how to make a more effective overall argument.

Getter, Amy. “Death With Dignity: An Individual’s Choice.” Journal Of

Palliative Medicine 16.10 (2013): 1304-1305. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.

This source talks about the Death With Dignity Act and how it has affected Amy Getter, a hospice caregiver, when it was first implemented in Washington. She believes that everyone who witnesses others’ deaths is very sympathetic and comprehends the situation the best. She feels that they deserve to die with dignity if that is what they chose. As a woman who witnesses death everyday, she is a relevant reliable source. She has seen these patients contemplate physician-assisted suicide as an option to put them out of their misery. This is a useful source because it gives you a first-hand perspective of someone who sees death and suffering occur everyday. This source will be helpful to me because it gives a point of view that most people don’t have. Someone may experience a friend or family member make the decision of using physician-assisted suicide, but this is what Gutter does for a living.

Goy, Elizabeth R., Linda Ganzini, and Steven K. Dobscha. “Why Oregon Patients

Request Assisted Death: Family Members’ Views.” Journal of General Internal Medicine 23.2 (2008): 154-7. ProQuest. Web. 1 Apr. 2015.

According to this article, the family members reported the most important reasons that loved ones wanted to use physician-assisted suicide as wanting to control the circumstances of death at die at home, and worries about loss of dignity and future losses of independence, quality of life, and self-care ability. This is reliable because they surveyed people who actually went through this and each had different experiences. This is helpful to me because it helps me to understand the main reasons why behind why they wanted to end their life.

Mathiews, Ann Kimberlin. “Death With Dignity.” Creative Nursing 16.4 (2010): 185-

187. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.

This is another source with the point of view from a hospice nurse. Mathiews talks about how in the beginning of her career her main goal was to save the patient no matter what. Since the Death With Dignity Act has been implemented, she realized that these patients finally begin to feel like actual people again once they realize that their suffering will soon be over. This is a reliable source because she experiences first hand everyday what its like to see people suffering. She gives the before and after perspective with and without the Death With Dignity Act and she talks about how much happier the patients are at the end of their life. This will be helpful to me in the regard of having both perspectives.

Sanburn, Josh. “Brittany Maynard Could Revive the Stalled ‘Death with Dignity’

Movement.” Times Magazine 1 Nov. 2014. Print.

This article is a very good piece of kairos, which is an opportunity to mention or bring fort a problem. Sanburn talks about how Brittney Maynard, a 29 year-old diagnosed with brain cancer, chose to publicly state how she was ending her own life with physician-assisted suicide and picked up a lot of momentum for the Death With Dignity Act. After it was implemented in a few states, the obsession started to die down and being replaced with abortion or other popular debated subjects. There is also a very good piece of visual rhetoric that shows the increase in participation in the Death with Dignity Act in Oregon from 1998 to 2013 and why people seek the lethal medication. This source is reliable because he states the facts to back it up. This will be helpful to me because I will have information to introduce my topic on death with dignity.

White, Michael, and Tracy Miller. “Before I Die.” Thirteen. New York Public Media. Web. 9 Mar. 2015.

In this article, White and Miller have contradicting ideas about euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. White’s argument consists of why it should be legalized and that sick people should not have to suffer, while Miller’s argument consists of why it should not because most terminally ill people suffer from depression which clouds their judgment. This source is reliable because White practices law in California and Miller is a healthcare attorney. This is a useful source in the sense that it gives the honest opinions of two people that this topic directly affects. Both must think about any issues that may arise in court. Although both are a little biased, they show both sides of the argument. The two opposing point of views help me to see both sides of the debate and think about any issues that may arise if physician-assisted suicide does become legalized. This will help to shape my argument in trying to find a proposal that is not completely one-sided.

Young, Robert. “‘Debating The Morality And Legality Of Medically Assisted Dying’. Critical Notice Of Emily Jackson And John Keown, Debating Euthanasia. Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2012.” Criminal Law & Philosophy 7.1 (2013): 151-160. Criminal Justice Abstracts with Full Text. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

In this Critical Notice of Emily Jackson and John Keown’s Debating Euthanasia, the respective lines of argument put forward by each contributor are set out and the key debating points identified. Particular consideration is given to the points each contributor makes concerning the sanctity of human life and whether slippery slopes leading from voluntary medically assisted dying to non-voluntary euthanasia would be established if voluntary medically assisted dying were to be legalized. This article is objective and is extremely useful in the sense that it shows two different sides of the argument. This source informed me on each position on the topic of euthanasia and helped me to develop a viewpoint for myself. Instead of being completely for it being legalized, I now understand the issues that come with the legalization of it.