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Kaitlyn Duffy
05/04/15
English 1010
Annotated Bibliography
Lavi, Shai Joshua. The Modern Art Of Dying : A History Of Euthanasia In The United
States. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2007. eBook Collection
(EBSCOhost). Web. 5 May 2015.
This book goes in depth into The United Statess history of euthanasia, like the title
suggests. It starts with the very earliest accounts of human euthanasia in the U.S. and
the formation of the Euthanasia Society of America. This book goes into why there was
such a problem with legalizing assisted suicide and each controversy it brought up. It
has several court cases and examples to back up each claim it makes.
I really liked this source, it wasnt biased in the least bit. It showed the facts and
history of Americas euthanasia history and not only the straight facts, but how the
general population felt about euthanasia and why. t was a very informative source and
his writing was easy to read.
Somerville, Margaret A. Death Talk : The Case Against Euthanasia And Physician-Assisted "
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Suicide. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2001. eBook Collection "

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(EBSCOhost). Web. 3 May 2015."

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Magaret Somervilles book is all about making a case against human euthanasia and assisted
suicide. She provides a lot of research and different cases for her main point of not supporting
euthanasia."
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In my opinion, Somerville was pretty biased because every bit of research that she

show, eventually showed something negative. Im not positive if it was because of a bias or

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thats what the research actually showed. She did include a lot of facts that I was able to use, so
her research was informative, but like I said before, it felt pretty biased. I would like to add in
that I didnt read the entire book, only the chapters that seemed helpful for writing this paper, so
that could also have jaded the way that I saw the source."

"Concern 1: Will Legalizing Medically-assisted Death Lead to Vulnerable Groups Being

Pressured to Die?" Concern 1: Will Legalizing Medically-assisted Death Lead to
Vulnerable Groups Being Pressured to Die? N.p., n.d. Web. 06 May 2015.
This snip-it was trying to discuss whether or not euthanasia would pressure groups that
are considered more vulnerable to be put to death.
I dont really put a lot of trust into this source, I couldnt find authors anywhere
and it looked like anyone who signed up to the website could put in their two-cents.
Besides that, there wasnt really any information to go off of, it just stated the question
and said an answer that didnt go into any alternative perspectives, and was pretty
vague.
Active and Passive. Sunysuffolk.edu, n.d. Web. 04 May 2015.
This piece focused mainly on the difference between active and passive euthanasia.
The author gave a couple made-up examples of what each form would entail.
I didnt like this source very much either, the website didnt look legitimate at all,
the colors were crazy, there was no format, links, or author. Even though the URL
had .edu, something still seemed off about it. The piece, besides the definitions was
riddled with the authors opinions.

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Empathetic Practice or Glorified Murder Criteria
Many people have debated whether or not human euthanasia is an empathetic
practice or glorified murder. Suppose we put that debate on the back burner and
thought of a new question: If we were to legalize human euthanasia and assisted
suicide in Utah, what boundaries or criteria would need to be implemented in order to
uphold its sincere intentions to relieve suffering? Although shes not for human
euthanasia, Margaret Summerville quotes in her book the reason why there needs to be
some sort of criteria to go along with the legalization of euthanasia, Proposals for
legalization must include suggestions to prevent involuntary euthanasia, to prevent
unconscious coercion of the terminally ill to request euthanasia, she goes on to say,
To ensure documentation for purposes of enforcement and study, and to spell out
enforceable consequences for violations (Summerville, 144). Some guidelines needed
to be looked at would be who would be euthanizing the patient, what mental state would
the patient need to be in, and the paperwork and enforcement of the criteria being met
before the euthanasia.
There are some definitions that need to make clear before moving forward. An
online dictionary defines the following terms:
Euthanasia: The act of putting to death painlessly or allowing to die, as by withholding
extreme medical measures a person or animal suffering from an incurable, especially a
painful, disease or condition (dictionary.com).
Active Euthanasia: The practice of injecting a patient with a lethal dose of
medication with the primary intention of ending the patients life, at the patients request
(Segens Medical Dictionary).

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Passive Euthanasia: The ending of life by the deliberate withholding of drugs or
other life-sustaining treatment (Mosbys Medical Dictionary).
Assisted Suicide: Suicide facilitated by another person, especially a physician, who
organizes the logistics of the suicide, as by providing the necessary quantities of a
poison (Dictionary.com).
Advanced Directive: A living will or durable power o attorney in which a person states
his or her wishes regarding medical treatment in the event of mental incompetency or
an inability to communicate (dictionary.com).
The earliest accounts of legalization of euthanasia in the U.S. started in 1906 in
Iowa and Ohio. At the time one of the biggest concerns with legalizing it was that there
was always the staple rule that you werent allowed to kill. As far as anyone was
concerned, euthanasia, whether merciful or not, was murder (Lavi, 77). When they
werent able to legalize it, there started to be an increase amount of mercy killings.
Mercy killing is when a civilian helps to put a patient out of their misery. In 1939 the New
York Times reported that this type of assisted suicide was happening at least once a
week, and was usually performed by a family member (Lavi, 144). Lavi gives many
examples of mercy killings that went unpunished such as the case of Louis Greenfield in
1939. His son Jerome had a developmental disorder that was draining on him and his
family mentally, physically, emotionally and financially. Jerome would have constant
outbursts with the mind of a two year old but the body of a strapping 16 year old. He
had been institutionalized twice but his family could no longer afford outside help and
had to take care of him themselves, even though doctors had told them that he was a
danger to himself and others; they even suggested that he should be sterilized in order

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to reduce the risk of his mother being raped by him. So his father, Louis, put a
chloroform rag over Jeromes face when he was sleepig until he passed away
peacefully, and turned himself into the police. The jury found Louis Greenfield not guilty
because they wouldnt count it as murder (Lavi, 147-150).
He brought up another example with the case of Carol Paight, her father was
riddled with cancer in his abdomen that was causing him an incredible amount of pain.
The doctors said that he only had weeks to live, so Carol went home and got her
fathers pistol and then shot him in his hospital bed to give an early end to his suffering.
Carols trial lasted two weeks and she was found not guilty because of temporary
insanity (Lavi, 150-152).
Charles Potter, the founder of the Euthanasia Society of America, thought that
the extreme leniency shown to these and other mercy killers, meant that America was
ready for some sort of euthanasia laws to be put into place (Lavi, 153). However, Potter
was quoted saying:
I recognize fully the fact that there are a number of individuals who should be
mercifully put out of their miseryBut the act of mercy should not be performed by
private citizens as it is increasingly done today. Nor should it be done secretly by
physicians The law itself should speedy be brought into accord with public opinion.
Euthanasia should be legalized and supervised (Lavi, 145). Potter knew that there was
no way of regulating whether or not it was wanted by the patient to be euthanized if
there was not documentation or professionals involved. How could they tell the
difference between mercy killings and murder if not regulated by the law?

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In the Netherlands, the Royal Dutch Medical Association put together some
guidelines for physician-assisted suicide. The person in question has to have been
mentally competent when putting together a clear and detailed advance directive. The
patient and their doctor have to speak privately about it and the doctor has to decide
that it is entirely the patients decision. The patient must also express a lasting longing
for death meaning that the decision was not just made on an impulse or because they
have become depressed (Somerville, 147). They must also get a second opinion from a
doctor that has no connection to the patient or their primary physician. They also have
to have had considered all other options and be enduring extreme suffering (Somerville,
147).
After setting their criteria, they tracked the consequences of the legalization for
over a decade. Their research showed that 85-90% of doctors still supported the
practice. 36% of all patients who discussed assisted suicide with their doctor actually
made the formal request. 12% of the 36% were accepted. They found that the main
reasons, from greatest to lowest percent, that people wanted to be euthanized was their
loss of dignity, unbearable pain, humiliating dependency, and just being done with life
(Somerville, 147). While the Netherlands guidelines seemed to be working, they didnt
enforce the patients advance directive laws, some didnt even have one and the
physicians and family members were taking it upon themselves to decide what was best
for the patient by having them euthanized (Somerville, 148). This is one of the biggest
controversies when talking about human euthanasia, its nicknamed the Slippery
Slope. The slippery slope is basically the belief that if euthanasia is allowed then it will
open up the door for people to start practicing non voluntary euthanizing and then

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euthanizing those who are not able to stick up for themselves like the mentally
challenged, elderly, and poor. If we were to legalize euthanasia in Utah, we would
definitely need to make sure the perimeters were followed and strictly enforced to avoid
anything like that.
The main point of all of this is to show people that if we put strict laws in place to
ensure that the assisted suicide service doesnt get abused, human euthanasia can
actually be the most kind and merciful act that a person in such turmoil, can receive. As
long as the person is in a healthy mental state when making an advance directive, the
documentation is clear and detailed, its performed by a licensed professional, and all of
these are strictly enforced, there should be no reason as to why we shouldnt make
human euthanasia a legal practice.

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Works Cited
"Active Euthanasia." Segen's Medical Dictionary. 2011. Farlex, Inc. 5 May. 2015
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 03 May 2015.
Lavi, Shai Joshua. The Modern Art Of Dying : A History Of Euthanasia In The United
States. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2007. eBook Collection
(EBSCOhost). Web. 5 May 2015.

"Passive Euthanasia." Mosby's Medical Dictionary, 8th edition. 2009. Elsevier 5

May. 2015
Somerville, Margaret A. Death Talk : The Case Against Euthanasia And PhysicianAssisted Suicide. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2001. eBook
Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 3 May 2015.

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