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Author Putnam, Constance E., 1943-

Title Hospice or hemlock? : searching for heroic compassion / Constance E. Putnam ; foreword by Timothy E. Quill
Published Westport, Conn. : Praeger, [2002]
©2002

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Location Call no. Vol. Availability
 WATERFT HEALTH  362.1756 Put/Hoh  AVAILABLE
Description xv, 209 pages ; 24 cm
Contents Foreword / Timothy E. Quill -- 1. The Matter of Death -- 2. Origins of the Debate -- 3. Whose Death Is It, Anyway? -- 4. Dealing with Death -- 5. Putting Principles into Practice -- 6. Death Matters
Summary "End-of-life decision making is often viewed from an academic perspective, which can obscure the debate's central human concerns. This guide introduces general readers to people with personal stakes in the right-to-die conundrum. Putnam provides practical assistance to readers and their loved ones, simultaneously incorporating the abstract and theoretical analysis essential to examining how we die in contemporary Western society. Readers are presented with the backgrounds of the Hospice and Right-to-Die ("Hemlock") Movements. To elucidate the human side of the debate, Putnam profiles and interviews six important figures: Dame Cicely Saunders, founder of the modern Hospice Movement; Derek Humphry, founder of the Hemlock Society in the U.S.; Herbert Cohen, an early leader in euthanasia circles in the Netherlands; Timothy Quill, whose assistance in a patient suicide resulted in a U.S
Supreme Court case; Joanne Lynn, founder of Americans for Better Care for the Dying; and Jack Kevorkian (profiled, but unavailable for interview)." "Another unique feature of this book is the application of philosopher Judith Jarvis Thomson's general theory of rights to the very specific right to die. Pointing to potential compatibilities between the two positions, she concludes that heroic compassion does not require a final choice between Hospice and Hemlock - there may be room enough for both."--BOOK JACKET
Notes Includes index
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages [197]-200) and index
Subject Hospice care.
Terminal care.
LC no. 2002070882
ISBN 0897899210 alkaline paper