Human dignity and assisted death

Assisted dying is still an extremely contested topic in Bioethics. Despite the strongly influential role human dignity plays in this debate, it still has not received the appropriate, multi-faceted treatment it deserves. Studies show that the notion of dignity already plays an important role in medical contexts: it is frequently used by health care professionals as well as patients. However, its use in these contexts needs to be analyzed and explained in more detail. Moreover, a review of the available literature clearly shows that the general, highly fruitful academic debate on human dignity is more than ready to take the next step into applied ethics: in particular, into the even more controversial area of assisted death. This book offers a detailed philosophical analysis of dignity and how it relates to assisted death. Its audience will benefit both from the general discussion of human dignity it offers as well as from the specific bioethical context to which it is applied. --

Dignity and the case against assisted death / Jeff McMahan -- Dignity and the case in favor of assisted death / Ralf Stoecker -- Dignity through thick and thin / L.W. Sumner -- Death with dignity : a dangerous euphemism / Robert George, Christopher Kaczor -- Physical disability, dignity, and physician assisted death / David Wasserman -- Dementia, dignity, and assisted death / Rebecca Dresser -- Autonomy and the value of life as elements of human dignity / Sebastian Muders -- Dignity, price, and assisted dying / Michael Cholbi -- Two competing conceptions of dignity / Luke Gormally -- The value of life and the dignity of persons / William FitzPatrick -- Dignity as a fundamental human right revisited / Margaret Battin -- Dignity as moral status and the debate about assisted death / Holger Baumann, Peter Schaber.