This unique Research Handbook examines voluntary assisted dying (VAD) laws through the lens of regulatory theory. It sheds light on interdisciplinary perspectives and outlines policy debates around the revision and implementation of these laws.
Ben P. White brings together global experts to discuss the law and practice of VAD in all permitting jurisdictions. They explore contested questions about eligibility, including access for minors, those with mental disorders, and those who express feeling ‘tired of life’, as well as examining how best to regulate this practice. Chapters delve into case studies across the Americas and Europe of medical assistance in dying and euthanasia, addressing holistic approaches, as well as the matter of organ and tissue donation. The Research Handbook also evaluates key factors in policymaking, such as choice and autonomy, conscience, palliative care, disability rights, feminism and First Nations’ experiences.
The Research Handbook on Voluntary Assisted Dying Law, Regulation and Practice is a vital resource for students and academics in human rights law and health law. Health and legal practitioners, administrators and policymakers will also greatly benefit from its breadth of insights into VAD.
Contents
Preface xix
1 An introduction to voluntary assisted dying law, regulation and practice 1
Ben P. White
PART I INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON VOLUNTARY ASSISTED
DYING LAW, REGULATION AND PRACTICE
2 Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide in the Netherlands 11
Liselotte Postma, Agnes van der Heide and Bregje Onwuteaka-Philipsen
3 Euthanasia in Belgium and Luxembourg 25
Madeleine Archer, Kenneth Chambaere and Luc Deliens
4 Assisted suicide in Switzerland 47
Brigitte Tag
5 Assisted dying in Germany 58
Lutz Eidam and Sanela Starčević
6 Assisted suicide in Austria 71
Klara Doppler and Maria Kletečka-Pulker
7 Euthanasia legislation in Spain: examining law, cases, and future debates 78
Sergio Ramos Pozón
8 Medically assisted dying in Portugal 86
Sónia Fidalgo
9 Assisted suicide in Italy 93
Gianluca Montanari Vergallo, Nicola Di Fazio and Paola Frati
10 Assisted dying in the United States 102
Thaddeus Mason Pope
11 Medical assistance in dying in Canada 116
Eliana Close and Jocelyn Downie
12 Voluntary assisted dying in Australia 130
Ben P. White, Lindy Willmott, Rachel Feeney, Katherine Waller and
Katrine Del Villar
13 Assisted dying in New Zealand 143
Jeanne Snelling and Jessica Young
14 Medically assisted dying in Colombia 150
Esther de Vries, Ana Isabel Gómez-Córdoba and Julieta Moreno-Molina
15 Recent developments: assisted dying in Peru, Cuba and Ecuador 161
Katrine Del Villar
PART II FRONTIERS OF VOLUNTARY ASSISTED DYING LAW,
REGULATION AND PRACTICE
16 Access to assisted dying on the basis of mental disorder 175
Mona Gupta
17 Access to assisted dying by minors 196
Luc Deliens, Kasper Raus, Tania Pastrana and Kenneth Chambaere
18 Between precedent autonomy and the patient’s best interests: a reasonable
path for advance medical assistance in dying requests 210
Naïma Hamrouni and Jocelyn Maclure
19 Access to assisted dying for older persons on the basis of being ‘tired of
life’ 228
Els Van Wijngaarden
20 Medical aid in dying, decisional capacity, and supported decision making 246
Megan S. Wright
21 Organ and tissue donation and assisted dying 260
Kim Wiebe, Fiona Slater, Vanessa Silva e Silva, Amina Silva, Ken
Lotherington, Matthew J. Weiss and James Downar
PART III REGULATION AND SOCIETAL CONTROL OF VOLUNTARY
ASSISTED DYING
22 Holistic approaches to regulation of voluntary assisted dying 273
Ben P. White
23 Models of oversight systems to regulate assisted dying 292
Patricia Haitink and Emily Jackson
24 The role of empirical research and evaluations in regulating assisted dying 307
Kenneth Chambaere, Bregje Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Agnes van der
Heide and Luc Deliens
25 Are there ‘slippery slopes’ in assisted dying? 324
James Downar
PART IV RETHINKING CONCEPTIONS OF VOLUNTARY ASSISTED DYING
26 Rethinking the concept of choice in assisted dying 338
Jessica Young and Els Van Wijngaarden
27 Conscientious objection to voluntary assisted dying by health professionals 356
Lindy Willmott, Louise Keogh, Casey M. Haining, Rosalind
McDougall and Ben P. White
28 Institutional refusal to permit assisted dying 371
L.W. Sumner
29 Is there a human right to assisted dying? 386
Katrine Del Villar
30 Feminist approaches to assisted dying 404
Jennifer Parks
31 Disability and medical aid in dying 418
Brent Kious and Claire Bolt
32 Assisted dying and palliative care 434
James Downar, Danielle Kain, Susan MacDonald and Sandy Buchman
33 Indigenous perspectives on regulating assisted dying: views from Canada
and Australia 447
Constance MacIntosh
34 Assisted dying considerations for racially, culturally, and linguistically
diverse populations 463
Cindy L. Cain
35 Social determinants of health and assisted dying with special
considerations related to prisoners 475
Jessica Shaw
PART V THE FUTURE OF VOLUNTARY ASSISTED DYING
36 The future of voluntary assisted dying 492
Ben P. White
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