Last Rights

Sue Woodman is a freelance journalist who specializes in health and social issues for a number of national magazines including Allure, New Woman, Ms., and McCalls. She also writes features for U.S. and British publications such as The Nation, The Independent of London, and the Manchester Guardian. For many years Woodman was a New York correspondent for BBC domestic and world service radio and UNICEF radio worldwide.

* Introduction * The Twentieth-Century Battle over Death * The Anguish of a Difficult Death * "Death with Dignity": The Hope of a Movement * The Right to Die: An Argument as Old as Life Itself? * Foreign Rights: A World-View of Death * Dr. Death: Dispensing Mercy or Murder? * The Leading Activists and Their Obsessive Quest * The Rank and File: Just Your Normal Next-Door Neighbors * The Medical Establishment: A Fortress Divided * Rational Suicide: The Password to a New Frontier? * Suspicion and Fear from the Vulnerable * Religion and Ethics: Who Cares for the Soul? * The Devil Is in the Details: Navigating the Nightmare Cases * Postscript * Bibliography * Acknowledgments * Index