At Liberty to Die

The first sweeping history of the right-to-die movement

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"Ball's arguments are concise, compelling, and backed with considerable case law. This volume is highly recommended for upper-level undergraduates and above in law, philosophy, and the medical humanities interested in the 'right to die' debates. Summing up: Highly recommended." —Choice



Over the

past hundred years, average life expectancy in America has nearly doubled, due

largely to scientific and medical advances, but also as a consequence of safer

working conditions, a heightened awareness of the importance of diet and

health, and other factors. Yet while longevity is celebrated as an achievement

in modern civilization, the longer people live, the more likely they are to

succumb to chronic, terminal illnesses. In 1900, the average life expectancy

was 47 years, with a majority of American deaths attributed to influenza, tuberculosis,

pneumonia, or other diseases. In 2000, the average life expectancy was nearly

80 years, and for too many people, these long lifespans included cancer, heart

failure, Lou Gehrig’s disease, AIDS, or other fatal illnesses, and with them,

came debilitating pain and the loss of a once-full and often independent

lifestyle. In this compelling and provocative book, noted legal scholar Howard

Ball poses the pressing question: is it appropriate, legally and ethically, for

a competent individual to have the liberty to decide how and when to die when

faced with a terminal illness?

At Liberty to Die charts how, the right

of a competent, terminally ill person to die on his or her own terms with the

help of a doctor has come deeply embroiled in debates about the relationship

between religion, civil liberties, politics, and law in American life.

Exploring both the legal rulings and the media frenzies that accompanied the

Terry Schiavo case and others like it, Howard Ball contends that despite raging

battles in all the states where right to die legislation has been proposed, the

opposition to the right to die is intractable in its stance. Combining

constitutional analysis, legal history, and current events, Ball surveys the

constitutional arguments that have driven the right to die debate.