NCJ Number
140774
Journal
Criminal Justice Journal Volume: 14 Issue: 2 Dated: (Fall 1992) Pages: 309- 332
Date Published
1992
Length
24 pages
Annotation
The Death With Dignity Act proposed for California should be rejected as a matter of public policy, because the legalization of the killing of people before their natural deaths cheapens life and encourages societies to avoid their duty to learn to care for their people.
Abstract
This law would authorize doctors to kill patients at their request, when, in the doctors' judgment, they have a terminal condition and are expected to die naturally within 6 months or less. The language of this law is dangerously complicated, vague, ambiguous, and misleading and would put in jeopardy any patient or doctor attempting to invoke it. In the name of false autonomy, the law would not only undoubtedly kill non-terminal people but also people who decide to take their lives under the effects of depression or despair. The law has been cleverly titled to mislead the public, because it contains no criteria relating to pain or indignity. It also lacks standards to determine a person's mental competence. Furthermore, existing law recognizes a right to reject medical treatment even when death will result from exercising that right. Therefore, the proposed law is unnecessary for people who are truly terminal. Footnotes