"Right to die"

doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7495.799

BMJ 2005;330:799 (9 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7495.799

Editorial

"Right to die"

The moral basis of the right to die is the right to good qualitylife

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

As this week's House of Lords report on assisted dying shows,the question of the right to die has become one of the mostimportant in contemporary ethics.¹ The case of Terri Schiavoin Florida has stimulated further debate about the issue.² Hercircumstances illustrate the fact that the question has twodifferent aspects. One concerns the assertion by individualsof their own right to die—for example, in a living will.The other concerns those who, like Terri Schiavo, are not ina position to express a wish to die but on whose behalf therequest is made either by relatives who believe that this wouldbe their wish or by medical practitioners who judge that itis not in the person's interests to be maintained on life supportwithout realistic chances of recovery.

The first aspect is relatively simple. Individuals of soundmind and settled purpose who wish . . . [Full text of this article]

A C Grayling, professor of philosophy

School of Philosophy, Birkbeck College, London WC1E 7HX

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Time for change: M A Branthwaite
BMJ 2005 331: 681-683. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

"Right to die": Legal view of right to life and death could threaten philosophy of palliative care: John C Chambers
BMJ 2005 330: 1388. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

"Right to die": Sensitivity and humility are needed when dealing with dying people: Lesley A M Evans
BMJ 2005 330: 1388. [Extract] [Full Text]

"Right to die": Changing "right" to "duty" may focus debate: Joe Brierley
BMJ 2005 330: 1388. [Extract] [Full Text]

"Right to die": No man (or woman) is an island: Andrew G Rivett
BMJ 2005 330: 1388-1389. [Extract] [Full Text]

"Right to die": Situation is different in developing countries...: Nanjegowda Vijayashankara
BMJ 2005 330: 1389. [Extract] [Full Text]

"Right to die": ...but context of limited resources can be encountered in developed countries too: William O Tarnow-Mordi
BMJ 2005 330: 1389. [Extract] [Full Text]

A good death, or a public one?: Jane Smith
BMJ 2005 330: 0. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

Chapple, A, Ziebland, S, McPherson, A, Herxheimer, A (2006). What people close to death say about euthanasia and assisted suicide: a qualitative study. J. Med. Ethics 32: 706-710 [Abstract] [Full text]
Blendon, R. J., Benson, J. M., Herrmann, M. J. (2005). The American Public and the Terri Schiavo Case. Arch Intern Med 165: 2580-2584 [Abstract] [Full text]
Branthwaite, M A (2005). Time for change. BMJ 331: 681-683 [Full text]
Chambers, J. C (2005). "Right to die": Legal view of right to life and death could threaten philosophy of palliative care. BMJ 330: 1388-1388 [Full text]
Vijayashankara, N. (2005). "Right to die": Situation is different in developing countries.... BMJ 330: 1389-1389 [Full text]
Evans, L. A M (2005). "Right to die": Sensitivity and humility are needed when dealing with dying people. BMJ 330: 1388-1388 [Full text]
Brierley, J. (2005). "Right to die": Changing "right" to "duty" may focus debate. BMJ 330: 1388-1388 [Full text]
Rivett, A. G (2005). "Right to die": No man (or woman) is an island. BMJ 330: 1388-1389 [Full text]
Tarnow-Mordi, W. O (2005). "Right to die": ...but context of limited resources can be encountered in developed countries too. BMJ 330: 1389-1389 [Full text]

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Suffering not rights justifies ending lives: Peter J Allmark
bmj.com, 8 Apr 2005 [Full text]
But it doesn't feel like it: Neville W Goodman
bmj.com, 8 Apr 2005 [Full text]
freedom of choice: steven,e willow
bmj.com, 8 Apr 2005 [Full text]
'Intention' means there is a world of difference: Andrew N Fergusson
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Right not to die: John D Holden
bmj.com, 8 Apr 2005 [Full text]
Grayling's "Right to Die" terrifies me: Alison Davis
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Life and Death: Christopher O'Loughlin
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Bad legislative interpretations of the �right to life� and the �right to death� could threaten the basic philosophy of palliative care.: John C Chambers
bmj.com, 9 Apr 2005 [Full text]
No �right to die� and no �right to be killed�: David I Jeffrey
bmj.com, 9 Apr 2005 [Full text]
"Right to life" must not be used to impose death upon the defenceless.: Adrian Joseph Treloar
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Objection from the philosophical point of view: Pablo Requena
bmj.com, 9 Apr 2005 [Full text]
Changing 'right' to die to 'duty' to die.: Joe Brierley
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Right to life: Is it different in developing countries: Vijayashankara. Nanjegowda
bmj.com, 10 Apr 2005 [Full text]
Re: Grayling's "Right to Die" terrifies me: Herman A. Borkent
bmj.com, 10 Apr 2005 [Full text]
Courts have already decided right to life doesn't imply a right to die: Christopher S A Wayte
bmj.com, 10 Apr 2005 [Full text]
The Right To Die: Lesley A M Evans
bmj.com, 11 Apr 2005 [Full text]
Right to life and Right to die versus Gift of life and Inevitability of death: Dr Marie B. Mc Devitt
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Is the Right to life dependant on a minimum quality?: Michael R Jarmulowicz
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Right to die? Right to live!: S G Barber
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Good quality of life: death is the antithesis: Claire A Stark Toller
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Ultimate solution: Sujith K Dhanasiri
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Re: Is the Right to life dependant on a minimum quality?: Joan McClusky
bmj.com, 12 Apr 2005 [Full text]
Re: Is the Right to life dependant on a minimum quality?: Joan McClusky
bmj.com, 13 Apr 2005 [Full text]
End-of-life decisions in the context of limited resources: William O Tarnow-Mordi
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Life is not always a good?: Luis Ayerbe, et al.
bmj.com, 12 Apr 2005 [Full text]
Relief of suffering: Vladimir Lazarevik
bmj.com, 12 Apr 2005 [Full text]
Flawed arguments in "Right to Die" editorial: Peter KK Au-Yeung
bmj.com, 12 Apr 2005 [Full text]
Re: But it doesn't feel like it: Ruth M Linney
bmj.com, 13 Apr 2005 [Full text]
Fear and Loathing: Mark Struthers
bmj.com, 14 Apr 2005 [Full text]
The Right to Die: Peter J Watkins
bmj.com, 14 Apr 2005 [Full text]
Right to die is unethical and absurd: Anil Pandit
bmj.com, 14 Apr 2005 [Full text]
A better way to die than this: Mark Houghton
bmj.com, 14 Apr 2005 [Full text]
The ethics of withholding treatment: Richard M Lindley
bmj.com, 15 Apr 2005 [Full text]
Problems with "Right to Die" Editorial: Victoria J. Wheatley, et al.
bmj.com, 15 Apr 2005 [Full text]
No man (or woman) is an island: Andrew G Rivett
bmj.com, 15 Apr 2005 [Full text]
Assisted death, personal autonomy and human rights: John C Chambers
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Re: The ethics of withholding treatment: Peter KK Au-Yeung
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Count me out: Gregory C Brown
bmj.com, 15 Apr 2005 [Full text]
Re: Re: The ethics of withholding treatment: Stewart SW Chan
bmj.com, 16 Apr 2005 [Full text]
Playing God.: Anil Pandit
bmj.com, 18 Apr 2005 [Full text]
After death?: julian kennedy
bmj.com, 19 Apr 2005 [Full text]
A misleading editorial: Gregory Gardner
bmj.com, 22 Apr 2005 [Full text]
cannot quantify quality of life: Vasantha Kumar
bmj.com, 21 Apr 2005 [Full text]
it was permanent vegetative state: Jim Howe
bmj.com, 27 Apr 2005 [Full text]
Re: Assisted death, personal autonomy and human rights: Andrew N Papanikitas
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Not the last word.: Gregory Gardner
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