Assisted Suicide Research Paper

BACKGROUND

Brought to the headlines by Dr. Jack Kevorkian, assisted suicide should not be confused with euthanasia. In assisted suicide a physician, or other party, provides a terminally ill patient with the means to take his or her own life. In contrast, euthanasia involves the physician’s administering the lethal drug. The ethical, moral, and legal aspects of assisted suicide are being debated in the courts, the press, schools, and homes across the country.

BROWSE FOR BOOKS ON THE SHELF USING THESE CALL NUMBERS

179.7

362.175

LOOK UNDER THE FOLLOWING SUBJECTS IN THE CATALOG (CARD OR COMPUTER)

Assisted suicide

Suicide

Right to die

USE PAMPHLET FILE (ALSO CALLED VERTICAL FILE) UNDER THE HEADING

Suicide

REFERENCE MATERIALS THAT MAY HELP (BOOKS OR CD-ROMS)

CQ Researcher, February 21, 1992; May 5, 1995.

Dunstan, Duncan, et al., eds. Dictionary of Medical Ethics, 1981.

Evans, Glen, and Norman L. Farberow. The Encyclopedia of Suicide, 1988.

Kastenbaum, Robert, and Beatrice Kastenbaum, eds. Encyclopedia of Death, 1993.

PERIODICAL INDEXES TO SEARCH (BOOKS OR CD-ROMS)

EBSCO Magazine Article Summaries

InfoTrac

NewsBank and other newspaper indexes

Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature

SIRS (Social Issues Resources Series)

WILSONDISC

ONLINE DATABASES TO SEARCH

America Online

CompuServe
Dialog

Internet

Prodigy

KEY WORDS AND DESCRIPTORS FOR PERIODICAL INDEX AND ONLINE SEARCHES

Assisted suicide

Euthanasia

Kevorkian, Jack

Right to die

Right to life

Right to refuse treatment

Suicide

VIDEOTAPE ON THIS TOPIC

What’s the Common Ground on Euthanasia? Common Ground–WNYC Productions, 1989.

NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS TO CONTACT FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Center for the Rights of the Terminally Ill, P.O. Box 54246, Hurst, TX 76054–2064.

Choice in Dying—The National Council for the Right to Die, 200 Varick St., New York, NY 10014.

Hemlock Society, P.O. Box 11830, Eugene, OR 97440–4030.

International Anti-Euthanasia Task Force, University of Steubenville Human

Life Center, Steubenville, OH 43952.

SUGGESTIONS FOR NARROWING THIS TOPIC

Discuss Dr. Jack Kevorkian’s role in bringing assisted suicide to public attention.

Discuss the use of assisted suicide among AIDS patients.

Investigate the legal aspects of assisted suicide.

Research the clinical criteria for physician-assisted suicide.

SUGGESTIONS FOR RELATED TOPICS

Living wills

Hospice movement

Rights of the terminally ill

Suicide prevention among teens

This RESEARCH TOPIC GUIDE is intended to help the library user find information and materials on a particular topic in many sources throughout the library. Resources on this topic are not limited to those described and availability will depend upon the individual library. Feel free to ask a librarian for assistance.