ABSTRACT
The contentious question of voluntary euthanasia attracts people with strong ideologically-driven positions who seek legitimacy through the publication of research data. The article, " Desiring Death, Dispensing Death" by Annette Street and David Kissane provides an example of this phenomenon. To pursue the argument that “negative cognitive states” are a necessary precursor for a patient to seek access to voluntary euthanasia legislation, it is necessary to emphasize all those aspects of patients’ histories that support such a thesis. In particular, the common trait displayed by all patients, and overlooked completely in Street and Kissane’s analysis, was the repeated statement that they all wished to remain in control of what was left in their lives. A willingness on the part of the medical profession to see patients seeking voluntary euthanasia as autonomous individuals with valid rational concerns is essential. Unfortunately, the article by Street and Kissane does not assist such resolution.
