ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed subsequent chapters of this book. One week before the end of its spring term, on June 26, 1997, the United States Supreme Court issued decisions in two cases that claimed constitutional protection for physician-assisted suicide. Throughout the Nation, Americans are engaged in an earnest and profound debate about the morality, legality, and practicality of physician-assisted suicide. Two or three decades ago, the twin issues of physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia began to emerge as philosophic issues. Physicians and other health professionals, who once seemed monolithically opposed, have been revealed by surveys to be strikingly divided on the issue. Surveys of the public show that as much as three-quarters of the population say that they favor allowing physicians to assist terminally ill patients to end their lives. Physicians and other health professionals, who once seemed monolithically opposed, have been revealed by surveys to be strikingly divided on the issue.
