Euthanasia in the Netherlands: The Policy and Practice of Mercy Killing (International Library of Ethics, Law, and the New Medicine) [Hardcover]

R. Cohen-Almagor (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1402022506 | ISBN-13: 978-1402022500 | Publication Date: August 3, 2004 | Edition: 1

This book is a must for anyone who wishes to understand the pitfalls of policy-making where euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are concerned. The book will be most useful in academic forums, and it will appeal to legislatures and judges who take the decisions and make the judgments necessary to protect the fabric of society in the face of technological medicine. In addition, this book is of relevance to medical doctors, ethicists, lawyers working in the field of medical law and ethics, and sociologists who are interested in end-of-life issues and social justice. Euthanasia in the Netherlands: - addresses an issue that is of growing concern in North America and Europe; - offers an interdisciplinary, compelling study in medicine, law, religion and ethics; - covers a wide range of theoretical and practical issues concerning the end of life; - considers the philosophical difficulties inherent in the concepts of medical ethics; - is not confined strictly to the philosophical realm; - is based on interviews conducted in hospitals, research centers and universities in the Netherlands - will contribute to the ongoing debate about the intricate questions of medical ethics; - deals with issues that bring scholars and students, politicians, sociologists, jurist and lawyers together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews: "Euthanasia in the Netherlands is an excellent book on an important topic. It succeeds in giving an even-handed appraisal of Dutch euthanasia practices, providing a better understanding and valuable insights of the Dutch experience with euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. Cohen-Almagor analyses clearly and accurately the weaknesses of the policy and offers recommendations for correcting the deficiencies and developing a sounder policy. He combines an overview of the literature with analyses and interpretations of the intriguing interviews he conducted with key people in the Netherlands. […] Cohen-Almagor’s book is critical but judicious. He gives a balanced account of the views with which he disagrees and he carefully explains the basis for his disagreement. His style of writing is straightforward, clear, easy to follow, logical, and coherent. Bioethicists and other scholars in medicine, public health, and law will be interested in this book. College teachers of medical ethics will also find it valuable, and educated general readers with a special interest in euthanasia will find it helpful." (Professor William R. Winslade, Institute for the Medical Humanities, University of Texas) "Writing a book on the Dutch experience with euthanasia is not an easy matter. […] Several reasons can explain the difficulty. First of all the ethics of the present palliative and terminal care has not been spelled out in detail until recent years. The difficulties every physician meets more than once in his career when confronted with a sincere wish of the patient to die in a humane way in a situation of unbearable suffering, are still puzzling for moral and legal thinking. Secondly, our ways of legal and public thinking are still not adapted to the situation in which death is a part of life, not so much as a natural fact but as a process that can be controlled. The goals of medicine to uphold human dignity and to alleviate suffering are at stake in this process. […] The Dutch policy to aim at a system of both legal clarity and control is perhaps at this moment the most articulated answer to the difficulties, but will almost certainly not be the last word in the issues of death and dying. […] Rafi Cohen-Almagor has contributed much to the ongoing discussions by interviewing all the prominent legal, moral, political and medical people involved in the development of the Dutch legal ruling. His analysis of the interviews is based on clear, lucid thinking and argument. Unlike some others he tries to stay with the facts without entangling them with moral or political prejudice. Instead he tries to develop a view according to best standards of academic thinking. In the end he gives his own conclusion based on his experiences. One does not need to subscribe them in order to appreciate the work Prof. Cohen-Almagor has done. This book will certainly be helpful in every discussion on the legal and moral principles of assistance in dying, in traditions of legal philosophy such as the schools of Dworkin, Rawls and Kelsen. It can help physicians, nurses and others engaged in palliative care to sharpen their views in the ethics of palliative care as well in the forms of public and legal control that are needed in the burdensome but rewarding work of assistance in dying." (Prof. Evert van Leeuwen, Faculteit der Geneeskunde, Section Philosophy and Medical Ethics, Free University of Amsterdam)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 220 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (August 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402022506
• ISBN-13: 978-1402022500
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,248,215 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Biography
RAPHAEL COHEN-ALMAGOR

BA MA DPhil (Oxon); Educator and Researcher; Educ.: DPhil, Oxford University, UK, 1987-1991; MA Political Science, magna cum laude 1985-1987, Tel Aviv University, Israel; BA Political Science, Sociology and Anthropology, magna cum laude 1983-1985, Tel Aviv University.

Academic Positions:
United Kingdom: Professor and Chair in Politics, Department of Politics and International Studies (2007 - ); Acting Deputy Dean for Research University of Hull (2008 - ).

Israel: Associate Professor (2002-2006), Senior Lecturer, Department of Communication (1995-2002) and Faculty of Law (1995-1999), University of Haifa; Adjunct Lecturer, Hebrew University Law Faculty (1992-1995).

USA: Fellow, The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington DC (September 2007- July 2008); Visiting Senior Fellow, Johns Hopkins School for Advanced Studies and Institute for Policy Studies (2003-2004); Visiting Professor, University of California Los Angeles School of Law and Department of Communication (1999-2000); Visiting Fellow, The Hastings Center, New York (January-February 1994 and March 1999).

The Netherlands: Visiting Scholar, Department of Metamedica, Faculty of Medicine, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam (July-August 1999; April 2002).

Leadership:
Co-Founder, The Second Generation to the Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Organization in Israel (1982), Secretary General (1983-1985) and Chairperson (1985-1987) of this organization;
Founder and Director, Think-tank on Medical Ethics, The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute (1995-1998);
Chairperson, Library and Information Studies, University of Haifa (2000-2003);
Founder and Director, Center for Democratic Studies, University of Haifa (2003-2007).

Other Public Responsibilities:
Member, The Israel Press Council (1997-2000);
Member, The UNESCO International Clearinghouse on Children and Violence on the Screen (1998 - );
Member, International Standing Group on Extremism and Democracy (2001 - );
Member, Public Committee on the Dying Patient, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem (2000-2002) (appointed to draft Israel's Dying Patient Law);
Member, Association of Internet Researchers (2008 -);
Member, International Human Rights Tribunal (2009 - );
Advisory Board, Centre for the Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), South Africa (2009 - ).

Personal Blog:
Israeli Politics, http://almagor.blogspot.com/

Other Organizations:
IPSA Study Group on Democratization in Comparative Perspective (1993 - ); The Israel Association for Canadian Studies (1995 - ); Human Rights International Research Committee (1998 - ); Think-tank on Social Justice and Health Rights, The Gertner Institute, Ministry of Health (1999 -); Bashaar - Academic Community for Israeli Society (2000 - ); American Biographical Institute Research Board of Advisors (2002 - ); Institute of Communication Ethics, University of Lincoln, United Kingdom (2005 - ); International Communication Association (2006-2009); Institute of Applied Ethics, University of Hull (2007 - ); Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (2008 - ); Israel Studies Association (2008 - ); Standing Group on International Political Theory (2008 - ); The Internet Society (2008 -).

Formerly Member of:
Israel Association of Political Science (1991-1996); The International Advisory Board, Center for Bioethics, University of Rijeka, Croatia (1994-1995); International Research Committee on Sociology of Law (1993-1999); Israeli Academic Forum for Ethics and Social Responsibility (1994-1999); The International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists (1992-2003); The Oxford Society (1995-2005); Israel Association of Communication (1995-2007); American Political Science Association (1999-2000); Association for Canadian Studies (2000-2002); International Political Science Association (2003-2004); National Communication Association (2003-2004); Review Committee of the Israel Council for Higher Education proposal to open a BA program at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya (2006-2009).

Hon/Fellow:
The 21st Century Trust (1994 - );
Man of the Year Award 2003, awarded by The American Biographical Institute (December 2003).

Editorial and Advisory Boards:
Editorial Board, Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics (2003 - );
Advisory Board, European Journal of Analytic Philosophy (2005 - );
International Editorial Board, Science and Engineering Ethics (2005 - ).

Books:
Author: Middle Eastern Shores (poetry, Hebrew, 1993); The Boundaries of Liberty and Tolerance (1994; Hebrew 1994, 2nd ed. 1999); Speech, Media and Ethics (2001, 2nd ed. 2005; Turkish 2003); The Right to Die with Dignity (2001); Euthanasia in the Netherlands (2004); The Scope of Tolerance (2006); The Democratic Catch (2007, Hebrew); Voyages (poetry, Hebrew, 2007).

Editor: Basic Issues in Israeli Democracy (Hebrew, 1999); Liberal Democracy and the Limits of Tolerance: Essays in Honor and Memory of Yitzhak Rabin (2000); Medical Ethics at the Dawn of the 21st Century (2000); Challenges to Democracy: Essays in Honour and Memory of Isaiah Berlin (2000); Moral Dilemmas in Medicine (Hebrew, 2002); Israeli Democracy at the Crossroads (2005); Israeli Institutions at the Crossroads (2005); Public Responsibility (with Asa Kasher and Ori Arbel-Ganz, in preparation, Hebrew).

Articles: Published numerous articles and book chapters in the fields of political science, law, Israeli Studies, philosophy, ethics (medical, media), education, sociology, and history in journals and books in the USA, Britain, Canada, Israel, France, Italy, Turkey, India, Germany, Formosa, Croatia and Argentina. Some of them were translated into other languages, including Spanish, French, Greek, Russian, and Romanian.

Grants, Fellowships and Scholarships:
Woodrow Wilson Senior Fellowship 2007-2008; Bogliasco Fellowship, Italy 2005; Senior Fellowship, Johns Hopkins University Institute for Policy Studies 2003-2004; The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences 2002; Rockefeller Foundation, USA and Italy 2002; Fulbright-Yitzhak Rabin Senior Fellowship 1999-2000; Israel Association for Canadian Studies and The Canadian Government 1995, 1998, 2002; The Hastings Center, New York 1994, 1999; Israel Ministry of Science 1998; The 21st Century Trust, London 1994-1998; The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute 1991-1992, 1995-1998; Yigal Alon Scholarship 1995-1998; British Council 1997; University of Haifa 1996; Italian Foreign Office 1995; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem 1994; Volkswagen Education Foundation, Germany 1993-1994; Bar-Ilan University 1991-1992; The Rich Foundation, Paris 1991; The AVI (Rothschild) Fellowship, Geneva 1988-1990; Anglo-Jewish Association, London 1988-1990; St Catherine's College, Oxford 1987-1990; Tel Aviv University 1983-1987.

Entries in Books of Distinction:
- Entry in Outstanding People of the 20th Century, First Edition, International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, England (1999), p. 119.
- Who's Who in the World, 16th Edition, Marquis Who's Who (1999), p. 319; 19th Edition (2002), p. 403; 24th Edition (2006).
- Entry in Asia/Pacific Who's Who, Vol. IV, Rifacimento International, India (2002), p. 492; Vol. V (2005); Vol. VI (2006), pp. 218-219; Vol. VII (2007), pp.
- Entry in The International Directory of Distinguished Leadership, Vol. 11, American Biographical Institute (2003), p. 37.
- Entry in Asia - Men & Women of Achievement, Reguerdon and Co., India (2003), p. 68.
- Entry in Contemporary Who's Who, American Biographical Institute (2002-2003), p. 85; (2003-2004).
- Entry in Reference Asia: Asia's Who's Who of Men and Women of Achievement, Revised edition, Rifacimento International, India (2003).
- Entry in American Biography (2004).
- Entry in Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare, 5th Edition, Marquis Who's Who (2004-2005).
- Entry in Biography Fame International, Special Issue, Vol. VII (2004).
- Entry in the Contemporary Who's Who of Professionals, American Biographical Institute (2004/2005).
- Entry in Asian/American Who's Who, Vol. IV, Rifacimento International, India (2005).
- Entry in Biography Today, Vol. III, Rifacimento International, India (2005).
- Entry in The Contemporary Who's Who of Professionals, American Biographical Institute (2005).
- Entry in Distinguished and Admirable Achievers, 2nd ed. 2005, South-Asia Intl. Publication Company (2006).
- Entry in Afro-Asian Who's Who, Vol. I, Rifacimento International, India (2006).

Avocations: politics, sports, theatre, classical music, cinema, stamps.

Office: Department of Politics and International Studies, The University of Hull, Cottingham Road, Hull, HU6 7RX United Kingdom. E-mail: [e-mail]

Further information:
http://www.hull.ac.uk/rca;
http://hcc.haifa.ac.il/~rca/
http://cds.haifa.ac.il/index.php

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book in the tradition of Dworkin, Rawls and Kelsen, November 13, 2004

By 

Prof. Evert van Leeuwen (Free University of Amsterdam) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Euthanasia in the Netherlands: The Policy and Practice of Mercy Killing (International Library of Ethics, Law, and the New Medicine) (Hardcover)

Writing a book on the Dutch experience with euthanasia is not an easy matter. Several reasons can explain the difficulty. First of all the ethics of the present palliative and terminal care has not been spelled out in detail until recent years. The difficulties every physician meets more than once in his career when confronted with a sincere wish of the patient to die in a humane way in a situation of unbearable suffering, are still puzzling for moral and legal thinking. Secondly, our ways of legal and public thinking are still not adapted to the situation in which death is a part of life, not so much as a natural fact but as a process that can be controlled. The goals of medicine to uphold human dignity and to alleviate suffering are at stake in this process. The Dutch policy to aim at a system of both legal clarity and control is perhaps at this moment the most articulated answer to the difficulties, but will almost certainly not be the last word in the issues of death and dying.

Rafi Cohen-Almagor has contributed much to the ongoing discussions by interviewing all the prominent legal, moral, political and medical people involved in the development of the Dutch legal ruling. His analysis of the interviews is based on clear, lucid thinking and argument. Unlike some others he tries to stay with the facts without entangling them with moral or political prejudice. Instead he tries to develop a view according to best standards of academic thinking. In the end he gives his own conclusion based on his experiences. One does not need to subscribe them in order to appreciate the work Prof. Cohen-Almagor has done. This book will certainly be helpful in every discussion on the legal and moral principles of assistance in dying, in traditions of legal philosophy such as the schools of Dworkin, Rawls and Kelsen. It can help physicians, nurses and others engaged in palliative care to sharpen their views in the ethics of palliative care as well in the forms of public and legal control that are needed in the burdensome but rewarding work of assistance in dying.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book on an important topic, November 13, 2004

By 

Professor William R. Winslade (Institute for the Medical Humanities, University of Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Euthanasia in the Netherlands: The Policy and Practice of Mercy Killing (International Library of Ethics, Law, and the New Medicine) (Hardcover)

Euthanasia in the Netherlands is an excellent book on an important topic. It succeeds in giving an even-handed appraisal of Dutch euthanasia practices, providing a better understanding and valuable insights of the Dutch experience with euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. Cohen-Almagor analyses clearly and accurately the weaknesses of the policy and offers recommendations for correcting the deficiencies and developing a sounder policy. He combines an overview of the literature with analyses and interpretations of the intriguing interviews he conducted with key people in the Netherlands.

Cohen-Almagor's book is critical but judicious. He gives a balanced account of the views with which he disagrees and he carefully explains the basis for his disagreement. His style of writing is straightforward, clear, easy to follow, logical, and coherent. Bioethicists and other scholars in medicine, public health, and law will be interested in this book. College teachers of medical ethics will also find it valuable, and educated general readers with a special interest in euthanasia will find it helpful.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Euthanasia in the Netherlands, December 25, 2004

By 

Joav Merrick (Israel) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Euthanasia in the Netherlands: The Policy and Practice of Mercy Killing (International Library of Ethics, Law, and the New Medicine) (Hardcover)

Raphael Cohen-Almagor from the University of Haifa has investigated, studied and published on the issue of euthanasia over the past many years with a special interest in the policy and practice aspects of physician assisted suicide.
This book is a case study over several years of the experience and practice from the Netherlands, where physican assisted suicide has taken place for a long period with this Dutch experience often used by other countries in their ethical and legal search for a solution to this complex problem.
The book is divided into three parts: the background with research reports on the medical practice of euthanasia in the Netherlands from 1990, 1995 and 2001 and the interpretations, fieldwork by the author in the Netherlands in 1999, 2001 and 2002 and finally the conclusions.
The author has produced a well researched addition to this complex and controvertial issue of mercy killing on the basis of an in-depth study of the situation in the Netherlands. The author had published and supported the performance of euthanasia before his study in the Netherlands, but he visits changed his mind and views concerning the practicality and implementation of euthanasia. The shortcomings of the Dutch experience is presented in a clear language and in the conclusion the author provide a set of guidelines for physician assisted suicide to prevent abuse and misuse.
This book has relevance for physicians, nurses, public health professionals, lawyers, sociologists, policy makers and professionals dealing with ethics and the topic of euthanasia.

Professor Joav Merrick, MD
Director, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and Medical director, Division for Mental Retardation, Box 1260, IL-91012 Jerusalem, Israel. E-mail: [e-mail]