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Freedom to Die: The Rise of the State and the Demise of the Citizen

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Great book. Our society makes it a "sin" to help terminally ill people end their lives without further pain. Thats the sin! When you're well, a book such as this might seem ridiculous but when you're walking in death's shoes from a painful, degenerating disease, its complete inhumane torture to allow the patient to suffer past his/her wishes.

This book has assisted me in some research regarding the Death and Dignity Act. The sections I have read have been helpful. I look forward in using the book for continued information regarding any other research or my work.

Derek Humphry & Mary Clement
Freedom to Die:
People, Politics, and the Right to Die Movement

(New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998) 388 pages
(ISBN: 0-312-19415-3; hardback)
(Library of Congress call number: R726.H844 1998)

No single individual is more central to the right-to-die movement
than Derek Humphry, who founded the Hemlock Society in 1980
and who has written several book on the subject.
(In 2003 the Hemlock Society renamed itself End-of-Life Choices.
And in 2004 it merged with Compassion in Dying,
taking the new name Compassion & Choices.)
This book is a summary of the history
of the right-to-die movement up to 1998.
The right-to-die emerged in response to modern medical technology,
which can keep bodies 'alive' longer than ever before imagined.
Humphry and Clement summarize the most famous right-to-die cases:
Quinlan, Cruzan, Kevorkian, Quill.
They summarize the then-current policies in the Netherlands,
which allow a physician to assist a patient to die
when specified safeguards are fulfilled.

Detailed accounts are given to the efforts to win the right-to-die
on the West coast of the United States: California, Washington, Oregon.
These states have referendum laws,
allowing the people to create laws directly by a popular vote
--when the elected lawmakers are too timid to enact a particular law.
One drawback of this means of changing the laws
is that the debates tend to be reduced to 30-second television ads.
Oregon was the first state to allow physicians to aid a voluntary death
--by prescribing lethal drugs after careful safeguards were fulfilled.
(The complete text of the Oregon law is included as an appendix.
The Oregon law with annual reports is also available on the Internet:
Search for: "Oregon Death with Dignity Act".

The US Supreme Court found no right-to-die in the Constitution,
but the justices left the door open for states to write new laws.

Humphry and Clement even include a chapter on
the high cost of medical care at the end of life,
--an argument for the right-to-die that is open to easy attack by opponents,
who will suggest that some people will be put to death to save money.
Voluntarily-created 'living wills' or Advance Directives for Medical Care
can accomplish the same goal, but few people have written them.
And sometimes doctors do not know about 'living wills' or ignore them.

This book is an excellent place to begin reading
about the right-to-die movement.
It is based on Derek Humphry's personal experiences and all published sources.

If you would like to see reviews of several other books on the right-to-die,
search the Internet for this expression: "Books on the Right-to-Die".

James Leonard Park, advocate of the right-to-die with careful safeguards

Amazon has the wrong (and slanted) sub-title for this book. Amazon has
"Freedom to Die: The Rise of the State and the Demise of the Citizen (Hardcover)

Whereas (as the dust jacket image at the side clearly demonstrates) the correct sub-title is
"People, Politics and the Right to Die Movement"

The same error appears in the Tag box below.

-------Derek Humphry, the co-author

This book truly made me re-think my attitude towards the subject. Mr. Humphrey and Ms. Clement should be commended for this masterpiece.

Chapter 21 of this book, titled "The Unspoken Argument," advocates the economic benefits of euthanasia, as follows: "Similar to other social issues, the right-to-die movement has not arisen separate and distinct from other concurrent developments of our time. In attempting to answer the question Why Now?, one must look at the realities of the increasing cost of health care in an aging society, because in the final analysis, economics, not the quest for broadened individual liberties or increased autonomy, will drive assisted suicide to the plateau of acceptable practice."

Derek Humphry and other right-to-die leaders, time after time, have demonstrated the same willingness to promote this final "solution" to the problems of people with disabilities. Taken together, these words and deeds mark a clear and consistent pattern - one that includes promotion of euthanasia and extermination of people with disabilities.

Nevertheless, leaders of the pro-euthanasia movement still often falsely claim that their concerns are only for those with terminal illness. Their messages are tailored to specific audiences and vary greatly depending on the immediate political climate. The Hemlock Society, its leaders and its allies, need to come forward, to clearly state their complete agenda and open it to honest debate.

Credit: Not Dead Yet! -- Disability activists opposed to the legalization of assisted suicide