The Right to Die: A Rejoinder to Bruce Wilkinson's Critique

Abstract

Bruce Wilkinson has presented his case against my euthanasia and aid in dying policy. He is concerned about possible 'social benefits' in legalized euthanasia, the 'slippery slope' from voluntary euthanasia to involuntary euthanasia, and a disregard for the 'sanctity of life'. He subscribes to the view that terminally ill or incurably ill persons seeking euthanasia must be denied the right to die in a fashion consistent with their own values and moral beliefs. I submit that it is cruel and inhumane to refuse individuals trapped in a private holocaust access to a compassionate release in a manner consistent with their moral beliefs and personal values. The policy proposal that Wilkinson finds so lamentable was developed while I was conducting empirical research on euthanasia and AIDS (Ogden, 1994a). About half of the 34 assisted deaths I documented were so badly 'botched' that they have been described as 'coat-hanger euthanasia' (Farnsworth, 1994). Given the emerging evidence of an assisted suicide underground and the atrocious conditions in which these acts sometimes take place, it seemed appropriate and socially responsible to consider a policy option that would allow a lesser evil. There are fundamental differences be-