The right to die in the USA

Abstract

William Colby, the attorney who represented the family of Nancy Cruzan in the first right-to-die case heard by the US Supreme Court, has written a timely, comprehensive book exploring the legal, medical, and ethical questions surrounding this complex issue. Although he's written about these concerns before, it's the media frenzy and contentious debate surrounding the case of Terri Schiavo that was the obvious impetus for Unplugged: Reclaiming Our Right to Die in America.In a surprisingly personal narrative voice, Colby begins with a detailed recounting of the facts of Schiavo's case, from her initial collapse and subsequent failures to resuscitate, to the diagnosis of persistent vegetative state. Perhaps even more dispiriting is the deterioration of the initially loving relationship between Schiavo's husband and her parents, which resulted in lawsuits, politically motivated debates in Congress, and shameless fear-mongering by various special-interest groups.From here, Colby explores the twisted legal and legislative path that has brought us to this point in the right-to-die debate in the USA: from medical advances to “living wills”, from ethical disagreements about what constitutes life to the growth of the hospice movement.Finally, with a combination of compassion and legal acumen, Colby challenges the reader to consider: “What was the ‘right’ choice for Terri Schiavo? What would you want if you were in her shoes?” William Colby, the attorney who represented the family of Nancy Cruzan in the first right-to-die case heard by the US Supreme Court, has written a timely, comprehensive book exploring the legal, medical, and ethical questions surrounding this complex issue. Although he's written about these concerns before, it's the media frenzy and contentious debate surrounding the case of Terri Schiavo that was the obvious impetus for Unplugged: Reclaiming Our Right to Die in America. In a surprisingly personal narrative voice, Colby begins with a detailed recounting of the facts of Schiavo's case, from her initial collapse and subsequent failures to resuscitate, to the diagnosis of persistent vegetative state. Perhaps even more dispiriting is the deterioration of the initially loving relationship between Schiavo's husband and her parents, which resulted in lawsuits, politically motivated debates in Congress, and shameless fear-mongering by various special-interest groups. From here, Colby explores the twisted legal and legislative path that has brought us to this point in the right-to-die debate in the USA: from medical advances to “living wills”, from ethical disagreements about what constitutes life to the growth of the hospice movement. Finally, with a combination of compassion and legal acumen, Colby challenges the reader to consider: “What was the ‘right’ choice for Terri Schiavo? What would you want if you were in her shoes?”