1970s
Philosophers have contemplated the concept of a "good
death" since ancient times, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that the
individual’s choice over when and how to die surfaced in an intense public
debate. Before then, anyone found guilty of attempted suicide in Canada and
many other countries could face jail time. Following the U.S. and U.K.’s
previous changes, Canada decriminalized attempted
suicide in 1972.
Around the same time, the legal right to turn down medical treatment emerged as it was becoming more obvious that medicine allowed doctors to keep patients alive much longer than nature. A series of court cases in the 1970s ended with a mentally competent person winning his right to refuse medical intervention and thus, refusing prolonged life. It was in 1973 that the American Hospital Association adopted a “Patient’s Bill of Rights” which recognized patients right to refuse treatment.
Across the Atlantic, the Dutch had begun to change their views on the subject. The Dutch Penal Code prohibited assisted suicide and euthanasia since 1886, however during the 1970s they began to tolerate physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia for terminally-ill, competent patients.
Check out the history in the 1980s
Around the same time, the legal right to turn down medical treatment emerged as it was becoming more obvious that medicine allowed doctors to keep patients alive much longer than nature. A series of court cases in the 1970s ended with a mentally competent person winning his right to refuse medical intervention and thus, refusing prolonged life. It was in 1973 that the American Hospital Association adopted a “Patient’s Bill of Rights” which recognized patients right to refuse treatment.
Across the Atlantic, the Dutch had begun to change their views on the subject. The Dutch Penal Code prohibited assisted suicide and euthanasia since 1886, however during the 1970s they began to tolerate physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia for terminally-ill, competent patients.
Check out the history in the 1980s
Body
_ In
“Body,” the history and issues of Gender Identity Disorder are summarized.
Mind
_In “Mind,” the history and issues associated with the use of antidepressants are summarized.
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