1990s
In 1990 the U.S. Supreme Court, after the Cruzan v. Director case, ruled that without clear
and convincing instructions from to a doctor about a person’s wishes in the
event they cannot speak for themselves, the court must protect life first. The
Court left it up to states to adopt "clear and convincing" evidence
standards. A key result of the ruling was that it
encouraged people to leave advance instructions since the courts will honor
them. This ruling was an affirmation of an individual's control of their right
to die. The Court, reflecting general public opinion, was comfortable in
allowing a competent person to refuse treatment, even if it meant their death.
However, that same level of comfort for many people and the courts has not been
reached for assisted suicide.
Perhaps the most widely known on-going event involving assisted suicide in the 1990s was the court case of Dr. Jack Kevorkian. He was more informally known as “Doctor Death” and “Suicide Doctor”. With questionable screening procedures, the retired pathologist assisted in numerous suicides using a machine that allows the patient to decide when to deliver a lethal poison. Charged numerous times with murder, Kervorkian was found guilty in 1997 of second degree murder in a Michigan trial. Many to this day look to him as a leader in the right-to-do movement while others remember him as a murderer who had no regard for human life.
In 1995 Australia’s Northern Territory passed a law permitting active euthanasia, where certain prerequisites were met. It started as a private member’s bill titled Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill 1995. It faced opposition from the Australian Medical Association and a variety of right-to-life groups, but in the end it was passed. A survey conducted by Newspoll in 1995 found 81% of Australian adults supported physician assisted suicide.
In 1997, a court released its decision on the case, Vacco v. Quill. New York law prohibits helping another person commit suicide while still allowing competent adult patients to terminate life sustaining measures. Three doctors and three terminally ill patients claimed this was inconsistent and in violation of "equal protection of the laws" guaranteed in the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court concluded that physician-assisted suicide is very different from refusing medical treatment.
Check out the history in the 2000s
Perhaps the most widely known on-going event involving assisted suicide in the 1990s was the court case of Dr. Jack Kevorkian. He was more informally known as “Doctor Death” and “Suicide Doctor”. With questionable screening procedures, the retired pathologist assisted in numerous suicides using a machine that allows the patient to decide when to deliver a lethal poison. Charged numerous times with murder, Kervorkian was found guilty in 1997 of second degree murder in a Michigan trial. Many to this day look to him as a leader in the right-to-do movement while others remember him as a murderer who had no regard for human life.
In 1995 Australia’s Northern Territory passed a law permitting active euthanasia, where certain prerequisites were met. It started as a private member’s bill titled Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill 1995. It faced opposition from the Australian Medical Association and a variety of right-to-life groups, but in the end it was passed. A survey conducted by Newspoll in 1995 found 81% of Australian adults supported physician assisted suicide.
In 1997, a court released its decision on the case, Vacco v. Quill. New York law prohibits helping another person commit suicide while still allowing competent adult patients to terminate life sustaining measures. Three doctors and three terminally ill patients claimed this was inconsistent and in violation of "equal protection of the laws" guaranteed in the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court concluded that physician-assisted suicide is very different from refusing medical treatment.
Check out the history in the 2000s
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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