''The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia'' is a 2006 book by

Neil Gorsuch Neil McGill Gorsuch ( ; born August 29, 1967) is an American lawyer and judge who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on January 31, 2017, and has served since ...

. The book presents legal and moral arguments against

euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

and

assisted suicide Assisted suicide is suicide undertaken with the aid of another person. The term usually refers to physician-assisted suicide (PAS), which is suicide that is assisted by a physician or other healthcare provider. Once it is determined that the p ...

, advocating for the retention of bans on the practices. It explores case histories from jurisdictions that have legalized the practice, including

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. ''The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia'' grew out of Gorsuch's doctoral dissertation. While attending

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, he studied legal and ethical issues related to assisted suicide and euthanasia under John Finnis, an Australian legal scholar opposed to assisted suicide.

In ''The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia'', Gorsuch treats

physician-assisted suicide Assisted suicide is suicide undertaken with the aid of another person. The term usually refers to physician-assisted suicide (PAS), which is suicide that is assisted by a physician or other healthcare provider. Once it is determined that the p ...

and

as morally identical acts. The scope of the book is limited to intentional killing by private persons, avoiding the complexities of considering the issue alongside the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

and warfare. In the book, Gorsuch rejects commonly held views about autonomy, arguing that states should sometimes place "paternalistic constraints on the choices of its citizens." He sharply criticizes Judge Richard Posner of the

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts: * Central District of Illinois * Northern District of Ill ...

, who wrote that government should not interfere with a person's decision to end their life. Gorsuch argues that Posner's view could require the legalization of consensual homicide and would lead to mass

suicide pact A suicide pact is an agreed plan between two or more individuals to die by suicide. The plan may be to die together, or separately and closely timed. General considerations Suicide pacts are an important concept in the study of suicide, and h ...

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

s, and organ sales. Gorsuch further characterized assisted suicide as, "essentially a right to consensual homicide." He said that the U.S. should "retain existing law anning assisted suicide and euthanasiaon the basis that human life is fundamentally and inherently valuable, and that the intentional taking of human life by private persons is always wrong."

Accusation of plagiarism

On April 4, 2017,

BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...

and ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...

'' ran articles highlighting similar language occurring in ''The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia'' and an earlier law review article by Abigail Lawlis Kuzma,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

's deputy

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

. Academic experts contacted by ''Politico'' "differed in their assessment of what Gorsuch did, ranging from calling it a clear impropriety to mere sloppiness."Bryan Logan (April 4, 2016
Neil Gorsuch is accused of plagiarism amid a heated Supreme Court confirmation fight
businessinsider.com; accessed April 15, 2017. Gorsuch's advisor at Oxford, John Finnis, stated, "The allegation is entirely without foundation. The book is meticulous in its citation of primary sources. The allegation that the book is guilty of plagiarism because it does not cite secondary sources which draw on those same primary sources is, frankly, absurd." Kuzma stated, "I have reviewed both passages and do not see an issue here, even though the language is similar. These passages are factual, not analytical in nature, framing both the technical legal and medical circumstances of the ' Baby/Infant Doe' case that occurred in 1982." Noah Feldman, a Harvard Law professor, thought that Gorsuch had committed "minor plagiarism" that deserved "no more punishment than the embarrassment attendant on its revelation."

References

External links

Full text of "The right to receive assistance in suicide and euthanasia, with particular reference to the law of the United States"
(Doctoral dissertation), Oxford Research Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia, The 2006 non-fiction books Assisted suicide Books about suicide Euthanasia law Books involved in plagiarism controversies Princeton University Press books

Contents

Accusation of plagiarism

See also

References

External links