historyofeuthanasia.ppt

8/14/2019 historyofeuthanasia.ppt

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History of Euthanasia


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The Hippocratic Oath

" I w i l l g iv e no deadlym edic ine to any o ne i fask ed, no r su gg es t anysuch counse l"

The Hippocratic Oath by the"Father of Medicine, Greekphysician Hippocrates, about 400B.C.
http://www.euthanasia.com/oathtext.html


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The Hippocratic Oath (c400 BC)I SWEAR by Apollo the physician and AEsculapius, and Health, and All-heal, and allthe gods and goddesses, that, according to my ability and judgment, I will keep thisOath and this stipulation -- to reckon him who taught me this Art equally dear to meas my parents, to share my substance with him, and relieve his necessities ifrequired; to look upon his offspring in the same footing as my own brothers, and toteach them this art, if they shall wish to learn it, without fee or stipulation; and that byprecept, lecture, and every other mode of instruction, I will impart a knowledge of the

Art to my own sons, and those of my teachers, and to disciples bound by a stipulation

and oath according to the law of medicine, but to none others. I will follow that systemof regimen which, according to my ability and judgement, I consider for the benefit ofmy patients, and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous. I will give nodeadly medicine to any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; and in likemanner I will not give to a woman a pessary to produce abortion. With purity and withholiness I will pass my life and practice my Art. I will not cut persons labouring underthe stone, but will leave this to be done by men who are practitioners of this work.Into whatever houses I enter, I will go into them for the benefit of the sick, and willabstain from every voluntary act of mischief and corruption; and, further, from theseduction of females or males, of freemen and slaves. Whatever, in connection withmy professional service, or not in connection with it, I see or hear, in the life of men,which ought not to be spoken of abroad, I will not divulge, as reckoning that all suchshould be kept secret. While I continue to keep this Oath unviolated, may it begranted to me to enjoy life and the practice of the art, respected by all men, in alltimes. But should I trespass and violate this Oath, may the reverse be my lot.

Source: "Harvard Classics Volume 38" Copyright 1910 by P.F. Collier and Son. Thebold print is added by our website. Bold print added.


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14th through 20th Century English

Common Law

"More specifically, for over 700 years, the

Anglo American common law tradition has punished or otherwise disapproved of bothsuicide and assisting suicide."

Excerpt from the U. S. Supreme Court ruling in the1997 Washington v. Glucksberg - opinion written byChief Justice Rehnquist.


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19th Century United States That suicide remained a grievous, though nonfelonious, wrong is confirmed by the fact thatcolonial and early state legislatures and courts did not retreat from prohibiting assisting suicide.Swift, in his early 19th century treatise on the laws of Connecticut, stated that "[i]f one counselsanother to commit suicide, and the other by reason of the advice kills himself, the advisor isguilty of murder as principal ." 2 Z. Swift, A Digest of the Laws of the State of Connecticut 270(1823). This was the well established common law view, see In re Joseph G., 34 Cal. 3d 429,

434-435, 667 P. 2d 1176, 1179 (1983); Commonwealth v. Mink, 123 Mass. 422, 428 (1877)("`Now if the murder of one's self is felony, the accessory is equally guilty as if he had aided andabetted in the murder'") (quoting Chief Justice Parker's charge to the jury in Commonwealth v.Bowen, 13 Mass. 356 (1816)), as was the similar principle that the consent of a homicide victimis "wholly immaterial to the guilt of the person who cause[d] [his death]," 3 J. Stephen, A Historyof the Criminal Law of England 16 (1883); see 1 F. Wharton, Criminal Law 451-452 (9th ed.1885); Martin v. Commonwealth, 184 Va. 1009, 1018-1019, 37 S. E. 2d 43, 47 (1946) (" `Theright to life and to personal security is not only sacred in the estimation of the common law, but itis inalienable' "). And the prohibitions against assisting suicide never contained exceptions forthose who were near death. Rather, "[t]he life of those to whom life ha[d] become a burden--ofthose who [were] hopelessly diseased or fatally wounded--nay, even the lives of criminalscondemned to death, [were] under the protection of law, equally as the lives of those who [were]in the full tide of life's enjoyment, and anxious to continue to live." Blackburn v. State, 23 OhioSt. 146, 163 (1872); see Bowen, supra, at 360 (prisoner who persuaded another to commitsuicide could be tried for murder, even though victim was scheduled shortly to be executed).

Excerpt from the U. S. Supreme Court ruling in the 1997 Washington v. Glucksberg -opinion written by Chief Justice Rehnquist. Color print added.


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Earliest American Statute Explicitly

to Outlaw Assisting Suicide (1828)The earliest American statute explicitly to outlawassisting suicide was enacted in New York in 1828, Actof Dec. 10, 1828, ch. 20, 4, 1828 N. Y. Laws 19(codified at 2 N. Y. Rev. Stat. pt. 4, ch. 1, tit. 2, art. 1, 7,

p. 661 (1829)), and many of the new States andTerritories followed New York's example. Marzen 73-74.Between 1857 and 1865, a New York commission led byDudley Field drafted a criminal code that prohibited"aiding" a suicide and, specifically, "furnish[ing] another

person with any deadly weapon or poisonous drug,knowing that such person intends to use such weapon ordrug in taking his own life." Id., at 76-77.

Excerpt is from the U. S. Supreme Court ruling in the 1997 Washington v.Glucksberg - opinion written by Chief Justice Rehnquist.


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The Book Perm i t ting the Des t ru c t ion

of L i fe no t Wor thy o f L i fe Published(1920)

In this book, authors Alfred Hoche, M.D., aprofessor of psychiatry at the University of Freiburg,and Karl Binding, a professor of law from theUniversity of Leipzig, argued that patients who askfor "death assistance" should, under very carefully

controlled conditions, be able to obtain it from aphysician. This book helped support involuntaryeuthanasia by Nazi Germany.


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The Euthanasia Society of England(1935)

In 1935 theEuthanasia Societyof England wasformed to promoteeuthanasia.


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Nazi Germany (1939) "In October of 1939 amid the turmoil of the outbreak of war Hitlerordered widespread "mercy killing" of the sick and disabled. Codenamed "Aktion T 4," the Nazi euthanasia program to eliminate "lifeunworthy of life" at first focused on newborns and very young children.Midwives and doctors were required to register children up to agethree who showed symptoms of mental retardation, physical deformity,or other symptoms included on a questionnaire from the Reich HealthMinistry.""The Nazi euthanasia program quickly expanded to include olderdisabled children and adults. Hitler's decree of October, 1939, typedon his personal stationery and back dated to Sept. 1, enlarged 'theauthority of certain physicians to be designated by name in suchmanner that persons who, according to human judgment, are incurablecan, upon a most careful diagnosis of their condition of sickness, beaccorded a mercy death.'"

From "The History Place" website:http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/euthanasia.htm


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Australia's Northern TerritoryEuthanasia Bill (1995)

Australia's NorthernTerritoryseuthanasia bill wentinto effect in 1996 andwas overturned by the

Australian Parliamentin 1997.


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20th Century United States Though deeply rooted, the States' assisted suicide bans have in recentyears been reexamined and, generally, reaffirmed. Because of advances inmedicine and technology, Americans today are increasingly likely to die ininstitutions, from chronic illnesses. President's Comm'n for the Study ofEthical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research,Deciding to Forego Life Sustaining Treatment 16-18 (1983). Public concernand democratic action are therefore sharply focused on how best to protectdignity and independence at the end of life, with the result that there havebeen many significant changes in state laws and in the attitudes these lawsreflect. Many States, for example, now permit "living wills," surrogate healthcare decisionmaking, and the withdrawal or refusal of life sustaining medicaltreatment. See Vacco v. Quill, post, at 9-11; 79 F. 3d, at 818-820; People v.Kevorkian, 447 Mich. 436, 478-480, and nn. 53-56, 527 N. W. 2d 714, 731-732, and nn. 53-56 (1994). At the same time, however, voters andlegislators continue for the most part to reaffirm their States' prohibitions onassisting suicide.

Excerpt is from the U. S. Supreme Court ruling in the 1997 Washington v. Glucksberg - opinionwritten by Chief Justice Rehnquist.


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Oregon Assisted Suicide(1998)

The U.S. state of Oregonlegalizes assisted suicidein 1998.

It is the only US state to doso.


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Kevorkian Sentenced to Prison

(1999)In 1999, pathologist Dr. JackKevorkian was sentenced to a10-25 year prison term forgiving a lethal injection toThomas Youk whose deathwas shown on the 60 Minutes television program.


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Netherlands Legalizes Euthanasia

(2000)

In 2000, theNetherlandsbecame the firstcountry in theworld to legalize

euthanasia.


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