 South
Australian Voluntary Euthanasia Society (SAVES)
The VE Bulletin Excerpts
'No
price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself' Rudyard
Kipling
Vol 19: No 2 July 2002
SAVES Library: new acquisition: Angels of Death Roger Magnusson
The following publication
raises important and disturbing issues, which highlight the need for law
reform for voluntary euthanasia.
Public debate concerning euthanasia often focuses on the sanctity of life
on the one hand and patients' rights on the other. This process belies the
complexity of euthanasia, and the significance of the motivations and attitudes
of those involved in it. It also ignores the way in which we individually
and collectively think about death, grief and suffering.
Roger Magnusson has written an extraordinary book that opens up to the reader
the world in which decisions about dying are linked to the life narrative
of all involved in them - be they patients, nurses, community workers, relatives
or doctors. Magnusson constructs his narrative through interviewing members
of the 'euthanasia underground', an informal network sometimes known as the
"Angels of Death". He says that he began his study with no fixed views concerning
euthanasia, and this is a credible claim, given that the stories that emerge
could be used to bolster either side of the debate.
More importantly, however, his work makes us question certain key ethical
assumptions, particularly in relation to the nature of autonomy, its relationship
to the kinds of choices that people should have, and the nature of the doctor-patient
relationship. The assurance of a well-funded public health-care system, in
which excellent care is available to all dying patients and their families,
would go a long way towards addressing the concerns of anti-euthanasia advocates
who fear that some people will feel pressured to end their lives to avoid
being a burden.
Whether or not the end of life is voluntary, Magnusson's work reminds us
of the daily tragedy of loss, suffering and bereavement. 'Angels of Death'
shows us that while it may be desirable to legalise euthanasia, it should
not be celebrated. Significantly, the last entry in the index is "weeping".
Reproduced and edited with the kind permission
of 'The Age' newspaper and Deborah Zion, author of 'Into that good night',
a review of Professor Magnusson's book, published in 'The Age' 16 Feb 2002
Deborah Zion is the ethics coordinator at Monash Medical School, and co-edits the Monash Bioethics Review.
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