Causing Death for Compassionate Reasons in American Law

37 Pages Posted: 24 Mar 2006

See all articles by Richard S. Kay

Richard S. Kay

University of Connecticut School of Law

Abstract

This essay, a revised version of the United States report on Euthanasia to be presented at the XVII International Congress of Comparative Law, surveys the state of the law, both decisional and statutory, on the permissibility of compassionately motivated actions to terminate human life. It deals with a range of legal categories: suicide, attempted suicide, euthanasia, assisted suicide and the termination of life-sustaining treatment. It highlights the deeply ambivalent attitudes held toward these actions in contemporary America and how this ambivalence has resulted in obscure and artificial distinctions.

Keywords: euthanasia, suicide, assisted suicide, end-of-life decisions

JEL Classification: I18, K14, K19

Suggested Citation

Kay, Richard S, Causing Death for Compassionate Reasons in American Law. American Journal of Comparative Law (Supplement), Vol. 53, 2006, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=890207

Richard S Kay (Contact Author)

University of Connecticut School of Law ( email )

65 Elizabeth Street
Hartford, CT 06105
United States
860-570-5262 (Phone)

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