Is There a Duty to die?

Leading philosophers and bioethicists revisit the disturbing question raised in 1987 by Dr. Margaret Battin: Is there is "a duty to die" in order to guarantee a just cross-generational distribution of limited health care resources? The essays collected here-including a new article by Dr. Battin-discuss the topic in-depth, providing a critical review of the literature and many new arguments. The debate includes not only those who support such a "duty" and those who say such a "duty" cannot be denied, but also those who doubt such a "duty to die" exists or question whether-if it did exist- it could be implemented without severe problems. Is There a Duty to Die? offers a balanced discussion across a wide range of opinions on the meaning of "duty to die," examining every sort of argument for and against the idea. Medical ethicists, and those concerned with end-of-life care, including the hospice community, hospitals, lawyers, legislators, jurists, public-policy makers, and religious leaders, will find it essential reading.Although a legal and moral right to privacy is generally recognized in society, there is no agreement regarding how these rights should apply to medical information. In Privacy and Health Care, leading ethical, medical, legal, and philosophical thinkers debate the conflicting moral and legal demands for maintaining the privacy of health care records in an age of easy computer access to those records and growing pressure by insurance companies, public health agencies, and employers for personal health care data. The essays by Boleyn-Fitzgerald, Margo Goldman, and Bill Allen & Ray Moseley favor restrictions being placed upon access to medical information, whereas the chapters by David Korn and Mark Meany argue for the opposing view. An introductory article by Charity Scott delineates the principal legal and ethical issues on the general topic of medical privacy.§Interdisciplinary and enlightening, Privacy and Health Care presents the latest moral and legal thinking for and against greater protection of the privacy of health care information, and advances this important issue to a new level of clarity and decision.