Final Wishes

Paul Chamberlain has certainly provided us with an engaging and instructive volume on euthanasia. Couched in a fictional narrative, Chamberlain's plot walks us throught the relational, philosophical, medicinal, and legal dynamics of euthanasia. And though the narrative is fictional, Chamberlain points the reader to some of the better literature on the subject in his endnotes. I seldom read a book cover-to-cover, but Chamberlain's narrative caught me and held me captive until I finished the book. But I must warn you, as someone still working his way through all the attendant issues (religious, social, philosophical and emotional), the first half of the book provides an emotionally swaying presentation of the case for physician-assisted suicide. While reading it, I kept wondering "What I would do -- if I was the one dying, or if I was the one asked to help a friend die?" The second half of the book engages the many arguments in favor of euthanasia in a thoughtful, but never shallow, fashion. Here one will encounter a real struggle over suffering -- but viewed from the perspective of one informed by the facts, engaged in the drama, and influenced by sound religious, philosophical and social principles. I enthusiastically recommend this book as an introduction to the subject by an author well-informed in all the facets of the issue. For more information, I would recommend the reader visit The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity (www.cbhd.org).

Dr. Chamberlain plunges us into an ethical dilemma that is hotly debated around the country today. Physician assisted suicide has been considered in many states and legalized in Oregon. This book takes us to a probable state senatorial debate where the arguments for and against physician assisted suicide are presented. The debate boils in the senate while two friends, Dr. Ron and Dr. Pat, meet. Patrick is dying and Ron has to decide if he should assist in his friend's death. The reader's eyes are opened by a trip through a palliative care ward. The debate in the Senate shows how an issue can be molded and sculpted to look attractive. The author's credentials may help one to see which way the decision must go but in all fairness I leave the answer to the reader. The bigger question is how we are affected by the tale and what would we do?