Death Is That Man Taking Names: Intersections of American Medicine, Law, and Culture

by Robert A. Burt

Book Overview

The American culture of death changed radically in the 1970s. For terminal illnesses, hidden decisions by physicians were rejected in favor of rational self-control by patients asserting their "right to die"--initially by refusing medical treatment and more recently by physician-assisted suicide. This new claim rested on two seemingly irrefutable propositions: first, that death can be a positive good for individuals whose suffering has become intolerable;...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520243242
• ISBN13: 9780520243248
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 221 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.8" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Extremely informative, objective and intelligent

As an ordained minister, I found that I am able to speak on a much higher level, being able to eliminate the typical reactionary responses we are typical of hearing in this country surrounding the ethics of death. Particularly, for me as it relates the the issue of abortion, has the book been a god-send. Burt has systematically outlined the historical attitudes and public mores surrounding abortion by locating the moment the controversies began. Like most things in society at-large, there are competing interests for every aspect of life. Someone always wants to be in control. I will refrain from giving away too much so that you will be as intrigued as I while reading a couple years ago.