Must We Suffer Our Way to Death?: Cultural and Theological Perspectives on Death by Choice

The first contemporary study of assisted death to integrate insights from ethics, theology, philosophy, medicine, law, and sociology, this book provides a broad framework within which to weigh arguments for and against the practices of assisted suicide and euthanasia as public policy in the United States.

This collection of essays balances analysis of the cultural factors driving an increased interest in assisted death in Part One with intense, personal responses from mainline Judeo-Christian theologians in Part Two.

The multidisciplinary authors in Part One wrestle with the legitimate ends and limits of medicine and the appropriate role of law, philosophy, and theology in forming public policy in a pluralistic society. In response, the theologians in Part Two struggle to find a balance among the religious values of justice, mercy, freedom, and responsibility in the lives of people confronted by terminal illness or intractable pain and suffering.