Includes bibliographical references (p. [285]-301) and index.

1. Introduction -- 2. The Glucksberg and quill controversies : the judiciary's (non)resolution of the assisted suicide debate -- 2.1. The Washington due process litigation -- 2.2. The New York equal protection litigation -- 2.3. The final battle? : the Supreme Court does (and does not) decide -- 2.4. The aftermath of Glucksberg and Quill -- 3. The debate over history -- 3.1. Which history? -- 3.2. The project -- 3.3. The ancients -- 3.4. Early Christian history -- 3.5. English common law -- 3.6. Colonial American experience -- 3.7. The modern consensus on suicide and its assistance -- 3.8. The euthanasia movement -- 3.9. Prevailing law today -- 3.10. Conclusion -- 4. Arguments from fairness and equal protection : if a right to refuse, then a right to assisted suicide? -- 4.1. An act /omission distinction? -- 4.2. A causation-based distinction? -- 4.3. Toward an intent-based distinction : the insight of the double effect principle -- 4.4. Some (initial) arguments against double effect : conflating intent and foresight -- 4.5. Distinguishing suicide, assisted suicide, and euthanasia from the right to refuse : intending versus foreseeing death -- 4.6. Some (additional) criticisms of double effect as applied to the assisted suicide debate -- 4.7. Conclusion --

5. Casey and Cruzan : do they intimate a right to assisted suicide and euthanasia? -- 5.1. The "reasoned judgment" test and its critics -- 5.2. Casey-based arguments -- 5.3. Cruzan-based arguments -- 5.4. Conclusion -- 6. Autonomy theory's implications for the debate over assisted suicide and euthanasia -- 6.1. The autonomy debate -- 6.2. The neutralist view of autonomy -- 6.3. The harm principle's competing view -- 6.4. Perfectionism and autonomy -- 6.5. The implications of autonomy theory for the assisted suicide and euthanasia debate -- 7. Legalization and the law of unintended consequences : utilitarian arguments for legalization -- 7.1. The Dutch experience : "virtually abuse-free"? -- 7.2. The Oregon experience : an "all-too conscientious" statutory regime? -- 7.3. Legalization and other unintended consequences -- 7.4. Decriminalization as a "costless" enterprise? -- 7.5. How to "balance" the costs and benefits of legalization? -- 7.6. Conclusion --

8. Two test cases : Posner and Epstein -- 8.1. Posner's utilitarian case for assisted suicide -- 8.2. Posner's and Epstein's libertarian case for assisted suicide -- 9. An argument against legalization -- 9.1. The Inviolability of human life -- 9.2. What does it mean to respect human life as a basic good? -- 9.3. Some objections -- 9.4. The future of the Oregon experiment? -- 10. Toward a consistent end-of-life ethic : the "right to refuse" care for competent and incompetent patients -- 10.1. The inviolability of life and the "right to refuse" for competent persons -- 10.2. The "right to refuse" and infant patients -- 10.3. The "right to refuse" and incompetent adult patients -- 10.4. Conclusions -- Epilogue -- Appendix A. Certain American statutory laws banning or disapproving of assisted suicide -- Appendix B. Statistical calculations.

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