The following sources do not necessarily reflect the Center's position and, likewise, may or may not be consistent with a biblical worldview. These sources, however, are excellent resources for familiarizing oneself with the all sides of the issue.

Blocher, Mark. The Right to Die? Caring Alternatives to Euthanasia. Chicago: Moody, 1999.

Though the "death with dignity" movement is often promoted in the name of compassion and mercy, it never constitutes true care. Drawing upon his experience as a pastor and bioethicist, the author asserts that human dignity can be nurtured and respected in the face of mortality, rather than being diminished and abandoned via the hastening of death. Readers are encouraged to actively convey genuine love and support to those who are terminally ill and to promote alternatives to assisted suicide and euthanasia.

Demy, Timothy J., and Gary P. Steward. Suicide: A Christian Response; Crucial Considerations for Choosing Life. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1998.

Offering legal, medical, theological, biblical, pastoral, and personal reflections on suicide, physician-assisted suicide, and euthanasia, this book consists of a collection of essays authored by professionals from various backgrounds who hold in common the belief that the intentional termination of human life runs counter to the upholding of human dignity. The contributors assert that such termination never constitutes an act of care, despite the claims of those who argue that it should be a legally recognized option for those experiencing great suffering. Rather than providing a solution to human suffering, the manner in which our society defines compassion and increasingly esteems personal autonomy may likely lead us even deeper into isolation, anguish, and despair.

Fieger, Geoffrey, and Edmund Pellegrino. A Public Debate on Legalizing Physician-assisted Suicide. Audio or Video. Deerfield, IL: The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity, 1995.

Using primarily non-religious arguments, renowned Christian physician Edmund Pellegrino of Georgetown University debates Geoffrey Fieger, former lead attorney for assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian.

Hendin, Herbert. Seduced by Death: Doctors, Patients, and the Dutch Cure. New York: W.W. Norton, 1997.

A psychiatrist and world-famous authority on suicide offers a persuasive argument against legalizing assisted suicide in the United States. Few issues set off such impassioned debate as euthanasia and assisted suicide, but until now, no one has shown what their practice means in the actual experience of patients, doctors, and families. Herbert Hendin has studied such experience in the United States and also in the Netherlands, where assisted suicide and euthanasia are accepted. Using interviews with leading medical and legal architects of Dutch practices, and evaluating actual cases, Dr. Hendin addresses the difficult questions: Who actually makes the decision that a patient will die? How do the needs and character of family, friends, and doctors affect the choice? Throughout the book and in his conclusion, Dr. Hendin shows what we can do to find better options for those facing the final phase of life.

__________. Suicide in America. New York: W.W. Norton, 1996.

Herbert Hendin's authoritative book addresses the often overlooked psychosocial aspects of suicide--for example, the dramatic increase in suicide among children and adolescents in the United States, due almost solely to the wider availability of guns. He argues that suicide must be (and often is not) discussed in a broad policy context that considers treatment for depression, pain control, and end-of-life options such as hospice care. In this new and expanded edition, now available in paperback, he evaluates current issues in the right-to-die movement, and in a comprehensive new chapter he presents a powerful--and unsettling--portrait of euthanasia and assisted suicide in the Netherlands.

Kilner, John F., Arlene B. Miller, and Edmund D. Pellegrino, eds. Dignity and Dying: A Christian Appraisal. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996.

Written from the perspective of physicians, nurses, ethicists, and pastors, this book develops a Christian framework for dealing with issues at the end of life. The book considers from a biblical perspective the notion of autonomy, the meaning of suffering, decisions about treatment, and the debate over assisted suicide and euthanasia. A helpful resource for those wishing to truly uphold human dignity in the midst of dying, this collection of essays offers a guiding vision, consideration of pressing challenges, commentary on particular geographical and historical settings, and an outline of constructive alternatives for those who are engaged in end-of-life issues from either a personal or professional standpoint.

Kilner, John F. Life on the Line: Ethics, Aging, Ending Patients Lives and Allocating Vital Resources. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992.

This book provides both a general biblical approach for addressing bioethical questions and an application of that approach to key end-of-life issues. The general approach explains what it means for Christian bioethics to be God-centered, reality-bounded, and love-impelled. The end-of-life section explores such crucial issues as suffering, death, suicide and assisted suicide, and the distinction between relieving pain and ending life. The book concludes by examining the connection between the scarcity of medical resources and the move toward euthanasia.

Larson, Edward J., and Darrel W. Amundsen. A Different Death: Euthanasia and the Christian Tradition. Downers Grove: IVP, 1998.

Based on the recognition that much of the current rhetoric on physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia is lacking in appeal to historical precedent, this book reviews the history of euthanasia within Christendom. Noting the relevance of Christian attitudes toward suicide to the current discussion of active, voluntary euthanasia, the authors reflect on incidences of and attitudes toward suicide from early Christianity into the modern period. The book concludes by offering a framework from which Christians can successfully engage the present-day debate over euthanasia.

Marker, Rita. Deadly Compassion. New York: Avon, 1995.

When Ann Humphry, estranged wife of Derek Humphry (executive director of the Hemlock Society and author of the bestselling Final Exit), committed suicide in 1991, her farewell note asked Marker, an articulate and prominent spokesperson for antieuthanasia forces, to tell her story. This book is the result. The two women became friends in 1989, after Ann, who had lost both her husband and her job when she was stricken with breast cancer, called Marker for help. The breakup of the Humphry marriage was a messy one, involving public statements, lawsuits, and fighting within the Hemlock Society. Marker defends her friend loyally and tells Ann's side of the story convincingly. As cofounders of the Hemlock Society, the Humphrys were well-known leaders of the right-to-die crusade, but Ann's private feelings about euthanasia changed after her participation in her own parents' deaths. She came to see mercy killing not as a compassionate solution to suffering but as a "deadly deception" that leads only to more suffering. This view is shared by Marker, who uses Ann's story to trace the recent history of euthanasia and to argue forcefully against it. She fears that the right to die can easily become pressure to die, and she warns that giving physicians "license to kill" is a grave mistake. The statistics she cites on physician-induced deaths in the Netherlands--often regarded as a model by euthanasia advocates--are disturbing (e.g., that one thousand patients die each year from "involuntary euthanasia," that is, without giving their consent to die). Marker advocates "always to care, never to kill," and she includes a condensation of a declaration on that theme by an ecumenical group of theologians and philosophers. Both a warm tribute to a lost friend and a cool argument by an experienced opponent of euthanasia--although it leaves many difficult questions unanswered.

Smith, Wesley J. Forced Exit: The Slippery Slope from Assisted Suicide to Murder. New York: Times, 1997.

This book convincingly dispels the popular claim that assisted suicide, if legalized, would remain a voluntary option available only to patients who are experiencing intractable pain and for whom death is imminent. Drawing upon extensive research, historical analyses, patients' stories, and interviews with doctors, ethicists, and activists, the author exposes the common deceptions which characterize this debate and asserts that the legalization of assisted suicide would undoubtedly lead to the deaths of patients against their wishes. He argues that the sanctioning of assisted suicide and euthanasia would lead to devastating consequences for society's most vulnerable and endorses the alternatives of hospice and palliative care as truly compassionate measures.

Stewart, Gary P., William R. Cutrer, Timothy J. Demy, Dónal P. O’Mathúna, Paige C. Cunningham, John F. Kilner, and Linda K. Bevington. Basic Questions on End of Life Decisions: How Do We Know What's Right? Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1998.

Everyone must die eventually, but is death a natural event? Should we look forward to death if we know we'll be in heaven? What exactly is hospice care, and how is it helpful? Do I have a right to refuse medical treatment? This booklet is perfect for answering these and twenty-five other questions about end-of-life decisions, whether you or a loved one are facing difficult issues, or you would just like to learn more about how to prepare for the inevitable.

__________. Basic Questions on Suicide and Euthanasia: Are They Ever Right? Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1998.

Many in our society champion suicide, assisted suicide, and euthanasia as acceptable answers to physical and emotional problems. There are alternatives to this contemporary "culture of death," however, that uphold the sanctity of human life and that seek to meet the problems of fear, pain, and despair with compassion and dignity. This lay-level booklet answers commonly asked questions such as: "How does the medical profession view the various forms of euthanasia?", "Would legalizing assisted suicide justify it morally?", and "How should I respond to someone close to me who has lost a loved one through suicide or physician-assisted suicide?"

Updated April 2009