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The Modern Art of Dying: A History of Euthanasia in the United States Summary:By Shai J. Lavi
How we die reveals much about how we live. In this provocative book, Shai Lavi traces the history of euthanasia in the United States to show how changing attitudes toward death reflect new and troubling ways of experiencing pain, hope, and freedom. Lavi begins with the historical meaning of euthanasia as signifying an "easeful death." Over time, he shows, the term came to mean a death blessed by the grace of God, and later, medical hastening of death. Lavi illustrates these changes with compelling accounts of changes at the deathbed. He takes us from early nineteenth-century deathbeds governed by religion through the medicalization of death with the physician presiding over the deathbed, to the legalization of physician-assisted suicide. Unlike previous books, which have focused on law and technique as explanations for the rise of euthanasia, this book asks why law and technique have come to play such a central role in the way we die. What is at stake in the modern way of dying is not human progress, but rather a fundamental change in the way we experience life in the face of death, Lavi argues. In attempting to gain control over death, he maintains, we may unintentionally have ceded control to policy makers and bio-scientific enterprises. Summary: The Long History of "Modern Dying" Rating: 5 This book takes us back to the 18th century Methodists, to see how "the art of dying" gradually became "technique." From pastors to doctors, the control and management of dying has an extensive history, with debates over "euthanasia" and painless death going back well over 100 years, and pre-dating contemporary medical technology. The author also documents how "euthanasia" as now understood was linked to eugenics and sterilization, attempts to medicalize perceived public problems through policy shifts. This is a thoughtful contribution,excellently researched, which is also an original interpretation of current debates. Contents t Acknowledgments ix Introduction The Ethics of the Deathbed: Euthanasia from Art to Technique 1 Chapter One The Holy Craft of Dying: The Birth of the Modern Art of Dying 14 Chapter Two Medical Euthanasia: From Aiding the Dying to Hastening Death 41 Chapter Three Legalizing Euthanasia: The Role of Law and the Rule of Technique 75 Chapter Four Euthanasia as Public Policy: The Euthanasia Society of America 99 Chapter Five Lethal Dosing: Technique beyond the Law 126 Chapter Six Mercy Killing: The Limits of Technique 144 Epilogue Art and Technique, Death and Freedom 163 Appendix Mercy Killing: Case History 173 Notes 181 Bibliography 211 Index 223 Acknowledgments t This study began during my graduate studies in the Jurisprudence and Social Policy Program at the University of California, Berkeley. I would like to thank my teachers, Philippe Nonet, Kristin Luker, Thomas Laqueur, and Gil Eyal, who offered endless support and guidance on this project, from its inception to its completion. More than once, they provided the Ariadne thread that kept me on track. It is said in the Ethics of Our Fathers, “Accept a teacher upon yourself; make a friend for yourself.” In the spirit of this teaching I express special gratitude to my teacher and friend, Philippe Nonet. The Jurisprudence and Social Policy Program and its faculty created a highly stimulating intellectual environment. I would like to express deep appreciation to Malcolm Feeley, Lauren Edelman, David Lieberman, and Michael Smith. Every academic tribe has its elders. I benefited immensely from the wisdom of two: Sanford H. Kadish and Robert N. Bellah. Every book has its guardian angel. I am grateful to Meir Dan-Cohen for taking on this role. This journey would have been an extremely lonely one if not for the friends who accompanied me on the way. I enjoyed and benefited immensely from discussing my work with Roger Berkowitz, Mark Antaki, and Karl Shoemaker, who carefully read and commented on numerous drafts of this study. I also benefited greatly from fruitful discussions with Amir Banbaji, Emmanuel Ben-Zaquen, Lawrence Cohen, Marianne Constable, Scott Heil, Barry Hoffman, Marie-Andre Jacob, Tsachi Keren-Paz, Loolwa Khazoom, Eric Klinenberg, and Joshua Price. The work was completed during my first years at Tel Aviv University, where I joined my close friends and fellow travelers in the years to come: Yishai Blank and Roy Kreitner. I owe much to the continuous encouragement and advice of my colleagues at Tel Aviv University: Liora Bilsky, Jose Bruner, Hanoch Dagan, Daniel Friedmann, Sharon Hannes, and Ariel Porat. I offer deep gratitude to Menachem Mautner, who encouraged me to study abroad and who supported my work throughout. Finally, I wish to thank with no words and with more than words can convey Shy Abady, Sara Chinsky, and Hamutal Tsamir. “Where there is no flour there is no Torah.” I am grateful for the financial support I received as a Fulbright Scholar from the Fulbright Fund and the ix United States–Israel Educational Foundation and for my one-year fellowship at the Townsend Center for the Humanities at UC Berkeley. I am especially grateful for the continuous support that I received from the Jurisprudence and Social Policy Program and the Law and Society Center at UC Berkeley, which has allowed me to dedicate my time to this study. I would also like to thank my alma matter, Tel Aviv University, for supporting my studies and work. Finally, the Cegla Super Center at Tel Aviv University has kindly given me the financial support to complete the writing of this book. The archival work for this project took place at several different libraries and archives, and I take this opportunity to express my thanks to the following institutions and individuals: the UC Berkeley Library, especially the Inter-Library loan department; the GTU Library in Berkeley; the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, in particular to the head of its History of Medicine Division, Dr. Stephen Greenberg; the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.; the Library of Medicine at UCLA, especially their collection on the history of pain. I have conducted my research on the Euthanasia Society of America in its archive in Baltimore. I would like to thank Partnership for Caring and especially Karen Orloff Kaplan and Mary Meyer for allowing me to access the archive and for guiding me through it. This book would never have become possible if not for the valuable guidance and constant encouragement of my editor, Ian Malcolm, at Princeton University Press. Working with him has been an honor and a pleasure. I would also like to thank Carolyn Hollis at Princeton University Press and Molan Chun Goldstein for their invaluable assistance. This work is dedicated with love and gratitude to my parents Shmuel and Sara Lavi and to my maternal grandparents Menashe and Bilha Blatman. It was written in loving memory of my paternal grandparents Yehoshua and Bronia Levinsky. Their roots are my own, and my fruits belong to them. NEWER EBOOKSSponsored LinksThe Modern Art of Dying: A History of Euthanasia in the United States Keywordstechnique dying lavi chapter policy berkeley library tel aviv uc program social medical jurisprudence grateful benefited deathbed role express gratitude united states technique chapter mercy killing legalizing euthanasia public policy euthanasia society medical euthanasia dying chapter policy program deathbed euthanasia |
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