Inalienable rights : the limits of consent in medicine and the law / Terrance McConnell.

Contents 1. The Nature of Inalienable Rights -- 2. The Moral Foundations of Inalienable Rights -- 3. The Inalienable Right of Conscience: A Madisonian/Jeffersonian Argument -- 4. The Right of Informed Consent and Inalienability -- 5. The Inalienable Right to Life and Its Implications for Voluntary Euthanasia -- 6. Assisted Suicide and the Inalienable Right to Life -- 7. Human Organs and Inalienability -- 8. Concluding Remarks.
Review "Terrance McConnell lays out an accessible explanation of inalienable rights and how they restrict the behavior of their possessors. Taking a cue from Madison and Jefferson, McConnell contends that the right of conscience is inalienable, and despite appearances does not wreak havoc with the idea of political obligations. He develops a compelling argument to support the inalienability of a competent person's right not to have medical treatment administered without consent. Looking at the practical impact of his claim, he demonstrates that while a health care professional's duty to provide a patient with information about the recommended treatment can be suspended at a patient's request, the duty to obtain consent cannot be so suspended.
Summary McConnell also shows that the right to life is inalienable because the consent of the possessor alone does not justify killing. Yet, surprisingly, he argues that the inalienability of the right to life does entail that voluntary euthanasia or assisted suicide are wrong." "This defense of inalienable rights will appeal to medical ethicists and other applied ethicists, political theorists, and philosophers of law."--Jacket
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references (pages 157-165) and index.
LCCN 99041540
ISBN0195134621 (cloth ; acid-free paper)
ISBN9780195134629 (cloth ; acid-free paper)
Standard identifier# 9780195134629

Availability

Library Location Call Number Status Item Actions
Joyner General Stacks KF3827.I5 M39 2000 ✔ Available Place Hold