Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Medical Ethics logoLink to Journal of Medical Ethics
. 1998 Oct;24(5):341–344. doi: 10.1136/jme.24.5.341

Pulling up the runaway: the effect of new evidence on euthanasia's slippery slope.

C J Ryan 1
PMCID: PMC1377611  PMID: 9800591

Abstract

The slippery slope argument has been the mainstay of many of those opposed to the legalisation of physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. In this paper I re-examine the slippery slope in the light of two recent studies that examined the prevalence of medical decisions concerning the end of life in the Netherlands and in Australia. I argue that these two studies have robbed the slippery slope of the source of its power--its intuitive obviousness. Finally I propose that, contrary to the warnings of the slippery slope, the available evidence suggests that the legalisation of physician-assisted suicide might actually decrease the prevalence of non-voluntary and involuntary euthanasia.

Full text

PDF
341

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Angell M. The Supreme Court and physician-assisted suicide--the ultimate right. N Engl J Med. 1997 Jan 2;336(1):50–53. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199701023360108. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Burgess J. A. The great slippery-slope argument. J Med Ethics. 1993 Sep;19(3):169–174. doi: 10.1136/jme.19.3.169. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Hendin H., Klerman G. Physician-assisted suicide: the dangers of legalization. Am J Psychiatry. 1993 Jan;150(1):143–145. doi: 10.1176/ajp.150.1.143. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Jochemsen H. Euthanasia in Holland: an ethical critique of the new law. J Med Ethics. 1994 Dec;20(4):212–217. doi: 10.1136/jme.20.4.212. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Kuhse H., Singer P., Baume P., Clark M., Rickard M. End-of-life decisions in Australian medical practice. Med J Aust. 1997 Feb 17;166(4):191–196. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Nowak Rachel. The Dutch way of death. New Sci. 1992 Jun 20;134(1826):28–30. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Ogilvie A. D., Potts S. G. Assisted suicide for depression: the slippery slope in action? BMJ. 1994 Aug 20;309(6953):492–493. doi: 10.1136/bmj.309.6953.492. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Ognall Harry. A right to die? Some medico-legal reflection. Med Leg J. 1994;62(Pt 4):165–179. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Pijnenborg L., van der Maas P. J., van Delden J. J., Looman C. W. Life-terminating acts without explicit request of patient. Lancet. 1993 May 8;341(8854):1196–1199. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(93)91014-d. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Pollard B. J. Medical aspects of euthanasia. Med J Aust. 1991 May 6;154(9):613–616. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Pollard B., Winton R. Why doctors and nurses must not kill patients. Med J Aust. 1993 Mar 15;158(6):426–429. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1993.tb121843.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Reichel W., Dyck A. J. Euthanasia: a contemporary moral quandary. Lancet. 1989 Dec 2;2(8675):1321–1323. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(89)91921-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Roberts J., Kjellstrand C. Jack Kevorkian: a medical hero. BMJ. 1996 Jun 8;312(7044):1434–1434. doi: 10.1136/bmj.312.7044.1434. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Ryan C. J., Kaye M. Euthanasia in Australia--the Northern Territory Rights of the Terminally Ill Act. N Engl J Med. 1996 Feb 1;334(5):326–328. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199602013340512. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Ryan C. J. Velcro on the slippery slope: the role of psychiatry in active voluntary euthanasia. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 1995 Dec;29(4):580–585. doi: 10.3109/00048679509064970. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Twycross R. G. Assisted death: a reply. Lancet. 1990 Sep 29;336(8718):796–798. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(90)93253-l. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Van Der Maas P. J., Van Delden J. J., Pijnenborg L., Looman C. W. Euthanasia and other medical decisions concerning the end of life. Lancet. 1991 Sep 14;338(8768):669–674. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(91)91241-l. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Weber W. M. What right to die? Suicide Life Threat Behav. 1988 Summer;18(2):181–196. doi: 10.1111/j.1943-278x.1988.tb00152.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. van der Maas P. J., van der Wal G., Haverkate I., de Graaff C. L., Kester J. G., Onwuteaka-Philipsen B. D., van der Heide A., Bosma J. M., Willems D. L. Euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, and other medical practices involving the end of life in the Netherlands, 1990-1995. N Engl J Med. 1996 Nov 28;335(22):1699–1705. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199611283352227. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Medical Ethics are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES