1997) 44(5) NY Rev of Books 41 Assisted Suicide: The Philosophers' Brief By Ronald Dworkin, Thomas Nagel, Robert Nozick, John Rawls, T.M. Scanlon, Judith Jarvis Thomson Later this year the Supreme Court will decide two cases posing the question whether dying patients have a right to choose death rather than continued pain and suffering.We print here the brief filed as amicus curiae in these cases by the group of six moral philosophers listed above, with an introduction by Ronald Dworkin.
Although it comes to us all, most of us would rather not think about death. But in Oregon they have - and for more than 10 years, assisted suicides have been legal there. Katharine Whitehorn visits the US state that believes in death with dignity.