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AN
ORGANIZED CATALOG OF PROPOSED SAFEGUARDS
This
section of our website lists about 30 proposed safeguards
with
their discussion—pro
and con.
We expect this to become the largest part of our website.
Since the
following list of safeguards might seem overwhelming,
we should remind ourselves that only some of these proposed
safeguards
will be required by any law that includes safeguards.
And if a law merely suggests possible safeguards,
this will allow the people who are planning a voluntary death or a
merciful death
to choose the most appropriate safeguards for their specific situation.
Also some safeguards would be incompatible with others on this list.
Thus, even in the use of safeguards, choices must be made.
Which of the following proposed safeguards
would create the greatest
benefits while imposing the lightest burdens?
The original formulations of these proposed
safeguards was created by James Park.
Many were originally published in a small book called Ten Safeguards for
Life-Ending Decisions.
These safeguards have been modified and expanded by the author for this
website.
Additional safeguards may be suggested by anyone in the world.
Safeguards formulated by other authors will be so credited. So,
unless otherwise indicated, these safeguards have been written by James
Park.
All safeguards are open to re-formulation.
Suggestions for improvements are welcome.
Even the name of each safeguard might be improved.
When suggestions cannot be reasonable incorporated into the original
formulation,
links will be provided to alternative formulations,
which will be credited to their authors.
Links will eventually be created from the bottom of
each safeguard.
These links will discuss the pros and cons of each safeguard.
What benefits will be assured by this safeguard?
What new problems will be created by this safeguard?
There might also be links to the legal formulations
of each safeguard in particular state and national laws.
However, most laws and proposed laws do not explain the safeguards.
Rather they depend on brief definitions and short phrases.
Thus, these extended explanations of the safeguards
might become parts of the debates about safeguards for life-ending
decisions.
As a beginning, here is a listing of some existing laws and proposed
laws
with links to the safeguards they use: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/SG-LAWS.html
And where safeguards are already operating,
we will benefit from reports of how well (or how poorly)
each specific safeguard has worked in practice.
Other articles discussing the use of safeguards for
life-ending decisions
can also be linked from here.
Please write such articles and/or suggest links for articles already on
the Internet.
Examples of such articles might be:
What safeguards did Jack Kevorkian use?
The best ways to incorporate safeguards into state and national laws.
How would particular safeguards have changed famous cases in the
right-to-die?
SAFEGUARDS TO BE FULFILLED BY
PHYSICIANS
AND OTHER PROFESSIONAL CONSULTANTS
This is a collection
of the objections and challenges raised
by opponents of the right-to-die. Each
worry about mistakes and abuses is
linked to the specific safeguards
above,
which would best prevent those dangers and avoid those perils.