Editorial: The Right to Refuse

摘要

Widely accepted is the concept that human beings have the right to refuse. Compelling humans to act contrary to their wishes can often be accomplished by establishing a competing wish, such as money; the wish for money overpowers their other, contrary wish. We well know that torture and other forms of coercion also are means of compelling humans to act in a manner contrary to their withes. In the extreme, this might be seen as a corollary the right to die; I might choose to suffer torture and die rather than act contrary to my wishes.