In briefBook The right to die in the USA

摘要

William Colby, the attorney who represented the family of Nancy Cruzan in the first right-to-die case heard by the US Supreme Court, has written a timely, comprehensive book exploring the legal, medical, and ethical questions surrounding this complex issue. Although he's written about these concerns before, it's the media frenzy and contentious debate surrounding the case of Terri Schiavo that was the obvious impetus for Unplugged: Reclaiming Our Right to Die in America,In a surprisingly personal narrative voice, Colby begins with a detailed recounting of the facts of Schiavo's case, from her initial collapse and subsequent failures to resuscitate, to the diagnosis of persistent vegetative state. Perhaps even more dispiriting is the deterioration of the initially loving relationship between Schiavo's husband and her parents, which resulted in lawsuits, politically motivated debates in Congress, and shameless fear-mongering by various special-interest groups.