Assisted suicide as a remedy for suffering? The end-of-life preferences of British "suicide tourists"

Richards, N. (2017) Assisted suicide as a remedy for suffering? The end-of-life preferences of British "suicide tourists". Medical Anthropology, 36(4), pp. 348-362. (doi: 10.1080/01459740.2016.1255610) (PMID:27845576)

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Abstract

The highly charged debate about the moral status of assisted suicide features regularly in the news media in medically advanced countries. In the United Kingdom, the debate has been dominated in recent years by a new mode of death: assisted suicide in Switzerland, so-called suicide tourism. Drawing on in-depth interviews with people who were actively planning on ‘going to Switzerland,’ alongside participant-observation at a do-it-yourself self-deliverance workshop, I discuss how participants arrived at their decision to seek professionalized assistance. In doing so, I explore the constituent elements of people’s suffering, examining how participants justified, rationalized, or sought authentication from a doctor for their decision to die in light of their own belief systems and aesthetic preferences for a good death.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:This research was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council [ES/J004618/1, PTA-031-2005-00228].
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Richards, Dr Naomi
Authors: Richards, N.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Social & Environmental Sustainability
Journal Name:Medical Anthropology
Publisher:Taylor and Francis (Routledge)
ISSN:0145-9740
ISSN (Online):1545-5882
Published Online:15 November 2016
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2016 Naomi Richards
First Published:First published in Medical Anthropology 36(4):348-362
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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