Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 246
•
Trim: 6⅜ x 9¼
978-1-4422-4213-5 • Hardback • July 2015 • $51.00 • (£39.00)
978-1-4422-4214-2 • eBook • July 2015 • $48.50 • (£37.00)
Michael DeCesare is professor and chair of the sociology department at Merrimack College. He is coeditor of New Directions in Sociology and author of A Discipline Divided.
Introduction: From Janet Adkins to Brittany Maynard
1. “A Self-Imposed Mission”: Four Decades of Lone Activism
2. “They’ll Be After Me For This”: Lighting a Movement’s Fuse
3. “A Serial Mercy Killer On Our Hands”: The Emergence of Dr. Death
4. “We’re Some Friends of Dr. Kevorkian’s”: Pushing for the Right to Die
5. “A Game of Cat and Mouse”: Kevorkian on Trial
6. “I Prefer Jail to Bail”: Forcing a Showdown
7. “Well, Sir, Consider Yourself Stopped”: A Leader’s Fall and a Movement’s Decline
Conclusion: Death with Dignity—After Kevorkian
Notes
References
For those who are interested in the right-to-die movement or the controversial figure nicknamed Doctor Death, this new book is an essential read.
— Harvard Law Review
Death on Demandis written for a general audience, but it references sociological concepts and theories that will make it useful for academic readers, too....His rhetoric analysis will also interest those who study discourse on morality and altruism, particularly his evaluation of how the framing of these issues by supporters and protesters of physician-assisted suicide has changed over time. Finally, scholars in the fields of health and politics will also find value in the attention that DeCesare gives to how states and institutions restrict and enable health and how activism and public opinion shape medical laws and practices.
— Contemporary Sociology
Death on Demand captures the important change agent that was Dr. Jack Kevorkian, whose actions caused a national examination of laws surrounding dying in America. With comprehensive treatment, DeCesare has produced a well-written and well-paced exploration of Kevorkian’s efforts and the ongoing debate in American society. He places Kevorkian and his efforts deftly in the context of the shifts in American policy and practice, which Kevorkian both challenged and changed.
— John Dombrink, University of California, Irvine
Tells the story of Jack Kevorkian and provides an essential overview of the right-to-die movement
Examines recent cases of assisted suicide, including those of Brittany Maynard and Terri Schiavo
Draws on existing research on assisted suicide, interviews with Kevorkian and others in the right-to-die movement, Kevorkian’s published work, newspaper and magazine articles, and public opinion surveys