Faculty Bibliography

Arthur Caplan urges the FDA to ignore the self-interested pleas of the breast-implant industry and restrict the use of silicone-gel implants to restorative purposes until those who manufacture and implant these devices can show they are reasonably safe

Dozens of women have complained to the FDA and its advisory panel that they have been made sick when their implants broke and leaked silicone gel into their bodies. The FDA has never tested the implants for safety. They were in use long before the FDA got the authority to regulate them

In the past few months, many pundits have wondered why there is so much interest in Derek Humphry's how-to-kill-yourself book, "Final Exit." They have puzzled about how the unsuccessful Proposition 119, which would have made it legal for doctors to kill patients, ever got on the ballot in Washington state. They are astounded that public-opinion polls show so much support for making it legal for doctors to assist their patients in dying. They wonder why Dr. Jack Kevorkian has so many supporters

Arthur Caplan comments on the fact that most people in the US only notice the horror of AIDS when a "good" person who didn't "deserve" to get the virus gets AIDS. He says that he believes that Magic Johnson can be a powerful voice to warn America about AIDS

"Did you hear, did you hear?" He probably asked six or seven times. "Yeah, [Eddie]," I said, "I heard." I knew exactly what Eddie was asking about, although he never told me. See, Eddie is a fanatical basketball fan. He has also been infected with the HIV virus for at least two years. "I can't believe it," Eddie said. "[Magic Johnson]. Damn."

"Did you hear, did you hear?" He probably asked six or seven times. "Yeah, [Eddie]," I said, "I heard." I knew exactly what Eddie was asking about, although he never told me. See, Eddie is a fanatical basketball fan. He has also been infected with the HIV virus for at least two years. "I can't believe it," Eddie said. "Magic Johnson. Damn."

Last week, Dr. [Jack Kevorkian] aided the suicides of Sherry Miller, 43, of Roseville, Michigan, who had a severe case of multiple sclerosis, and Marjorie Wantz, 58, of Sodus, Michigan. Ms. Wantz suffered from a painful but not immediately life-threatening condition known as pelvic adhesions. Neither woman was terminally ill. Both had been asking Dr. Kevorkian to help them die for years

The one reason -- the only real reason -- for Proposition 119 is to legalize physician-administered euthanasia on demand. Making euthanasia by doctors legal will, in the context of the disgrace that is our health-care system, lead to more fear, harm and abuse than it will benefit the terminally ill. Financial pressures may lead some doctors to kill patients -- especially those in nursing homes -- without getting the request