Smith 1

Savannah Smith
Mr. Padgett
English 102
24 March 2016

Annotated Bibliography
Inquiry: Are euthanasia and physician assisted suicide acceptable practices, and should they be
legalized throughout the United States?
Proposed Thesis: The aim of medicine is to treat, heal, and sustain life; therefore, euthanasia
and physician assisted suicide are in opposition to this goal and should not be practiced in
the United States.
"Aging & Health A to Z: End of Life Care." HealthinAging.org. MedlinePlus, Mar. 2012. Web.
20 Mar. 2016.
There was no author listed for this article, but it came from a large medical database
which makes the lack of a known author less of a concern. This article included general
information on several aspects of end of life care, but I only used the information from
the section on euthanasia. It explained the difference between voluntary, non-voluntary,
and involuntary euthanasia. The article also gave information on the legalization process
of euthanasia in the United States. The information from this article was very basic, but
helpful in aiding a general understanding of the topic. Because it was factual and
informative based information, there was little to no bias. This article was found through
the subject search area of the librarys online database. A link to a medical database called
MedlinePlus was listed, and this is the specific website created by the National Institute

Smith 2
of Health, which makes it very credible and trustworthy, despite the absence of a listed
author.
Boudreau, J Donald. Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia: Can You Even Imagine
Teaching Medical Students How to End Their Patients Lives? The Permanente Journal
15.4 (2011): 7984. Print.
This article was written by a medical doctor who takes the stand against euthanasia. He
argues that euthanasia is in complete opposition to the purpose of medicine, and it would
be an absolute enormity to teach medical students how to kill their patients rather than
treat them. Dr. Boudreau makes references to the Hippocratic Oath, an oath that all
doctors take before entering into practice. He highlights the section of the oath that
clearly states the doctor will neither induce life-threatening harm nor provide assistance
to the patients who wish to do so. This source is credible, as it was found through a
medical journals database, and it was written by professional in the field of medicine.
However, it has not been peer reviewed and therefore it may lack some of the validity of
peer reviewed sources. This particular source was written about five years ago, which
means some aspects may have changed, but overall the article is still considered current
and trustworthy. The article includes some very interesting points that could be used to
provide support for my argument, but it may not be a strong primary source.
DIETERLE, J.M. "Physician Assisted Suicide: A New Look At The Arguments." Bioethics 21.3
(2007): 127-139. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.
The author of this article provides a case in support of physician assisted suicide and its
legalization. He uses evidence/results from places where PAS is already legal and being
practiced in order to support his claims that with proper control and monitoring,

Smith 3
euthanasia will be in the best interest of the patients who request it. He also presents
some of the main points made by those who oppose his view, such as the slippery slope
argument, and he provides rebuttals to those arguments. This source was found through
Academic Search Complete on the librarys online database, and it has been peer
reviewed, making it a reliable and credible source. It is slightly outdated, as it was written
in 2007, but provides accurate information and evidence that can still be applied. I could
use this source as an opposition to my argument and meet that opposition with
appropriate and logical rebuttal.
Fenigsen, Richard. A Case Against Dutch Euthanasia. The Hastings Center Report 19.1
(1989): 2230. Web. 25 Feb. 2016.
In the article, A Case Against Dutch Euthanasia, Dr. Richard Fenigsen explores
multiple aspects of euthanasia practices in Holland. Euthanasia is legal in Holland, and
evidence shows that there is an increasing attitude of favor and support for euthanasia
among the general public as well as people in professional medical careers. Dr. Richard
Fenigsen is deeply opposed to the practice of euthanasia, in any form. He sheds light on
many shocking occurrences of inappropriate euthanasia cases, and he highlights some of
the key arguments presented by the people who oppose his view. This is an excellent
peer-reviewed source found through JSTOR, however there is some bias due to the views
of the author. His argument is clearly against euthanasia, but he provides the logic of the
opposing view as well. It is an older article, and some of the evidence may no longer be
applicable to the argument. This will be used as supportive source in my paper, and its
contents will prove to be very useful.

Smith 4
Rurup, Mette L, et al. "The First Five Years Of Euthanasia Legislation In Belgium And The
Netherlands: Description And Comparison Of Cases." Palliative Medicine 26.1 (2012):
43-49. Alt HealthWatch. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
This article provided information about a study that was performed in the Netherlands
and Belgium where euthanasia has been legal since 2002. It looked at the descriptions
and natures of the reported cases of euthanasia in these particular countries and made
comparisons and notes between each set of data. Several authors were listed for this
article, and each of them had a solid list of qualifications which makes them credible on
this subject. This study was peer reviewed as well. This evidence will be useful as a
means of including information on real occurrences of euthanasia as well as relative
information on how other countries are handling this issue.
Seale, C. "Legalisation Of Euthanasia Or Physician-Assisted Suicide: Survey Of Doctors'
Attitudes." Palliative Medicine 23.3 (2009): 205-212. Academic Search Complete. Web.
28 Feb. 2016.
The article, Legislation Of Euthanasia Or Physician-Assisted Suicide: Survey Of
Doctors Attitudes is written about a survey that was conducted among both medical
doctors and the general public in the United Kingdom. Its results indicated that the
attitude within the medical professionals community remains generally opposed to
euthanasia while members of the public seem to be in support of its legalization. Because
this is a study, it contains real data that is applicable to the issue being addressed. This
source is reliable because it was found through the librarys online database. It has also
been peer reviewed, which adds to its credibility. The study was conducted in 2009, so it
is possible that the attitudes of those surveyed would differ now. I could possibly use this

Smith 5
as general data and information on my topic, but it would not be included as a primary
source.

Tyson, Peter. "The Hippocratic Oath Today." NOVA. PBS, 27 Mar. 2001. Web. 01 Apr.
2016.

Loewy, Erich H. Oaths for Physicians Necessary Protection or Elaborate

Hoax? Medscape General Medicine 9.1 (2007): 7. Print.