Assisted Death in Europe and America: Four Regimes and Their Lessons

Advances in medical treatment now enable physicians to prolong life to a previously unknown extent, however in many instances these new techniques mean not the saving of life but prolonging the act of dying. In the eyes of many, medical technology has run out of control and contributes to unnecessary suffering. Hence the demand has arisen that patients should be entitled to choose death when pain and physical and mental deterioration have destroyed the possibility of a dignified and meaningful life and that their doctors should help them to realize this endeavor.

The Handmaid's Tale

After a military coup creating the Republic of Gilead from the once powerful United States of America, inhabitants find themselves in a strict, domineering caste system based on the hell, fire, & brimstone from the Old Testament of the Bible. They believe that all their problems (rampant infertility, land deterioration, and an amoral society) can all be solved by returning to their close-minded roots.