A Time to Live

Reviews / Votes

"This is perhaps the most important book on the subject of `assisted dying' that we have yet seen. It combines unmistakeable realism and compassion with acute moral argument and an unsparing analysis of the very disturbing record of various attempts in other countries to control the effects of legislating for physician-assisted death. An absolutely essential read for all concerned with what is probably the sharpest moral and legal question of our time." - The Most Revd and Rt Hon Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury -- Rowan Williams * Via author * George Pitcher's book is such a timely and helpful contribution to the debate. He charts accurately the rise of the individualistic culture that lies at the root of calls for `assisted dying' and he exposes eloquently the reality rather than the spin of what has been happening in the American State of Oregon, so beloved of British would-be reformers, as well as Holland. He then proceeds to give a much-needed exposition of how euthanasia law has developed and how it works in Britain today, concluding with the revised prosecution policy that has recently appeared from the Crown Prosecution Service - a policy whose robustness must have come as a serious disappointment to the euthanasia lobby. Mr Pitcher then turns to the medical scene, rebutting the facile argument that, if we can put down our pets when they are ill, we should do the same for our fellow humans. He exposes the intriguing paradox that campaigning for euthanasia and assisted suicide has increased almost in parallel with modern medicine's ability to relieve suffering and questions why `assisted dying', if it ever it were to be legalised, has to be part of health care. It is an excellent book and I hope it will be widely read by everyone who has an interest in this subject. Professor the Baroness Finlay of Llandaff FRCP, FRCGP. -- Baroness Finlay * Via author * Robust and polemical ... a journalist working at his best. -- Robin Gill * The Church Times * Eloquently dismisses the need for legislation enacting assisted suicide. -- Carl Farnworth * Church of Scotland Magazine * He examines thoroughly the legal arguments and examines with full documentation the situation in other countries, notably Holland and Switzerland. -- Richard Carter * The Reader *