Elizabeth Bouvia, Assisted Suicide and Social Prejudice

Abstract

This chapter concentrates on the historical and contemporary experience of disabled people. The most prominent and vigorous suicide rights activists seek legalization of assisted suicide not only for those who are terminally ill, but also for an array of other socially devalued and disadvantaged persons, most notably, people with disabilities and older people. The prejudices apparent in fictional film portrayals reappeared in the real life legal case of Elizabeth Bouvia. Her experience epitomizes all of the devaluation and discrimination inflicted on disabled people by society Because of cerebral palsy, Ms. Bouvia is quadri plegic. Both suicide rights and antisuicide advocates express prejudice in their persistent use of intensely stigmatizing language: disabled people are defective, damaged, debilitated, deformed, distressed, afflicted, anomalous, helpless and/or infirm. Proponents of legalizing assisted suicide for terminally ill persons argue that it need not lead inevitably down a "slippery slope" to voluntary and involuntary euthanasia of other persons.

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