Another complex problem arising from the increasing age of the adult population, is the right to die. Several people are kept alive only by life support systems, which are a result of sophisticated machinery. Thus people often write living wills requesting against the use of any extraordinary measures to prolong their lives, in the event of their living in a coma indefinitely, for example.

Patients suffering from terminal cancer or a paralytic stroke may wish to end their lives, and Dr. Jack Kevorkian, a physician in Detroit, has provided this kind of assistance to such patients. This has evoked debates on whether such deaths that are permitted by the state can be regarded as assisted suicides or murders. It is evident that through the Constitution’s efforts to safeguard such Civil Liberties, it proves itself to be a flexible body of statutes.

Index

12.0 Introduction
12.1 Perspective on Civil Liberties
12.2 The First Amendment:Freedom of Religion
12.3 The First Amendment:Freedom of Speech
12.4 The First Amendment:Freedom of Press
12.5 The Rights of Defendants
12.6 Implied Rights

Chapter 13