On this website are nearly 100 bibliographies. They deal with various important issues, and are largely based on volumes that I have in my own library. When I looked to see if I had done one on euthanasia (as well as on abortion), I was surprised to see that I had not yet done so. This article – and its companion piece on abortion – will remedy that oversight on my part.
One of the more contentious ethical issues of our day involves the matter of taking one’s own life, or having medical assistance in doing this. A key question is whether a “good death” (as the word euthanasia literally means) is ever a morally justifiable option.
Many related matters arise, including medical decision making, personal autonomy, dealing with suffering, advances in health care, legal, social and moral concerns, and palliative care. My own 2016 book on this issue looked at most of these issues in some detail. But many good books exist on the topic, and many new ones keep appearing.
But notice that the earliest work that I have here comes from 1976 (the book by Koop). This shows that it is really in the past half century that this has become such a fiercely debated and hot-potato topic. In part this is because most nations for centuries saw that suicide and euthanasia were morally wrong acts (because of the Judeo-Chrisian tradition), and were therefore illegal in most places.
There are many books available on this topic, but the books that I have listed here are those which are overwhelmingly critical of euthanasia and assisted suicide (although some, like Wennberg, are a bit weaker on this). Most would be written by Christians, but certainly not all of them. Here then are 55 works on this topic: 48 volumes in the “no” camp, and 7 books offering pro and con positions on this debate.
Works critical of legalised euthanasia
Bell, Reed with Frank York, Prescription Death: Compassionate Killers in the Medical Profession. Huntington House, 1993.
Beville, Kieran, Dying to Kill: A Christian Perspective on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide. Christian Publishing House, 2014.
Blocher, Mark, The Right to Die? Caring Alternatives to Euthanasia. Moody, 1999.
Butler, Kathryn, Between Life and Death: A Gospel-Centered Guide to End-of-Life Medical Care. Crossway, 2019. Cameron, Nigel de S., The New Medicine: Life and Death After Hippocrates. Crossway, 1991.
Chamberlain, Paul, Final Wishes. IVP, 2000.
Davis, D. Eryl, A Christian’s Pocket Guide to Understanding Suicide and Euthanasia. Christian Focus, 2019.
Demy, Timothy and Gary Stewart, eds., Suicide: A Christian Response. Kregal, 1998.
Dyck, Arthur, Life’s Worth: The Case Against Assisted Suicide. Eerdmans, 2002.
Dyck, Arthur, When Killing is Wrong: Physician-Assisted Suicide and the Courts. Pilgrim Press, 2001.
Eareckson Tada, Joni, When is it Right to Die? Suicide, Euthanasia, Suffering, Mercy. Zondervan, 1992.
Foley, Kathleen and Herbert Hendin, eds., The Case Against Assisted Suicide: For the Right to End-Of-Life Care. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002.
Fournier, Keith and William Watkins, In Defense of Life. NavPress, 1996.
Gibbs, David, Fighting for Dear life: The Untold Story of Terri Schiavo and What it Means For All of Us. Bethany House, 2006.
Goligher, Ewan, How Should We Then Die? A Christian Response to Physician-Assisted Death. Lexham Press, 2024.
Gomez, Carlos, Regulating Death: Euthanasia and the Case of the Netherlands. Free Press, 1991.
Gorsuch, Neil, The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia. Princeton University Press, 2009.
Hendin, Herbert, Seduced by Death, 2nd edition. Norton, 1998.
Johnston, Brian, Death as a Salesman: What’s Wrong with Assisted Suicide? New Regency Publishing, 1997.
Keown, John, Euthanasia, Ethics and Public Policy. Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Kilner, John, Life on the Line: Ethics, Aging, Ending Patients’ Lives, and Allocating Vital Resources. Eerdmans, 1992.
Kilner, John, et.al. eds., The Changing Face of Health Care. Eerdmans, 1998.
Kilner, John, et.al., eds., Dignity and Dying: A Christian Appraisal. Eerdmans, 1996.
Koop, C. Everett, The Right To Live, the Right To Die. Tyndale House, 1976.
Larson, Edward and Darrel Amundsen, A Different Death. IVP, 1998.
Ling, John, The Edge of Life: Dying, Death and Euthanasia. Day One Publications, 2002.
Marker, Rita, Deadly Compassion. William Morrow, 1993.
May, William, Testing the Medical Covenant: Active Euthanasia and Health Care Reform. Eerdmans, 1996.
Muehlenberg, Bill, The Challenge of Euthanasia. CreateSpace, 2016.
Orr, Robert, David Biebel and David Schiedermayer, Life and Death Decisions. Baker, 1990.
Orr, Robert, David Biebel and David Schiedermayer, More Life and Death Decisions. Baker, 1990.
Pitcher, George, A Time to Live. Monarch Books, 2010.
Pollard, Brian, The Challenge of Euthanasia. Little Hills Press, 1994.
Ramsey, Paul, Ethics at the Edges of Life. Yale University Press, 1978.
Roberts, Vaughn, Assisted Suicide. The Good Book Company, 2017.
Schadenberg, Alex, Exposing Vulnerable People to Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide. Connor Court Publishing, 2014.
Smith, Anthony, Euthanasia: A Licence to Kill? Kingsway, 2006.
Smith, Wesley, Culture of Death. Encounter Books, 2000.
Smith, Wesley, Forced Exit. Times Books, 1997.
Somerville, Margaret, Death Talk: The Case Against Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2001.
Spring, Beth and Ed Larson, Euthanasia: Spiritual, Medical and Legal Issues in Terminal Health Care. Multnomah Press, 1988.
Stewart, Gary, et. al., Basic Questions on Suicide and Euthanasia. Kregel, 1998.
Weikart, Richard, The Death of Humanity: And the Case for Life. Salem Books, 2016.
Weikart, Richard, Unnatural Death: Medicine’s Descent from Healing to Killing. Discovery Institute, 2024.
Wennberg, Robert, Terminal Choices: Euthanasia, Suicide and the Right to Die. Eerdmans, 1989.
Wyatt, John, Matters of Life and Death. IVP, 1998.
Wyatt, John, Right to Die? Euthanasia, Assisted Suicide and End-of-Life Care. IVP, 2015.
Yuill, Kevin, Assisted Suicide: The Liberal, Humanist Case Against Legalization. Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.
Unnatural Death: Medicine's Descent from Healing to Killingby Weikart, Richard (Author)
Pro and con, and multiple views
Gerald Dworkin, R.G. Frey, and Sissela Bok, Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide: For and Against. Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Haerens, Martha, ed., Euthanasia (Opposing Viewpoints). Greenhaven Press, 2015.
Haley, James, ed., Death and Dying (Opposing Viewpoints). Greenhaven Press, 2003.
Horan, Dennis and David Mall, eds., Death, Dying and Euthanasia. University Publicans of America, 1977
Jackson, Emily and John Keown, Debating Euthanasia (Debating Law). Hart Publishing, 2012.
Snyder, Carrie, ed., Euthanasia (Opposing Viewpoints). Greenhaven Press, 2006.
Uhlmann, Michael, ed., Last Rights? Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia Debated. Eerdmans, 1998.
As to my top choices, that is a tough one. But perhaps I can narrow down this list a bit with some preferred authors that you might explore further: Dyck, Eareckson, Goligher, Keown, Kilner, Smith (Wesley), Somerville, and Weikart.
