Buchbinder, M., & Cain, C. (2023).
Annual Review of Law and Social Science, 19(1),
195–214.
Abstract
Medical aid in dying (MAID) has been a productive target for social scientific inquiry at the intersections of law and medicine over the past two decades. Insofar as MAID crystallizes and reflects personal and cultural understandings of key concepts such as individualism, dependency, dignity, and care, it is a rich site for social scientific theorizing. This article reviews and assesses the contributions of social scientific perspectives to research on MAID. We propose that social scientific research on MAID offers four distinctive contributions: its descriptive (rather than normative) orientation, its focus on cultural meanings, its insights into processes of knowledge production, and its comparative lens. The article's major sections describe (a) attitudes toward MAID, (b) MAID-related social movements, (c) legalization approaches, and (d) lived experiences of MAID in permissive jurisdictions. We conclude by reflecting on how MAID scholarship can inform social inquiry into other areas in which law and medicine converge.
Here are some thoughts:
Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) has emerged as a significant focus of social scientific inquiry at the intersection of law and medicine over the past two decades. It serves as a rich nexus for exploration, reflecting cultural understandings of key concepts such as individualism, dependency, dignity, and care. Social scientific research on MAID offers four distinctive contributions: a descriptive rather than normative orientation, a focus on cultural meanings, insights into processes of knowledge production, and a comparative lens. The major areas covered in this paper include attitudes toward MAID, related social movements, approaches to legalization, and lived experiences in jurisdictions where MAID is permitted.
This scholarship not only enhances our understanding of MAID itself but also informs broader social inquiries into other areas where law and medicine intersect. Overall, the study of MAID highlights its significance as a topic for social scientific research and its potential to illuminate evolving social norms and practices surrounding end-of-life care.
Places in the United States where MAID is legal: Washington (2009), Montana (2009), Vermont (2013), California (2015), Colorado (2016), Washington DC (2017), Hawaii (2018), Maine (2019), New Jersey (2019), and New Mexico (2021).
