July 11, 2024 <minato-nakazawa@people.kobe-u.ac.jp>
Medical Anthropology (14) Life and death
In some traditional societies, life and death are considered as the result of nature and thus uncontrollable in general. People
felt disappointed at the unwanted loss of life, and sought the relief by cultural mitigation involving various kinds of religion(Kaufman and Morgan 2005, Varisco 2011, Kiong and Sciller 1993).
However, various kinds of abortion and contraception techniques have been widely practiced in many traditional
communities (Lans et al. 2018). The timing of acceptance of baby as a new member of the community diversified by culture(Jokic, 2008). As a result, infanticide has been conducted too, which affected sex ratios. Senicide has also been practiced invarious societies such as ubasute in Japan, which is a contemporary issue in India (Sunger, 2020). In this sense, life and death
have been intentionally controlled for long time.
With the industrial revolution, especially medical technology and public health, people gradually began to believe that thelife and death are controllable. Life at the high risk of death can be saved by medical technology and pharmaceutical treatment,child mortality can be reduced by public health improvement, undesired births can be reduced by induced abortion andcontraception, and births from higher age parents can be supported by assisted reproductive technology (ART). It largely
affected the views on life and death (Inhorn and Birenbaum-Carmeli, 2008). Prenatal diagnosis caused a new issue whether
congenital abnormality can be a reason of induced abortion or not, potentially related to eugenics issue (Raz, 2005).
<References>
George SM (2006) Millions of missing girls: from fetal sexing to high technology sex selection in India. Prenatal Diagnosis, 26(7): 604-609.
https://doi.org/10.1002/pd.1475
Inhorn MC, Birenbaum-Carmeli D (2008) Assisted reproductive technologies and culture change. Annual Reviews of Anthropology, 37: 177-196.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.anthro.37.081407.085230
Jokic Z (2008) Yanomami shamanic initiation: The meaning of death and postmortem consciousness in transformation. Anthropology ofConsciousness, 19(1): 33-59. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1556-3537.2008.00002.x
Kaufman SR, Morgan LM (2005) The anthropology of the beginnings and ends of life. Annual Reviews of Anthropology, 34: 317-341.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/25064888
Kiong TC, Schiller AL (1993) The anthropology of death: A preliminary overview. Southeast Asian Journal of Social Science, 21(2): 1-9.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/24491682
Lans C et al. (2018) Herbal fertility treatments used in North America from colonial times to 1900, and their potential for improving the success rateof assisted reproductive technology. Reproductive Biomedicine & Society Online, 5: 60-81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rbms.2018.03.001
Raz AE (2005) Disability rights, prenatal diagnosis and eugenics: a cross-cultural view. Journal of Genetic Counseling, 14: 183–187.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10897-005-0573-0
Simpson B (2018) Death. In: Stein F et al. (Eds.) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Anthropology. http://doi.org/10.29164/18death
Sunger V (2020) Senicide as a modern problem in India: A Durkheimian perspective of thalaikoothal. Crossing Borders: Students Reflections on
Global Social Issues, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.31542/cb.v2i1.1994
Varisco DM (2011) The End of Life, The Ends of Life: An Anthropological View. Journal of the Islamic Medical Association of North America,
43(3): 203-207. https://dx.doi.org/10.5915%2F43-7037<Debate theme for next time (18 July 2024)>
As a kind of ultimate choice of life and death, physician assisted death (or euthanasia) became the big issue. There are many
opinions and laws related to the physician assisted death in the world as shown in the following URLs.

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https://yomidr.yomiuri.co.jp/article/20170217-OYTET50020/ (in Japanese)
https://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/d00644/ (Nippon.com)
https://www.waseda.jp/folaw/icl/assets/uploads/2014/05/A02859211-00-000270001.pdf (Waseda Bull. Comparative Law)
https://www.institute-of-mental-health.jp/en/thesis/pdf/thesis-03/thesis-03-08.pdf (Int. J. Law and Psychiatry)
https://www.dyingwithdignity.ca/get_the_facts
https://deathwithdignity.org/learn/death-with-dignity-acts/ (Death with dignity acts)
https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/ethics/physician-assisted-suicide (American Medical Association)
https://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/26/us/physician-assisted-suicide-fast-facts/index.html (CNN)
https://aahpm.org/positions/pad (American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Care)
https://www.thehastingscenter.org/briefingbook/physician-assisted-death/ (Hastings Center)
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199804233381706 (NEJM special article in 1998)
https://palliative.stanford.edu/physician-assisted-death/ (Stanford Univ.)
https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.12486 (Annals NY Acad Sci)
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g4502 (BMJ)
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-018-0304-6 (BMC Palliative Care)

Considering the discussion ever done, should physician assisted death be legally justified in Japan?
[Prop] Yes, as in the Netherlands, Switzerland, or in the 5 states of USA, it should be legally justified in Japan.
[Opp] No, it should not be legally justified in Japan.