No Good Deed: A Story of Medicine, Murder Accusations, and the Debate over How We Die
Palliative care and end-of-life specialist Cohen makes a valiant effort to be evenhanded on the end-of-life debate, it is apparent (from the title alone) on which side of the question his sentiments rest. He does, however, command respect for cogent reportage amid the roiling emotions often roused by this hot-button topic. His account of the trials of two nurses accused of murdering a terminally ill patient in their care at times takes on the tenor of witch-hunt, in part because their accuser apparently declined face-to-face interviews with Cohen, perhaps because of his specialty. He did manage to interview the leader of an organization that opposes withholding medically aggressive treatment at the end of life and well communicates the group’s thoughts and fears regarding end-of-life decisions. What is clear, in the end, is that, at the hour when most terminally ill patients pass quietly into that good night, they most certainly lie squarely in the eye of a hurricane of controversy. A complex subject well presented, though not so as to change anyone’s mind. --Donna Chavez