Physician Assisted Suicide at the crossroads of vulnerability and social taboo - is death becoming a consumption good?

In developed countries, the question of the end of life remains a sensitive topic with virulently opposing viewpoints. The study of physician assisted suicide (PAS) is not only a case in point but it raises a question of rights, specifically in France, which has historically been the country of human rights. The objective of the research herein is to examine PAS from the perspectives of three participants who have a stake in its aftermath: the medical expert, patient and relative. The research question at hand asks whether or not death is a consumption good; the authors posit that PAS stands at the crossroad of vulnerability and social taboo when it comes to the stream of end of life research.