Passing Through

End-of-Life Decisions for Lesbians and Gay Men

Jeanette Auger

In June 2001, Nova Scotia became the third province to pass legislation that permits same-sex couples to legally register their relationship in order to benefit from similar legal obligations as common-law heterosexual couples. Yet despite this new legislation’s aim to advance equal rights, end-of-life decisions for gays and lesbians remain difficult. Jeannette Auger examines how closeted relationships and the history of discrimination have led many partners to dismiss making decisions about end-of-life issues. This book outlines what partners need to consider to assert their legal rights when necessary.

Contents

• Preface
• Methodology 
• A Review of Same-sex Legislation on the International Scene 
• A Review of the History of Same-sex Legislation in Canada 
• Overview of the Federal and Provincial legislation Covering Same-sex Relationships 
• What are End-of-Life Issues? 
• Data Overview 
• The Debate Around Registering Same-Sex Relationships 
• What Sorts of End-of-Life Decisions did Lesbians and Gay Men Make? 
• Concluding Remarks

About the Author

Jeanette A. Auger is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Acadia University in Nova Scotia. She has been teaching for twenty-six years and has worked with older persons for the past thirty as a researcher, community organizer and developer, and social planner. She is the author of Social Prespectives on Death and Dying published in the Spring of 2000 and co-author of From the Inside Looking Out (2002).

Excerpt

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