http://www.bioethics.net/rss/endoflife.xml bioethics news everyday from bioethics.net/American Journal of Bioethics Copyright 2005 bioethics.net Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:38:25 EST http://www.bioethics.net/ http://www.bioethics.net/images/logo_frontpage_wht.gif 60 200 webmaster@bioethics.net newsupdate@bioethics.net en-us http://www.bioethics.net/News/?id=7196 Gregory Pence writes: At the end of December 2000 on a cold night, my brother Bob called. "Dad's not doing very well," he said. "If you want to see him before he dies, you'd better fly up here." I didn't believe him. At age 88, my dad had weathered crises before, and he had told me many times that he didn't want to die and wasn't ready to die. For a decade, my saintly mother had nursed him as he progressively declined. But always before, during his crises, he had rallied. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:38:25 EST http://www.bioethics.net/News/?id=7175 Kass even opposes living wills because "it's preposterous to think that we can have the kind of foreknowledge to cover the myriad circumstances in which we may find ourselves. Nor can you accurately pass judgment on how you're going to feel about your life in a different circumstance...No kind of legal approach and no kind of medical approach are going to take the place of a loving, prudent caregiver on the spot." What if you don't have a loving, prudent caregiver on the spot? Do you want your fate to be determined by peope who may not share your values? I certainly trust my imperfect judgment, based on more than 60 years of living and on what I have learned from the deaths of those I loved, more than I do anyone else's judgment. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:14:23 EST http://www.bioethics.net/News/?id=7168 The international assisted-suicide movement has many faces. America's "Dr. Death," Jack Kevorkian, probably comes most readily to mind. The activist groups, Compassion & Choices and Final Exit Network, are also well known. Then there is Australia's "Dr. Death," Philip Nitschke, who travels the world teaching people how to commit suicide with helium or animal-euthanasia drugs obtained from Mexico. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:23:50 EST http://www.bioethics.net/News/?id=7167 The international assisted-suicide movement has many faces. America's "Dr. Death," Jack Kevorkian, probably comes most readily to mind. The activist groups, Compassion & Choices and Final Exit Network, are also well known. Then there is Australia's "Dr. Death," Philip Nitschke, who travels the world teaching people how to commit suicide with helium or animal-euthanasia drugs obtained from Mexico. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:19:05 EST http://www.bioethics.net/News/?id=7144 When Deidre Araimo heard all the talk about “death panels” this summer, she immediately thought of what they might mean for her. Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:08:54 EDT http://www.bioethics.net/News/?id=7127 The national debate over health care has brought the issue of end-of-life planning to the fore in recent months. Much of the discussion has been impassioned. And, Dr. Paul Helft, director of the Charles Warren Fairbanks Center for Medical Ethics, argues that much of it has been misguided. Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:20:43 EDT http://www.bioethics.net/News/?id=7061 Dr. Leslie Spry of the National Kidney Foundation recently joined the Consults blogs to answer readers’ questions about kidney disease. Here, Dr. Spry addresses one reader’s question about dialysis and end-of-life care. Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:20:10 EDT http://www.bioethics.net/News/?id=7044 Jerry L. Madden started smoking at the age of 13, and six decades later, he is paying a steep price. So are taxpayers. Sun, 13 Sep 2009 06:56:02 EDT http://www.bioethics.net/News/?id=7043 By the time Dr. Michael Preodor brought up the do-not-resuscitate question, he could have predicted how Gloria Hayes would answer. Sun, 13 Sep 2009 06:54:50 EDT http://www.bioethics.net/News/?id=7036 Our nation approaches a fateful Autumn. Many analysts believe Congressional action on healthcare will dramatically affect the future of America, this Administration and the major political parties. We are engaged in a struggle over whether our nation will approach issues of end-of-life care as adults, or remain captive in childishness. Compassion & Choices has launched a petition drive calling for adult decisions instead of childish reactions. Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:03:47 EDT http://www.bioethics.net/News/?id=7027 A pioneer in end-of-life planning, Gundersen Lutheran Hospital urged Congress to have Medicare compensate physicians for consulting with patients on end-of-life planning. The provision, inserted into the health-care reform bill, sparked a firestorm of worries about "death panels" and "rationing" care for the elderly. Sun, 06 Sep 2009 01:12:53 EDT http://www.bioethics.net/News/?id=7025 The Nuffield Council on Bioethics had stepped gingerly into an area which was already the topic of fierce debate. During a two-year inquiry, its working party took evidence not just from doctors and nurses in neonatal medicine, but from professors of philosophy, and religious leaders. Sun, 06 Sep 2009 12:39:52 EDT http://www.bioethics.net/News/?id=7024 "I'd like to talk to you about something I try to talk with all my patients about. Many people have strong feelings about what treatment they would want if they were too sick to make decisions for themselves. Have you thought about that?" Sun, 06 Sep 2009 12:38:25 EDT http://www.bioethics.net/News/?id=7012 Robert Baxter, a 76-year-old former truck driver from Billings, spent his last months fighting for the right to hasten his own death. The state appealed, and the final chapter of the story begins Wed-nesday, when the Montana Supreme Court will hear from lawyers from both sides in oral arguments. Sun, 30 Aug 2009 11:40:42 EDT http://www.bioethics.net/News/?id=7006 Congress' effort to enact health care reform legislation has sparked a vigorous debate. From a Catholic viewpoint the underlying issue is clear: Tens of millions of Americans lack basic health coverage; many more risk losing what they have as costs rise. Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:16:48 EDT