Religious Perspectives on Death with Dignity and Other End of Life Concerns

March 20, 2017 • 12:30 PM • Law School 3037

In 2014, a beautiful young Californian woman announced that she would kill herself rather than permit a terrible disease to deny her her dignity. Brittany Maynard became the face of California's push to legalize physician assisted dying/suicide, which succeeded on June 9, 2016, a year and a half after she left for Oregon to do what was denied her in her home state. Different religious traditions consider end of life issues differently and this panel will discuss physician assisted dying/suicide, the withdrawal of ventilators, artificial nutrition and hydration, and other life-extending treatments, as well as the particular way these religions think about death. A Jewish rabbi, Muslim hospital chaplain, and an Episcopal and a Catholic doctor will discuss these issues and take questions at the end. Sponsored by the Health Law Society, the Jewish Law Students Association, Christian Legal Society, Muslim Law Students Association, and DBA. For more information, please contact Kevin Simmons at kevin.simmons@lawnet.duke.edu.