Doctors and Lawyers Debate Meaning of Death as Families Challenge Practices

December 13, 2022

(Wall Street Journal) – The concept of brain death has generated intense controversy in recent years, in part because death isn’t only a medical determination. People bring deeply held beliefs to their understanding of death. Declaring someone dead also has social and legal ramifications, including for mourning, inheritance and organ donation.  Brain death is a legal designation in all 50 states. How brain death is determined, which tests are used and the type of physician qualified to make the determination can vary by state, said Thaddeus Mason Pope, a law professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minn. (Read More)