April 29, 2023

This Pharmacist Said Prisoners Wouldn’t Feel Pain During Lethal Injection. Then Some Shook and Gasped for Air.

(ProPublica) – At issue was the use of midazolam, a sedative typically used to ease anxiety and produce drowsiness before medical procedures. In circumstances like major surgeries, the drug is paired with other medications, such as opiates, to achieve general … Read More

April 25, 2023

Disability Rights Groups Sue to Overturn California’s Physician-Assisted Death Law

(Kaiser Family Foundation) – Disability rights advocates sued Tuesday to overturn California’s physician-assisted death law, arguing that recent changes make it too easy for people with terminal diseases whose deaths aren’t imminent to kill themselves with drugs prescribed by a … Read More

April 7, 2023

A New Edition of Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics Is Now Available

Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics (vol. 32, no. 1, 2023) is available online by subscription only.  Articles include: “Existential Suffering as a Legitimization of Euthanasia” by Jasper Doomen  “Health, Health Care, and Equality of Opportunity: The Rationale for Universal Health … Read More

March 1, 2023

A New Edition of Journal of Bioethical Inquiry Is Now Available

Journal of Bioethical Inquiry (vol. 18, no. 2, 2021) is available online by subscription only. Articles include: “Exploitation, Criminalization, and Pecuniary Trade in the Organs of Living People” by Hugh V. McLachlan “Constitution of “The Already Dying”: The Emergence of … Read More

February 7, 2023

The European Way to Die

(Harper’s Magazine) – Let’s suppose—the idea isn’t so absurd—that I’m able, by way of connections or skill at navigating the dark web, to get my hands on some pentobarbital, an apparently painless, lethal poison. Then suppose that a friend for … Read More

January 30, 2023

Autonomy to a Fault: The Confluence of Organ Donation, Euthanasia, and the Dead Donor Rule

(Bioethics) – Five countries now permit organ donation after euthanasia, on the basis of respecting donor autonomy. Some now openly consider performing euthanasia itself via organ extraction to better preserve organ viability, albeit in violation of the dead donor rule. … Read More

January 19, 2023

Canada Performing More Organ Transplants from MAID Donors Than Any Country in the World

(CTV News) – A growing number of patients who request medical assistance in dying are asking to donate their organs for transplant, says an international review that found that Canada is performing the most organ transplants from MAID patients among … Read More