The End-of-Life-Care, MAID, and Physician Leadership

Physician autonomy, patient autonomy, state authority. When it comes to end-of-life issues, these spheres do not interact smoothly. Legal and medical ethical questions abound. Physicians wrestle with this important topic. This episode takes a deep dive into topics surrounding right-to-die with one of our nation’s leading medical ethicists.

Ira Bedzow, PhD, is a senior fellow at the Center for the Study of Law and Religion, Emory University, and head of the Unit of the International Chair in Bioethics at Emory University. His interests relate to understanding the ethical implications of biotechnology and healthcare policy as well as how organizations can create an ethical culture through values-driven leadership. Bedzow is also a senior scholar at the Aspen Center for Social Values, co-director of the Maimonides Institute for Medicine, Ethics, and the Holocaust (MIMEH), and a regular contributor in Forbes for their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion section. He is also an Orthodox rabbi (yoreh yoreh, yadin yadin).

Prepare for a thoughtful exploration of an important and complex topic including topics such as these:

• MAID (medical assistance in dying): Is avoiding suffering enough of a reason legally, or even morally, to take one's own life?  And how does a society decide when the suffering is great enough to legally approve that choice?

• How can the U.S. create laws that would manage the nuanced individual cases that would arise in an area as sensitive as this?

Obviously, any laws on voluntary end-of-life must consider the rights of the individual to make decisions for himself or herself.  But should these laws also consider the effects of an individual decision on other people, especially those who might be involved in fulfilling the person's wishes?

https://www.cuanschutz.edu/centers/bioethicshumanities/education/aspen-ethical-leadership-program-2023

ijbedzow@gmail.com

Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership at www.physicianleaders.org .

Listen to this episode of SoundPractice.