HUM 321 M8D2: Physician Assisted Death: Accomplice to a Crime or a Merciful Response?

For this discussion, you will have watched Craig Craig Ewert’s journey from his home in America to Switzerland to have physician aid in dying (PAD); Brittany Maynard’s relocation from her home in California to Oregon to be eligible for PAD; and, Emily’s story where she asks for and receives eligibility for PAD based on mental illness, not on a terminal illness.

Discussion Questions:

Prepare for the discussion by watching the assigned viewings for this module. This activity helps meet module outcomes 1, 2, and 3.

• What are the reasons Craig Ewert, Brittany Maynard, and Emily have when asking for PAD? What are the common threads of their requests? How are their circumstances different?
• Do you think that all, some, or none of these requests for PAD were morally justified or unjustified?  Were the physicians involved accomplices to a crime or acting out of mercy? Explain.