A ‘great’ life and ‘good’ death
Conversations about palliative care and assisted dying are critical as advances in technology, ageing populations and the wish to die with dignity emerge.
Philosopher Peter Singer will head a line up of bioethicists, law scholars and legal and health practitioners from around the world who will speak at the first International Conference on End of Life, at Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) Australian Centre for Health Law Research, next month.
Conference speakers will address a variety of emerging ethical issues in the fields of organ donation and palliative care as well as shed new light on established debates such as assisted dying and when life saving treatment can be stopped, QUT Australian Centre for Health Law Research director Professor Ben White said.
“We don't talk about death much in our society but advances in technology, ageing populations and the wish to die with dignity make these conversations critical,” he said.
Moral philosopher, Peter Singer, will debate Charles Camosy, who's a Christian ethicist at Fordham University in the US, to open the conference. Professor Camosy has debated with Professor Singer on their divergent views on euthanasia and end of life issues on several occasions.
Professor White said advances in medicine brought up ethical dilemmas such as whether a potential donor could be given drugs that would help the organs to be in better condition for the recipient, and issues about managing the timing of death through withdrawal of treatment to allow organ donation to happen.
“There is also a debate around how we determine death. Dr Dale Gardiner, deputy national clinical leader for organ donation for NHS Blood and Transplant in the UK, will trace the history of this field and ask when someone is legally dead so that their organs can be donated.
“Professor Sheila McLean, an international leader in health law and bioethics at Glasgow University, is presenting on the practice of terminal sedation – providing sedation for a dying patient whose pain can't otherwise be managed until they die.”
Professor White added some regard this as good palliative care but others claimed it was essentially euthanasia, especially when artificial nutrition and water were withheld at the same time.
The program includes leading intensive and palliative care specialists, Drs Peter Saul and Michael Ashby, who will discuss how we die in Australia in the 21st century.
The International Conference on End of Life: Law, Ethics, Policy and Practice will be held at QUT's Gardens Point Campus from 13-15 August 2014.
