A Good Death: NIH Bioethicist Discusses End-of-Life Decisions in Lawrence Lecture

APPLETON, WIS. -- The unprecedented advances in medicine over the past 100 years -- from new vaccines and antibiotics to high-tech, life-sustaining machines -- have enabled health care professionals to greatly extend human life. The advances, however, often help obscure the fact that death remains a central part of the human condition and the quality of life gained by life-sustaining technologies may not always be acceptable.

As part of Lawrence University's ongoing lecture series on biomedical ethics issues, Dr. Nancy Cummings, senior biomedical advisor to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Diseases and Kidney Diseases at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., presents, "Autonomy in End-of-Life Decisions," Monday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m. in Lawrence's Science Hall, Room 102. The event is free and open to the public.

Addressing the issues that arise when people confront the choice between a "good death" or prolonging the dying process, illustrated by the high-profile cases of Karen Ann Quinlan and Nancy Cruzan, Cummings will discuss the importance of preparing and using advance directives, including living wills and durable power of attorney, to ensure an individual's desired medical wishes are carried out.