Ethical Dilemmas

Every year, April 16 marks the occasion for National Healthcare Decisions Day, a recognition of the importance of thinking about your end-of-life care decisions, documenting them on state-approved forms, and sharing your wishes with loved ones and health care providers, to ensure that your wishes are known and respected regarding…

By now you know we’re a nation (and for that matter, a world) that’s getting older by the day. But just as many of our natural resources cannot keep up with the demands of an aging population, so, too, do we fall short with the availability of care providers and…

Currently, 10 states in the US, in addition to the District of Columbia, permit MAID (Medical Aid In Dying). What this means is that in select parts of our country, individuals who meet very specific criteria (detailed below) can be prescribed life-ending medication by a physician (or other state-approved medical…

It’s never easy to discuss what happens if you or a loved one should become seriously ill. It’s only human nature that we would prefer not to discuss our own possible death or the potential loss of a loved one. But as you’ve likely experienced from those who have previously…

As an agebuzz reader, no doubt you’re aware of the value of advance care planning: both to ensure that your values and wishes control your health care at the end of life and to help loved ones with the difficult decisions that need to be made as death approaches. It’s…

Over the last many decades, the human lifespan has increased. Furthermore, technology has allowed seriously ill individuals to continue living in circumstances previously unimaginable (for example, on ventilators or using computers to create artificial communication for those who can no longer speak). In some ways, these advances have been remarkable….