Last month, the New York state Court of Appeals dismissed a case filed by three terminally ill plaintiffs asking the court to declare a constitutional right to "aid in dying," better known as assisted suicide. The judges wrote, "this Legislature…
More than three decades ago, the three-term governor of Colorado, Richard Lamm, told a group of health care lawyers that the terminally ill elderly have “a duty to die and get out of the way” instead of trying to prolong…
What makes me me? If I become severely demented, should my advance directive direct my care? What does my healthcare agent owe me when my life seems so diminished? This ethical dilemma is vividly demonstrated in a hypothetical case commonly…
Last month, two girls, one 14-year-old from Miami and a 12-year-old from Georgia, live-streamed their suicides on Facebook. Another 33-year-old man did the same in Los Angeles. There are 3 million teens in the U.S. experiencing major depressive disorders, a…
Two girls from Florida and Georgia, ages 14 and 12, live-streamed their suicides on Facebook last month. Another man, who was 33, did the same in Los Angeles. Three million American teens are currently experiencing a major depressive disorder. According…
During the holidays, there's a prevailing sense that everyone is living a Hallmark movie with the ideal family and perfect celebrations. But this is far from the truth. The United States is experiencing an epidemic of loneliness; some label this…
The epidemic level of loneliness has warranted the emergence of the issue as a serious American public health hazard. Sixty million people currently suffer from loneliness that is both chronic and severe enough to be a major source of unhappiness,…
For their own end of life care, more than 88 percent of doctors say that they would choose less medicine than their patients and do-not-resuscitate orders for themselves. However, studies do not support that what they say is what they…
This past summer, the Obama administration tripled the cap on the number of opioid-addicted patients that an authorized physician can treat with buprenorphine/naloxone (Suboxone), a drug that eases the effects of withdrawal from prescription opioids and heroin and markedly decreases…
Most do not wish to think about a do-not-resuscitate order, whether for themselves or for a loved one. However, this is not a decision that should wait until a crisis and hospital admission, especially as we age. An advance directive…