Poll: No Majority for Assisted Suicide A new poll by the national polling firm Baselice & Associates suggests that Americans’ support for assisted suicide may… Read More »End of Life Issues Guide: Public Opinion
“Permanent Vegetative State” Misnamed? The term “persistent vegetative state” has long been used to describe patients who are awake but show no sign of awareness.… Read More »End of Life Issues Guide: Who is the Patient?
Legislators Medical Policy Manual:Life and Death Decisions by Paul A. Byrne, M.D., FAAPWilliam F. Colliton, Jr., M.D., FACOGJoseph C. Evers, M.D., FAAPTimothy R. Fangman, M.D.Jerome… Read More »End of Life Issues Guide: Life and Death Decisions
Advance Directives: Imperfect Guides The new federal “Patient Self-Determination Act,” which became effective December 1, has given new impetus to medical decision-making by way of… Read More »End of Life Issues Guide: Decision Making by Patients
“Healing a person does not always mean curing a disease.” These words of hospice founder, Dr. Cicely Saunders, form the foundation for the hospice concept.… Read More »End of Life Care: What should I ask my local hospice?
If you or a loved one have entered a health care facility in the last few years, chances are you’ve been asked to sign some… Read More »End of Life Care: Should I sign a ‘living will’?
We can’t live without food and water. Our bodies rely on these basic essentials of life for survival. Think for a moment about a time… Read More »End of Life Care: Are food and water ‘medicine’?
There never used to be debate over when someone was dead. If there was no heartbeat, no breathing, and no response to stimulation or resuscitation… Read More »End of Life Care: When is a person really dead?
Life support: The ventilator By Paul A. Byrne, M.D. Breathing is something we do all the time, mostly without even thinking about it. We take… Read More »End of Life Care: The Ventilator
We’ve probably heard this question before. No one wants to be hooked up to machines against their will–and no one should be forced to be… Read More »End of Life Care: Do I have to spend my last days hooked up to machines?
A non-comprehensive compendium of cases of patients who have awakened and/or improved following a diagnosis of persistent vegetative state, irreversible coma or death Prepared with… Read More »End of Life Care: Miracles
By Julie Grimstad Contrary to what secularists1 claim, there are absolutes – absolutely right and absolutely wrong choices and actions. The Catholic Church, more than any… Read More »End of Life Care: Providing nutrition and hydration to patients