Dr. Ira Byock visited the University of Oregon on January 24th to talk about understanding and dealing with the human condition. His lecture contributed to CGO’s talks on ethics considering how physicians are regularly faced with dilemmas when treating their patients. One major topic of concern is assisted suicide and whether it is ethical for doctors and nurses to perform it.
Ira focused on palliative care and how it is not the same as assisted suicide. As a doctor himself, Byock explained that for him, “Preserving life is the ultimate goal.” When faced with a patient who wants to end his or her life as quickly and as painless as possible, should a doctor help make that a reality? Should euthanasia be legal in the United States?
Byock went into how a common Western mechanism is to deny the obvious and suppress the idea of death. Patients who have this sort of mindset have countless opportunities when at the end of life. Ira listed off items that people should do at this time including resolving relationships, reviewing life and exploring its meaning, and going into the spiritual realm of life. He believes that people should “Live in the light of death.”
Lecturing to a city that has proven to stand very liberal with the topic of assisted suicide, Ira was the minority that evening in Eugene. The question still floats around in our heads: is it ethical for a doctor to end one’s life, instead of allowing for nature to take its course?