Medical Futility Blog

Daniel Vaccaro has moderate dementia. But last year when he still had capacity, Vaccaro was very clear: “I don’t want any life-prolonging tr...

Nine-year-old Charleigh Pollock  is terminally ill with a neurological disorder, called Batten Disease. A drug called Brineura stabilizes he...

To address clinician uncertainty and confusion regarding determining death on neurologic criteria, the Kerala State Organ and Tissue Transpl...

In addition to advance care planning, fostering a palliative care culture, a new literature review finds that VSED is a key tool for improv...

This poster from the UKCEN 2025 conference shows how heavily clinical ethicists rely upon the law. Among other things the law often acts as ...

My experience yesterday at UKCEN 2025 amply illustrates the value of an in-person conference.  For months, I have had a rather adversarial e...

This just-published  Pearls before Swine cartoon ( see here ) captures an increasingly common approach to advance care planning. 

The Vermont Ethics Network has posted recordings  of its recent palliative care series, including:  I Don’t Want to Die Like That! Choosing ...

The call to submit abstracts for oral, poster, workshop, and panel presentations for the 5th International Conference on Assisted Dying and ...

Both chambers of the New York legislature have passed a bill ( A.B 136 ) authorizing medical aid in dying. When the governor signs this bill...

Here I am presenting my book chapter,  Expand Right to Die Options for Older Americans, at Harvard Law today. This was part of the Petrie F...

Submit your comments on the Draft WHO Guidance on Clinical Ethics by June 30, 2025. Over the past decades, clinical ethics has gained incre...

George Annas has been repeatedly described as “the father of patient rights.” Annas died this week at age 79. For much of his career, Annas...

It looks like New York will likely become the 13th U.S. jurisdiction to authorize medical aid in dying.  The Assembly already passed the bi...