Death, Dying & Euthanasia: Netherlands & the USA

Catalog description

Is it ever permissible for physicians to kill their patients? In the Netherlands, the answer is yes. In the United States, it is no. Are the Dutch sliding down a moral slippery slope? Are the Americans compromising the rights and dignity of dying patients? This 3-credit course is a unique opportunity to examine a range of Dutch and American end-of-life policies and practices with special focus on the unique ethical, cultural, religious, and legal contexts in which they developed. This course will compare how two liberal democracies, the United States and the Netherlands, have handled difficult end-of-life issues, including: The Dutch regulation of euthanasia; Regulation of physician-assisted suicide in the state of Oregon; Terminal sedation; End-of-life decisions in newborns; Withholding and withdrawing of artificially-provided fluids and nutrition; The legal basis for end-of-life decision making in the USA; Palliative care and hospice; Public trust in medicine and physicians. In the United States, teaching methods will include lectures, case discussion, and exposure to how some of the course's themes are reflected in popular culture such as movies. Offered as BETH 315G and BETH 415G . Counts as a CAS Global & Cultural Diversity course.