9: Medical Aid in Dying

Today’s disagreement is on medical aid in dying. In the United States, this term refers to the right for a terminally ill, adult patient to end their own life by taking a medication prescribed by a doctor. Medical aid in dying is currently legal in ten states and Washington, D.C.

We’ve brought together an activist and a doctor to dive into the topic:

Dr. Ira Byock is a physician, author, and advocate for palliative care — the medical practice of treating people with serious, complex, and terminal illnesses. Ira is the founder of the Providence St. Joseph Health Institute for Human Caring and is an emeritus professor of medicine and professor of community health and family medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College.

Kim Callinan is an end-of-life leader and advocate in the field of medical aid in dying. She is President and Chief Executive Officer of Compassion & Choices, an organization that aims to “improve care, expand options and empower everyone to chart their end-of-life journey.”

Today we ask a wide range of important questions on medical aid in dying.

How broken is end-of-life care in America? And how should we fix it?

What are the potential risks and benefits of implementing medical aid in dying?

How should we be thinking about death, dying, and the end-of-life for our loved ones?

And one more very exciting note: today's disagreement is facilitated by Catherine Cushenberry, one of our producers and someone who has been helping to bring the idea for this podcast to life from the very beginning. Catherine is also a healthcare industry veteran and the perfect facilitator for this topic.

And as you'll hear, she's awesome at it.

Show Notes

Current state of end-of-life care [03:25]

Palliative care [07:45]

Question of unintended consequences [12:56]

Defining medical aid in dying [16:47]

Effect of medical aid in dying on end-of-life care [22:36]

Medical aid in dying outside the U.S. [28:02]

Process of medical aid in dying [33:56]

Is there a slippery slope? [37:30]

Reasons why people choose medical aid in dying [43:21]

Financial incentives [47:08]

Steelmanning [51:05]

Questions or comments about this episode? Email us at podcast@thedisagreement.com or find us on X and Instagram @thedisagreementhq. Subscribe to our newsletter: https://thedisagreement.substack.com/