The John and Edith Low Beer Memorial Lecture, put on annually by AMI-Quebec – Allies in Mental Health, in November 2024 focused on the controversial issue of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) for Mental Illness. A panel discussion involving 2 psychiatrists and 2 individuals living with mental health challenges would…
Read moreIn Canada and Quebec, the debate over the right to die with dignity, medically assisted suicide, and euthanasia is often heated. I am struck by the inconsistency, perhaps even hypocrisy, of governments that maintain that it is OK for individuals to commit suicide, but not to receive help from anyone…
Read moreWhen a patient’s wishes conflict with the doctor’s, or families disagree with medical teams about the treatment of a loved one, biomedical ethicists are often called in to help resolve the issues. Recent examples that made headlines include the case of Sophia Park, a twenty-five year old grad student, married…
Read moreThis is a talk given in 1996 to the Economics Class of Mr. Fogel, at Miss Edgar and Miss Cramp’s School for Girls, Westmount. My daughter Lisa was in this class at the time. Hypothesis Many of the current ethical, social, cultural, and environmental concerns would not have arisen if…
Read more