Sarah Wootton (left), writing in the [UK] Guardian, says British philosopher Mary Helen Warnock is wrong to say that people with dementia are a burden to society and have a “duty to die.” She says Baroness Warnock’s position provides a much-needed opportunity for society to debate this taboo subject. An excerpt:

We are all living longer and impressive medical advances mean more of us will be diagnosed with terminal illnesses as well as complex medical conditions. As a consequence, we will need to radically address the way we care for and treat people nearing the end of their lives. Essentially we’re going to have to rethink the end of life.

Sarah Wootton is chief executive for Death in Dying, which advocates for greater personal choice at the end of life.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 29th, 2008 at 3:23 pm and is filed under assisted suicide, elderly, end of life, euthanasia/mercy killing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Email This Post