Physician Assisted Suicide: Promoting Death with Dignity or Empowering Exploitation?

United States health care is intentionally moving in a direction which emphasizes patient autonomy. This mentality has caused some patients to seek control over their own death when faced with a terminal illness. Claiming the right to “death with dignity,” patients exercise the method of physician assisted suicide in order to avoid the inevitable suffering that comes along with certain disease progressions. Is such medical practice ethical? Should a patient have the choice to end her own life rather than experience the devastating pain that comes with a terminal illness? Could physician assisted suicide evolve to encompass putting to an end more than physical pain, such as psychological suffering, or physical or mental disabilities? In this presentation, I will demonstrate how physician assisted suicide is a fateful pattern that should be resisted for several reasons. With an evaluation of Kantian ethics, I will suggest that health care professionals should not promote physician assisted suicide in clinical practice nor encourage terminally ill patients to choose this option when facing end of life circumstances. I will discuss how physician assisted suicide violates Kant’s first and second categorical imperatives and affirm why we should adhere to this assertion when considering ethical matters; to do so, I will explore the significance of virtue ethics and show how these principles are relevant when considering ethical dilemmas. In addition, I will present the concepts of autonomy and duty from a Kantian perspective and relate these to physician assisted suicide. Further, I will suggest potential implications of allowing “death with dignity” considering the slippery slope argument while using a case study to support the validity of this claim. Finally, I will emphasize how physician assisted suicide is likely to exploit vulnerable populations and make a final claim as to why this practice should be considered unethical

Shattered Silence: Unmuting the Voices of Syrian Refugees

The Syrian conflict has affected over 12 million people in the past five years resulting in one of the most devastating forced migrations in global history. Through literature reviews and further research, this presentation will define the context that fostered the refugee crisis, as well as outline the current conditions experienced by refugees remaining in and outside of Syria. After exposing the cause of this catastrophe as well as highlighting present injustices, presenters will examine the impact of this event on refugees and explore future implications of the crisis. Finally, insight will be provided as to how individuals can become involved with advocating for justice and supporting refugees as they resettle in new communities