

Musings on Mortality: How 'death phobia' contributes to xenophobia
In this column, I write about the relationship between an ever-increasing xenophobia, fear of the "other," and human violence as...


Musings on Mortality: Patient-centered care feeds death phobia
IIan Morrison, Ph.D., starts a piece that he has written for the online newsletter Hospitals & Health Network (March 3, 2015) as follows:...


Musings on Mortality: Patient privacy lost in new drug bill
It's a lot easier to pass a law that limits patient autonomy and physician paternalism than to truly address the problem at hand, one...


Musings on Mortality: Death-phobic culture lingers in 'grey zone'
Recently, I experienced what I can only call a parallel universe. I was in a neonatal intensive care unit to visit a mother and her...


Musings on Mortality: Life-or-death decisions in the 'grey zone'
The "life-at-all-costs" mentality that we have in our death-phobic culture applies not only to the elderly, but to newborns as well. Not...


Musings on Mortality: Quest for immortality drives fear of death
I've been teaching a course called "Ethics of Health Care" for eight years. My students grapple with scenarios and ethical dilemmas......


Musings on Mortality: Grief — the witness to life
When I wake up in the morning, it always occurs to me that I may die that day. I don't expect to live. I don't demand that I live. And, I...


Musings on Mortality: Lessons learned from mother's suicide
When I called my mother the evening of Aug. 5, 2013, there was no answer. When last we spoke, she had said that she wasn't going out...


Musings on Mortality: Is patient autonomy possible in current culture?
Two pillars in health care are the principles of patient autonomy and informed consent, otherwise known as the right to choose or reject...

Letter to the Editor: Logic, compassion and dignified death
"I was at the hearing [Oct. 27] on H1991. I got a chance to put in my two cents late in the afternoon. I support the bill with all my...