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Arthur Caplan, PhD - Ethics of Brain Death, end of life, the State and the Right

Arthur Caplan, PhD - Ethics of Brain Death, end of life, the State and the Right

FromPoint of Inquiry


Arthur Caplan, PhD - Ethics of Brain Death, end of life, the State and the Right

FromPoint of Inquiry

ratings:
Length:
35 minutes
Released:
Jan 14, 2014
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

This week Point of Inquiry is discussing Death. Specifically, Brain death and the efforts of some areas of the religious right and their attempts to eliminate whole brain Brain Death as the legal standard for death in America. 
To aid in that,Lindsay Beyerstein welcomes, head of the division of bioethics at New York University's Langone Medical Center, Arthur Caplan, PhD.
Dr. Caplan is the author of 32 books and over 600 papers on bioethics as well as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Centering on the recent high-profile cases in recent months with brain dead people being kept 'alive' by machines long after total irreversible loss of brain function. They discuss these cases specifically but also the idea of Brain Death in general and what keeping a corpse alive on machines entails. 
What can and should you do to avoid putting your family through this ordeal if you were to fall into the dead zone of Brain Death? Of course, the unreasonable fear of organ thieves which seem to creep their fictitious noses into this discussion whenever it comes up, is discussed for any still afraid of that fate.
Released:
Jan 14, 2014
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

Launched in 2005, Point of Inquiry is the premier podcast of the Center for Inquiry. Point of Inquiry critically examines topics in science, religion, philosophy, and politics. Each episode takes on a specific issue and features in-depth discussions with leading scientists, researchers, and writers.