“Instead of looking backwards, she had become excited about knowing, What is death?” said Ms. Colombatto, who, like Ms. Weisberger, calls herself a death educator. “The conflict was: But I still have things to do, and I don’t know what will death be like. I don’t know if I really want to go there, but I’m also excited, because I’m going there.” Read more.
This week I must recommend a beautiful, profound story from the New York Times about Shatzi Weisberger. This one you will want to save for a chilly Saturday morning in late December; a time of year when all of us are confronted with the task of self-reflection.
With all of the chatter surrounding ‘assisted death’ - perhaps it’s useful to reflect less on the ‘assisted’ part and more on ‘death’ itself.
What does it mean to us? Why is it so taboo?
Is death inherently negative? According to Weisberger, death can be positive; she was a member of the positive death movement.
I highly recommend this beautiful story - I love nothing more than bioethics and philosophy through the lens of narrative. Perhaps in the next couple of weeks I can share my favourite picks for bioethics films.
If you’re a bioethicist, some of these questions about death may be old news for you - perhaps this is Bioethics 101 material.
But, what about your friends who wonder and say, “I’ll never understand your work!”
Café Bioethics is aimed to be accessible and interesting to those outside of academia too. Be sure to share this with a curious friend. :)
Last week - we posted a poll asking if you changed your mind about MAID expansion after learning more about the Jennyfer Hatch story. Here’s what you said:
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Here is a new initiative we’ve come up with - the Café Bioethics Substack. I’ve personally loved subscribing to Substack newsletters about ethics, economics, and food - I thought, Café Bioethics would fit right in to the scene.
Every week, I’m going to send you stuff I think you should know about. There is so much bioethics-related content out there; I will find it and send it your way. And if you find some of this bioethics-y content - send it my way! It might make it’s way on the newsletter!
To learn more about Café Bioethics, be sure to visit our updated website! Check out our podcasts, publications, past events, and call for papers! Of course, don’t forget to say hello. :)
-Nipa