In collaboration with UBC Living Library, I organized a panel discussion on euthanasia for my Bioethics courses this term. We invited four speakers who all have personal experience with terminal illnesses to share their experience with students and answer their questions.
It was a successful event. While it was at time hard to hear the painful stories, students told us in the survey that this event made the course material alive. Behind all the theories, facts, and laws, Bioethics is in fact about people who have feelings and desires and who are facing difficult situations and choices. As one student put it, the event adds a personal touch to topic.
However, some students didn’t really quite understand how the event can inform their thinking about euthanasia because the panelists didn’t really give any arguments for an against euthanasia. What they may have failed to understand is the connection between fact and judgement. Knowing the lives of those who are facing terminal illnesses can help us understand why they would want and would think that they should receive euthanasia. If I can organize a similar panel discussion in the future, I will make sure to clarify this point before the event.
