"Whose Choice Is Death?" FREE public debate

[colorgarden.livejournal.com]

WHAT: Ford Hall Forum presents "Whose Choice Is Death" a FREE, public debate on physician-assisted death

WHO: Speakers: Marcia Angell, M.D. (Senior Lecturer in Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School) and Guy Maytal, M.D. (Associate Director of Ambulatory Psychiatry, MGH); Moderator: Jack Wrobel (Ford Hall Forum, Vice President)

WHEN: Thursday, April 18, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (TOMORROW!)

WHERE: Suffolk Law School, 120 Tremont. St., Boston, Room 295

With the vote on the physician-assisted suicide initiative coming down to a slim margin this past November, voters of Massachusetts appear torn. Is this dignity or playing God? Mercy or giving up too soon? Does it give people who are suffering a way to control their own destinies, or people with hidden agendas a way to do away with the vulnerable? And how soon will this issue arise again in our state? Come hear this debate and decide for yourself whether physician-assisted suicide should ever be Massachusetts law.

NOTE: Please register online and bring an ID so you can enter the building without hassle. Thank you!

Comments

[ron_newman]

Ford Hal Forum has never before, to my knowledge, asked people to register for their free events. Are you expecting an overflow crowd for this one?

[colorgarden.livejournal.com]

Hi, Ron! I'm sorry -- I didn't see this comment until now. A year ago, Suffolk Law School changed its rules in regard to security. Now, when we hold forums at the law school, we have to present them with the list of people who registered online. If you're on the list, you get in without a problem. If you're not, you have to present a state-issued ID (or a Suffolk ID) and get a name tag which is slightly more of a hassle. I encourage folks to register online just to ensure that they don't, for example, bike all the way from Somerville to Tremont Street and find that they can't get in. ;-)

Rest assured, the rest of the scheduled forums for this season are at the C. Walsh Theatre on Temple Street in Boston and they do not have these new security rules.

[elusiveat.livejournal.com]

This issue really matters to me. I want the option of death with dignity for myself, but really struggle with the idea that legalization of something I value so much for myself could open the door to nightmare scenarios for other people. However, I don't think I can bring myself to attend a public debate like this. I would probably watch a videorecording of a discussion along these lines if it existed.

Out of curiosity, though, I poked around on the internet for information on the two doctors who will be debating.

Marcia Angell (making the case in favor of doctor assisted suicide) appears to be a high profile heavyweight who's made appearances on PBS and so on:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcia_Angell

Guy Maytal (making the case against doctor assisted suicide) doesn't seem to be nearly as high profile, and has a couple of frighteningly negative patient reviews:
http://www.vitals.com/doctors/Dr_Guy_Maytal.html

Thought this information might be useful for others deciding whether to attend.

[colorgarden.livejournal.com]

Elusiveat, please check Ford Hall Forum's YouTube page (http://www.youtube.com/fordhallforum1908) in a couple of weeks, as we should have the video of that debate uploaded by then.