Literature Review

Medical aid in dying law would force Long Island Catholic nuns, ministries to 'abandon' their beliefs, Federal suit claimsNewsday; by Robert Brodsky; 7/21/26 A new [New York] state law that would allow life-ending medication to be made available to some terminally ill residents will force Catholic nuns and ministries, including several from Long Island, to "abandon their religious beliefs" or face fines, according to a federal lawsuit seeking to force changes to the law before it goes into effect next month. On Friday, four orders of Catholic nuns, including the Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict, which operates St. Joseph's Home for the Aged, an assisted living facility in Huntington, were joined by the Rockville Centre Diocese and the Catholic Health System of Long Island in filing the suit in New York's Northern District. 

Contextualizing the dead donor rule in an era of voluntary euthanasiaNew England Journal of Medicine; by Carter Winberg, Ian Ball, Robert D. Truog; 7/26Growing acceptance of voluntary euthanasia, which opens the door to death by organ donation, warrants a recontextualization of the dead donor rule and assessment of the ethical principles involved.Publisher's note: This article was discussed by NPR (A new proposal for organ donation sparks concern; NPR; by Rob Stein; 7/26). Should surgeons be allowed to perform euthanasia by removing patients' hearts and other organs while they're still alive? Doctors try a controversial technique to reduce the transplant organ shortage The idea, dubbed "Death by Organ Donation," would enable euthanasia patients to donate organs for transplantation in a way that would make their organs more likely to be usable. It would also kill them. There are interesting ethical points on both sides of the discussion.

Hospice should offer dignity, not deception | Your turn VC Star, Ventura County, CA; by Molly Corbett; 7/11/26 Not long ago, a Ventura County family called Livingston for help. Their loved one was enrolled with another hospice but had not received a visit from one of its nurses in more than three weeks. Consider what those weeks must have felt like. The family had made one of the most difficult decisions it would ever face. Instead of focusing on their loved one, they were left wondering when help would come and whether anyone was paying attention. That’s the human cost of hospice fraud and neglect. It’s not only money improperly billed to Medicare. It’s pain that may go unmanaged, calls that go unanswered and precious time consumed by fear and frustration.

[Germany] Doctor with “lust for murder” convicted in deaths of 15 patients in Germany, sentenced to life in prison Europe Says; 7/8/26 A German palliative care doctor accused of killing 15 patients and described by prosecutors as having “a lust for murder” was convicted Wednesday and sentenced to life in prison. The 41-year-old Berlin doctor, identified only as Johannes M., allegedly killed 12 women and three men between September 2021 and July 2024 using deadly cocktails of sedatives. On at least five occasions, he allegedly set fire to the victims’ apartments to cover up the killings. ... The doctor allegedly “administered an anesthetic and a muscle relaxant to his patients without their knowledge or consent,” the Berlin prosecutor’s office said in a statement. “The latter paralyzed the respiratory muscles, leading to respiratory arrest and death within minutes.”

Civility requires the willingness to engage - a dispute with a neighbor revealed how much motivation matter The Conversation; by Deborah Mower; 7/2/26 ... I’m an ethicist and moral psychologist who researches moral conviction and civility, which I treat as a respectful approach toward conflict resolution. I’ve spent my career studying misunderstandings and disagreements. I teach students ways to better navigate differing interpretations, complex conversations, moral dilemmas and bitter disputes. Civility research matters for ethics education across every discipline, especially fields such as law or medicine where contentious political and moral disagreements are likely to arise. Consider, for instance, the tense conversations between healthcare professionals who disagree about whether the best course of treatment for a patient is to turn to hospice services.

Disability advocates challenge Illinois ‘aid-in-dying’ law llinois Public Media | NPR | PBS; by Brian Mackey; 6/23/26 Illinois aid-in-dying law is set to take effect in September. It’s meant to give terminally ill patients a medical way to end their lives. But opponents call it “assisted suicide,” and they’ve joined with disability advocates trying to block the law in court. We’ll hear from people on both sides of that debate. [This article provides links to multiple sources, addressing "both sides of that debate."]

Dying patients shouldn’t have to choose between dia­lysis care and com­fort The Boston Globe, Boston, MA; by Patricia Ramsden; 6/22/26 ... Medi­care cur­rently requires most end-stage kid­ney fail­ure patients to choose between dia­lysis and hos­pice bene­fits. ... People dying from other ter­minal ill­nesses do not face this harsh choice. For sev­eral years, Dia­lysis Clinic, Inc. (DCI), the only national not-for-profit dia­lysis organ­iz­a­tion, has col­lab­or­ated with not-for-profit hos­pice organ­iz­a­tions to offer con­cur­rent pal­li­at­ive dia­lysis and hos­pice care to selec­ted patients in Ten­nessee and West­ern Pennsylvania. A 2026 col­lab­or­a­tion between DCI and Care Dimen­sions, the largest hos­pice pro­vider in the state, expan­ded that model to East­ern Mas­sachu­setts. However, this innov­at­ive pro­gram, rely­ing on phil­an­thropic fund­ing, remains avail­able only to a few patients.

Hospice, ethics & capitalism:  a powerful conversation with  UVA Darden School of Business — part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Lauren Kaufman and Stephen Maiden; 6/17/26 Few topics spark more debate in healthcare than the intersection of compassionate care, ethical responsibility, and financial sustainability. Will mission-driven hospice organizations survive—and thrive—in a healthcare landscape increasingly dominated by for-profit providers? In Part One of this compelling conversation, host Chris Comeaux welcomes Lauren Kaufmann, Assistant Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, and Stephen Maiden, Managing Director of the Darden Case Writing Research Group. Together, they discuss the groundbreaking business case developed around Teleios Collaborative Network and the evolving hospice industry.

The pain of caring for a parent who abused youDNYUZ; 6/16/26 It started in January 2024, with a call from her father’s eye doctor. Did Carole know that Andre was still driving, even though his vision was so poor? Even though it was illegal to drive with eyesight so bad? Well, no, she didn’t; she made a point not to know this sort of thing about her father. Also, she didn’t really care. Still, Carole drove to his house, on the outskirts of Santa Rosa, Calif., down long dirt roads surrounded by vineyards. ... And there was her father, 93, standing by the front door, on that filthy rug, next to the maroon-colored walker that he hated to use. Looking small, looking weathered. ... 

Who are hospital ethics consultants, and why should you care? The Conversation; by Jennifer McCurdy; 6/2/26 Imagine the following scenarios:

First do no harm: communication surrounding non-beneficial treatments American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; by Cassie Stanzler, MD, Adam Marks, MD, MPH, and Laura Taylor, MD, MSc; 5/21/26 Despite a consensus in the medical community that clinicians should not offer non-beneficial treatments (NBTs) to their patients, little guidance exists on the particular communication needs around this fraught topic. While intended in the spirit of non-maleficence, setting limits around NBTs can be seen by patients and families as abandonment, resulting in conflict. In this paper, we propose a framework to guide Palliative Care clinicians in communicating about these complex issues with patients and families. ... Our framework emphasizes proactive relationship building with patients and families, close attention to their values, and compassionate limit-setting when medically appropriate. 

UChicago expands its offerings in biomedical ethics NewsWise; by University of Chicago Medical Center; 5/22/26 The University of Chicago Biological Sciences Division is expanding its educational opportunities in biomedical ethics with two new offerings: a biomedical ethics concentration within its Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences (BMS) program and a new online biomedical ethics certificate through the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. Together, the offerings are designed to meet growing demand from students and healthcare professionals seeking formal training in how to navigate ethical questions in medicine, research, and patient care. ...