Literature Review

Physicians’ end-of-life choices: a surprising study Medpage Today's KevinMD.com; by M. Bennet Broner, PhD; 1/3/26 In July, I wrote about the importance of end-of-life planning (EOL). Shortly after, I read a study that examined physicians’ EOL plans with advanced cancer and Alzheimer’s disease (stage unspecified). The study encompassed nations with different forms of aid in dying, from the U.S., where a terminal coma is the only option most states allow, to Belgium, where physician-assisted dying (PAD) and euthanasia are available. Although the term suicide has been used for PAD, it is incorrect, as no one who chooses these options desires to die; they just want a choice in how and when they do so. ... One would assume, as the researchers did, that physicians would utilize all available medical technology. However, they found that end-of-life choices were nuanced decisions. ...

End-of-life care needs cultural humility and social justice BMJ; by Jamilla Akhter Hussain, Rekha Vijayshankar, and Mary Hodgson; 12/18/25 Death, dying, and grief are not medical events—they are profoundly social, relational, and shaped by the histories people carry into their final days. ... [A] key question is: how can end-of-life care services become more trustworthy? Too often, institutions respond with so-called cultural competency initiatives. ... What is needed is cultural humility and social justice. Cultural humility involves ongoing self-reflection and acknowledgement of bias at individual, organisational, and system levels. Palliative care must prioritise cultural humility and social justice: trust grows not through outreach alone but through shared creation of knowledge, meaning, and care—and at the end of life ...

MAID: Medical Aid in Dying - Should Medical Aid in Dying be legal? Britannica; by The Editors of ProCon; 12/16/25

Gov. Hochul reaches agreement with NY Legislature to pass Medical Aid in Dying Act NBC News 10, Rochester/Albany, NY; by Evan Bourtis; 12/17/25 Gov. Kathy Hochul has reached an agreement with the New York State Legislature to allow medical aid in dying for terminally ill people. ... Hochul announced the agreement and published an op-ed in the Times Union on Wednesday. In the op-ed, Hochul said she proposed changes to the bill’s language, which sponsors and legislative leaders have agreed to include. She said she’ll sign the bill once the legislature returns to Albany. You can read the op-ed here. ...  Hochul wanted more protections in the bill’s language. Here is the updated list of safeguards in the bill: ...

Palliative and end of life care: CEJA reports American Medical Association (AMA); updated 12/15/25 Reports by the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA) interpret the AMA Principles of Medical Ethics to provide practical ethics guidance on timely topics. When the AMA House of Delegates adopts the recommendations of a CEJA report they become Opinions in the Code of Medical Ethics. The body of the report, which sets out CEJA’s ethics analysis, is archived and remains available as a resource to help users apply guidance. [Go to the original AMA source to access its CEJA reports:]

The hard questions behind medically assisted suicide PJ Media; by David Manney; 12/13/25 Before we start, I need you to know that I'm not advocating for medically assisted suicide (MAS). I do believe that I grasp why some people, in rare and specific circumstances, view it as a deeply personal choice. That belief comes not from emotion, but from watching the hardest years of suffering and listening to families stare at a future without mercy. As more states pass laws, including Illinois, which recently became the twelfth state to legalize medical aid in dying for terminally ill patients with strict criteria, the debate has grown far beyond politics, and into the core of how we treat the most vulnerable among us. ...Editor's Note: In the enacted Illinois statute known as “Deb’s Law,” the formal statutory term is neither “medical aid in dying” nor “medically assisted suicide,” but “aid‑in‑dying medication,” within the “End‑of‑Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act.” 

Illinois is newest state to allow medical assistance in dying after Pritzker signs bill CBS News, Chicago; by Sara Tenenbaum and Charlie De Mar; 12/12/25, 11:02 am CST Gov. JB Pritzker signed a new law Friday making Illinois the newest state allowing medically assisted dying in terminally ill residents. Known as "Deb's Lawn," allows eligible terminally ill adults with a prognosis to live six months or less to request a prescription from their doctor that would allow them to die on their own terms. The legislation was narrowly approve by the Illinois Senate in October after the Illinois House passed it in May. People on both sides of the debate over the controversial legislation lobbied the governor up until the last minute. Medical aid in dying, also called assisted suicide or dying with dignity, is already legal in 12 states. Eight more are considering similar legislation. Pritzker's signature makes Illinois the first state in the Midwest to allow medically assisted death.

Managing competing interests between appointed surrogates and extended family in end-of-life care available to purchaseAmerican Academy of Pediatrics; by Derek R. Soled, Elizabeth Lanphier, Ianthe R.M. Schepel, Maya Scott; 11/25This Ethics Rounds article brings together perspectives from a clinical ethicist, 2 resident physicians in pediatrics, and a social worker on a case involving a terminally ill, intubated, and sedated young adult patient whose health care proxy, extended family, and health care team disagree on the course of her care. Although the proxy, the patient’s adult sister, seems to agree in principle with the health care team’s recommendation to withdraw life-sustaining treatment, she is unwilling to consent to withdrawal due to perceived pressure from her extended family. From an ethics perspective, we discuss the concept of the “marginalized decision-maker” and how to blend the “best interests” approach from pediatric medicine with the “substituted judgment” standard applied in adult medicine when making decisions for incapacitated young adult patients. From a clinical perspective, we explore features of this case that may contribute to feelings of moral distress within the medical team, identify best practices for leading team and family meetings to avoid values imposition and promote shared decision-making, and argue for the importance of training physicians in clinical ethics and reflective skills to improve the quality of patient care and reduce experiences of moral distress in the workplace. Finally, we explore the role that family dynamics, families’ culture and values, and past experiences in the health care system can play in shared decision-making conversations.

AI ‘griefbots’ resurrect dead loved ones — healthy or harmful? Medscape; by Maya Ordonez; 12/5/25 Justin Harrison’s mother passed away in 2022, but he still speaks with her every week. While his mother was still alive, Harrison recreated her virtually using generative artificial intelligence (AI) trained on videos, audio recordings, text messages, and basic information about her. This virtual persona, or “versona,” interacts with him and speaks much in the same way his mother did. He calls her after small wins, such as running a mile, or difficult times, such as when he’s sick. ... Editor's Note: Griefbots may offer comfort, yet they raise deep ethical concerns. These AI recreations are not our loved ones but rather are algorithmic replicas shaped by incomplete data. They make assumptions. They risk distorting what was real, blurring death’s finality, and commercializing our most vulnerable moments. As guardians of grief care and human dignity, we must ask: In using AI to “resurrect” the dead, do we honor memory or jeopardize it? First, do no harm. As this technology expands, we must protect the dignity of the deceased and the integrity of the bereaved. 

Why reflexivity matters in the literature of suffering, death, and dying in eating disordersJournal of Eating Disorders; by Scout Silverstein; 10/25Current debates on medical aid in dying and treatment futility in longstanding eating disorders emphasize diagnostic frameworks, ethical principles, and legal statutes. What remains underexamined is how an author's own experiences with suffering, death, and dying shape their perspective and conclusions. I argue that every manuscript on end-of-life care, decision-making capacity, or futility in eating disorders should include a reflexivity statement detailing the author's relationship to mortality. By mandating reflexivity disclosures alongside ethics and funding statements, journals can enhance transparency and allow readers to contextualize empirical claims and ethical positions. I propose a template for a reflexivity paragraph in which authors succinctly state their clinical or research focus, experiences with suffering, and forces that shape their views on suffering, futility, and dying.

New Jersey organ procurement organization under congressional investigation after ‘alarming’ whistleblower claimsCNN; by Jen Christensen; Story by Jen Christensen, 11/24/25 The US House Ways and Means Committee said Wednesday that it is investigating the organ procurement organization for the New Jersey region for what it called “extreme abuse of public trust” and possible illegal activity, including trying to procure organs from people who didn’t volunteer to be donors and, in at least one case, trying to continue with the organ recovery process in a patient who had “reanimated.”