Euthanasia at the centre of book and panel discussion
The controversial subject of voluntary euthanasia is the focus of a Victoria University panel discussion that coincides with the launch of New Zealander Sean Davison’s book about helping his terminally ill mother die.
Entitled Before We Say Goodbye, the book is a moving account of the struggle Sean and his 85-year-old medical practitioner mother, Dr Pat Davison, face after she is diagnosed with cancer and asks her son to help her to die.
Victoria University Religious Studies Programme Director, Professor Paul Morris, says the book is “an excellent starting point for debate around Sean Davison’s experiences, possible changes in public attitudes and the law regarding euthanasia”.
“Must we suffer? Should we be able to choose when we want to die? In recent years the New Zealand parliament has debated ‘death with dignity’ or ‘qualified voluntary euthanasia’ and two bills to change the law have been defeated,” says Professor Morris.
“This subject raises important issues about voluntary euthanasia and the question of a law change. The launch of Sean Davison’s book is a good time to reopen the debate with Victoria University’s panel discussion.”
The different philosophical, moral, religious arguments and positions will be explored and debated by the panel, which includes the author, Victoria academics Paul Morris and Nick Agar, the Rt Rev Richard Randerson, author and former Dean of Auckland Cathedral; Wellington barrister Alison Douglass, and Drs Ben Gray and Jonathan Adler.
The debate, which will be open to the public, will be held at Victoria University’s Hunter Council Chamber this Wednesday 24 June at 6pm.
Author Sean Davison returned to New Zealand to launch the book and attend the debate. He is currently Professor of Biotechnology at the University of Western Cape in Cape Town, where he heads the Forensic DNA Laboratory specialising in resolving human rights cases in South Africa.
He is hoping his book will generate robust debate.
“My mother was an experienced medical practitioner who had thought hard about the issues surrounding voluntary euthanasia. Her approach to dying may also create some interest, together with admiration for her courage and resourcefulness in choosing to stop eating, which she saw as the most uncomplicated method at her disposal.”
Mr Davison believes voluntary euthanasia should be legalised, “and our society should show some compassion in easing that distance between dying and death”.
For further information contact Professor Paul Morris on (04) 463 5037 or paul.morris@vuw.ac.nz
To RSVP email rsvp@vuw.ac.nz
The controversial subject of voluntary euthanasia is the focus of a Victoria University panel discussion that coincides with the launch of New Zealander Sean Davison’s book about helping his terminally ill mother die.
Entitled Before We Say Goodbye, the book is a moving account of the struggle Sean and his 85-year-old medical practitioner mother, Dr Pat Davison, face after she is diagnosed with cancer and asks her son to help her to die.
Victoria University Religious Studies Programme Director, Professor Paul Morris, says the book is “an excellent starting point for debate around Sean Davison’s experiences, possible changes in public attitudes and the law regarding euthanasia”.
“Must we suffer? Should we be able to choose when we want to die? In recent years the New Zealand parliament has debated ‘death with dignity’ or ‘qualified voluntary euthanasia’ and two bills to change the law have been defeated,” says Professor Morris.
“This subject raises important issues about voluntary euthanasia and the question of a law change. The launch of Sean Davison’s book is a good time to reopen the debate with Victoria University’s panel discussion.”
The different philosophical, moral, religious arguments and positions will be explored and debated by the panel, which includes the author, Victoria academics Paul Morris and Nick Agar, the Rt Rev Richard Randerson, author and former Dean of Auckland Cathedral; Wellington barrister Alison Douglass, and Drs Ben Gray and Jonathan Adler.
The debate, which will be open to the public, will be held at Victoria University’s Hunter Council Chamber this Wednesday 24 June at 6pm.
Author Sean Davison returned to New Zealand to launch the book and attend the debate. He is currently Professor of Biotechnology at the University of Western Cape in Cape Town, where he heads the Forensic DNA Laboratory specialising in resolving human rights cases in South Africa.
He is hoping his book will generate robust debate.
“My mother was an experienced medical practitioner who had thought hard about the issues surrounding voluntary euthanasia. Her approach to dying may also create some interest, together with admiration for her courage and resourcefulness in choosing to stop eating, which she saw as the most uncomplicated method at her disposal.”
Mr Davison believes voluntary euthanasia should be legalised, “and our society should show some compassion in easing that distance between dying and death”.
For further information contact Professor Paul Morris on (04) 463 5037 or paul.morris@vuw.ac.nz
To RSVP email rsvp@vuw.ac.nz
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