UNCA to Host Talk on "Is There a Duty to Die?"

John Hardwig, University of Tennessee at Knoxville philosophy department chair and professor, will give a talk on "Is There a Duty to Die?" at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12, at UNC Asheville’s Laurel Forum, Karpen Hall. His talk, the 2002 Deryl J. Howard Lecture, is based on his recently published book of the same title. The event is free and open to the public.

Hardwig, who holds a doctorate from University of Texas, has written extensively on ethics issues dealing with health care and death. Hardwig’s 1999 release, "Is There A Duty to Die?" explores these in depth. He argues that amid the controversies surrounding physician-assisted suicides, euthanasia, and long-term care for the elderly, a major component in the ethics of medicine is notably absent: the rights and welfare of the survivor's family. Hardwig contends that there is a need to replace patient-centered bioethics with family-centered bioethics.

"Our medical technology is changing the way we die. People no longer die quickly of infectious diseases. Instead, the average American now knows three years in advance what he or she will die of," said Hardwig. "This new kind of death raises a host of new ethical problems and we must consider how to die responsibly when living on will be too great an emotional and financial burden on one’s family."

Established in 1999, the Deryl J. Howard Annual Lecture Series is made possible through an endowment honoring the late UNCA philosophy professor.

For more information, call UNCA’s Humanities Program at 828/251-6808.

Media Contacts:

• Dr. Bill Spellman, UNCA Humanities Dept. Chair, 828/251-6809
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526