Ethics for Lunch: Can You Turn My LVAD Off? I Want to Die

Please join us for a fascinating in person and online presentation and discussion of the following case: 

Patients have a legal right to discontinue life-sustaining treatment, but what if they are suicidal? We will consider the case of a man who attempted to disconnect the power source to his own heart device.

Location:

This is a hybrid event and will be hosted both in person at CUIMC and via Zoom. This event will be held at the Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Rooms VEC 902 and 903. Lunch will be provided for those choosing to attend in person.

Speaker: 

Lydia Dugdale, MD, MAR (ethics), is the Dorothy L. and Daniel H. Silberberg Professor of Medicine at the Columbia University Medical Center and Director of the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. She also serves as Co-Director of Clinical Ethics at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

A practicing internist, Dr Dugdale moved to Columbia in 2019 from Yale University, where she previously served as Associate Director of the Program for Biomedical Ethics. Her scholarship focuses on end-of-life issues, the role of aesthetics in teaching ethics, moral injury, and the doctor-patient relationship. She edited Dying in the Twenty-First Century (MIT Press, 2015) and is author of The Lost Art of Dying (HarperOne, 2020), a popular press book on the preparation for death. Dr Dugdale attended medical school at the University of Chicago, completed residency training at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and holds a MAR in ethics from Yale Divinity School.

Moderated by: Barbra Bluestone Rothschild, MD, Core Faculty, Bioethics Program, Columbia University

Registered guests will receive a Zoom link prior to the event.

For further information, please contact Katherine Julia Mendis at kjm2148 [[at]] columbia [[dot]] edu.

For additional information about program offerings at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies, please contact an Admissions Counselor at 212-854-9666 or inquire [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu.

Columbia University makes every effort to accommodate individuals with disabilities. Please notify the Office of Disability Services at least 10 days in advance if you require closed captioning, sign-language interpretation, or any other disability accommodations. Disability Services can be reached at 212-854-2388 or disability [[at]] columbia [[dot]] edu.

For questions about health and safety, please visit Columbia University’s Hub for Emergency Preparedness for the latest policies, as they are subject to change.

Please note we do not permit the interruption of speakers or audience disruptions. All guests including students, staff, faculty, and alumni attending the event understand and agree to follow the responsibilities set forth in University policies, including the Rules of University Conduct and Standards and Discipline. Those found in violation will be asked to discontinue and may be asked to leave the venue.