Last updated on:
6/2/2008 |
Author: ProCon.org
Margaret P. Battin, PhD Biography
- Title:
- Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Adjunct Professor of Internal Medicine
- Position:
- Pro to the question "Should Euthanasia or Physician-Assisted Suicide Be Legal?"
- Reasoning:
-
“We [Battin and Timothy Quill] firmly believe that physician-assisted death should be one–not the only one, but one–of the last-resort options available to a patient facing a hard death. We agree that these options should include high dose pain medication if needed, cessation of life-sustaining therapy, voluntary cessation of eating and drinking, and terminal sedation. We also believe, however, that physician-assisted dying, whether it is called physician-assisted death or physician aid in dying or physician-assisted suicide, should be among the options available to paients at the end of life.”
Physician-Assisted Dying: The Case for Palliative Care & Patient Choice, 2004
- Theoretical Expertise Ranking:
-
Experts
Individuals with MDs, JDs, PhDs, or equivalent advanced degrees in fields relevant to end-of-life issues. Also top-level government officials (such as foreign leaders, US presidents, Founding Fathers, Supreme Court Justices, members of legislative bodies, cabinet members, military leaders, etc.) with positions relevant to end-of-life. - Involvement and Affiliations:
-
- Distinguished Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Utah, 2000-present
- Adjunct Professor, Division of Medical Ethics and Humanities, Department of
- Internal Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, 1990-present
- Member, American Association of Suicidology
- Member, American Section of the International Association for
- Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy
- Member, European Society for Philosophy of Medicine and Health
- Member, American Society for Bioethics and Humanities
- Member, International Academy for Suicide Research
- Member, International Association for Bioethics
- Member, International Work Group on Death, Dying, and Bereavement
- Professor, University of Utah, 1988-2000
- Associate Professor, University of Utah, July 1981-1988
- Philosopher-in-Residence, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Winter 1981
- Assistant Professor, University of Utah, 1977-1981
- Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Utah, 1975-1977
- Instructor, Pitzer College, Fall 1974
- Education:
-
- PhD, Philosophy, University of California Irvine, 1976
- MFA, Fiction Writing, University of California Irvine, 1973
- BA, magna cum laude with Honors in Philosophy, Bryn Mawr College, 1963
- University of Munich, 1961-1962
- Other:
-
- Engaged in research on active euthanasia and assisted suicide in the Netherlands
- Quoted in:
