Thorny end-of-life issues the subject of free public lecture on April 9

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Cynthia D Quinn, (808) 956-7966
Interim Associate Dean for Student Services, William S Richardson School of Law
Beverly Creamer, (808) 389-5736
Media Consultant, William S. Richardson School of Law
Posted: Mar 22, 2013

On Tuesday, April 9, UH Mānoa's William S. Richardson School of Law’s Elder Law Program will host a thought-provoking talk on end-of-life issues by visiting Professor George Smith from the Columbus School of Law, The Catholic University of America, Washington. D.C.

The free, public event begins at 3:30 p.m. and will end at 5 p.m. in Classroom 1 at the Law School at 2515 Dole St.

Smith’s lecture, entitled “Give Me Liberty … or at Least Give Me a Good Death,” will probe ethics, decision-making, and the technical and emotional issues surrounding end of life.

Following the talk, a three-person panel will discuss these complex matters from a variety of viewpoints, including the legal, medical, and patient perspectives. The moderator will be Professor James Pietsch, Director of the Elder Law Program at Richardson Law School.

The panel is expected to offer insight into the thorny issues arising under Hawai‘i’s Uniform Health Care Decisions Act (UHCDA), enacted in 1999.

Panelists will include Dr. Daniel Fischberg from the Queen’s Medical Center, who will present a doctor’s perspective on such matters as palliative care and sedation, futility, determining a patient’s preferences, and withdrawing or withholding treatment.

Also on the panel will be attorney William Hunt of Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing, who will offer a lawyer’s perspective on these matters, and in particular what it means to represent a healthcare institution.

The final panelist is attorney Scott Makuakane, who will discuss the issues from the perspective of representing a family.

Contact UHELP at (808) 956-6544 for more information.