Medicalization of Death

As medical technology rapidly advances, ‘medicine’ continues to push the envelope, prolonging life in a growing number of situations, seemingly keeping us from touching death. Death has become a medical event, marked by the precise time a heart stops beating, perhaps surrounded by beeping alarms, empty syringes, and teams of healthcare professionals who tried everything they could to see a life-sustaining rhythm on a screen. Perhaps of equal significance, death has at times become something viewed as a medical failure. “There’s nothing more we can do” is often met with a feeling of shock- it’s [whatever year it is] after all, there must be SOMEthing that can be done!” What are the consequences- positive and negative- of the medicalization of death? What do we do with this framework and perspective? Join for a discussionof what the medicalization of death means, ways in which we have experienced this in real life, and how we might use out understanding of this moving forward and making our own decisions.

How to participate:

1. Choose an option below. 

2. Once registered, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to the week's resources as well as the Zoom link for the meeting.  

***NOTE: Both the subject and 'sender' of the email confirmation will be "Medicalization of Death"***

3. Arrive a few minutes early to ensure all technology is working properly.