Earlier this month, a law permitting physician-assisted suicide took effect in the state of New York. It was the 13th state in the county to pass such a law. Opponents of physician-assisted suicide, which often include Catholic institutions, pro-life groups, and disability rights advocates, have not been all that successful in stopping these laws from spreading in recent years. Why is that? What’s behind the continued expansion of the practice? And how might opponents articulate a different vision for how we take care of those who are vulnerable?
Our guest today is an ideal person to help us think through these questions. Professor Cathleen Kaveny is Darald and Juliet Libby Professor of Law and Theology at Boston College. Her position includes appointments in both BC’s theology department and its law school, and she is the first person ever to hold such a joint appointment there. In her scholarship, Professor Kaveny focuses on the relationship of law, religion and morality. Back in the summer of 2008, when she was teaching at Notre Dame, host Mike Jordan Laskey took one of Professor Kaveny’s theology classes during grad school and she instantly became one of his favorite teachers of all time. (We think you’ll see why in this episode.)
In addition to her scholarly work, Professor Kaveny regularly publishes essays in the Catholic press, including a recent one on physician-assisted suicide that appeared in Commonweal. Headlined “The Importance of Being a Burden,” Professor Kaveny’s relatively short piece examines the issue from theological, legal and social analysis perspectives. The article is a great example of the way Professor Kaveny works at intellectual intersections and makes thorny topics accessible and engaging.
We think you’ll learn a lot from the essay and from this wide-ranging conversation.
“The Importance of Being a Burden” by Professor Cathleen Kaveny: https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/importance-being-burden-kaveny-physician-assisted-suicide
More about Professor Kaveny: https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/law/academics-faculty/faculty-directory/cathleen-kaveny.html
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