Release

Media Advisory: Expert on Physician Assisted Suicide Addresses Supreme Court's Oregon Ruling

Contact: Karl Luntta, Dir. Media Relations:
Office: (518) 437-4980
Cell: (518) 265-4114
Email: [email protected]

ALBANY, N.Y. (January 18, 2006) -- The debate surrounding physician assisted suicide (PAS) is refueling water cooler discussions nationwide and University at Albany philosophy and ethics professor Bonnie Steinbock stands ready to answer your questions.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court upheld Oregon's state law supporting PAS by a 6-3 decision; and with Terri Schiavo's highly publicized death still on the minds of many Americans — states must reconcile allowing PAS, or upholding existing bans in the 44 states that have already adopted anti-PAS legislation.

Steinbock has researched, written and lectured extensively on the PAS debate, The Oregon Death with Dignity Act, the Netherland's Physician's Assisted Death (PAD) and voluntary euthanasia, and the ethical and legal issues impacting the debate. In her paper: The Case for Physician-Assisted Suicide: Not (Yet) Proven, she writes:

The legalization of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) in Oregon has revitalized the debate over whether and under what conditions individuals should be able to determine the time and manner of their deaths, and whether they should be able to enlist the help of physicians in doing so… It has not yet been demonstrated that the need for a change in the law outweighs the risks such a change would pose.

Bonnie Steinbock is available for print and television interviews, guest commentary and expert analysis. For more information or queries, please contact the University at Albany Office of Media Relations at (518) 437-4980; cell phone (518) 265-4114.