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On Euthanasia: Where Were You When I Was Hurting
Matthew Conolly
In his own words, Dr. Conolly has said, Why we suffer pain and death in a world created (as we believe)
by a loving God; to explore the concept that although God refuses to undo
His creation which has gone awry, He accepts responsibility for what He
has made, and prefers to stand with us as we go through the pain and suffering
which this world brings (to believers and non-believers alike), rather
than taking us out of it. I want to consider the notion that Medicine,
far from showing that God is dead, is rather mankind's feeble attempt
to imitate God's involvement in human misery (from medieval monks to Mother
Theresa). This would lead on to considerations of euthanasia (which I
oppose, but which will soon be a ballot issue in California again), and
to the need for good Pain Management, and the conflict that brings with
the ethos of managed care. I will attempt to illustrate all this with
a few vignettes of patients I have worked with, and experiences I have
had in my time as a physician.
Matthew Conolly, M.D. is currently Professor of Anesthesiology at the
UCLA Medical School. Dr. Conolly was born in England and attended medical
school at Westminster Hospital, London University. He has attained numerous
prizes and distinctions including the Barclay Smith Prize in practical
anatomy, the Chadwick Class Prize in surgery and others. He is a fellow
of both the American and Royal College of Physicians and has served
as
Advisor to the House of Lords Committee against euthanasia, Chairman
of the UCLA Pharmacy and Therapeutics committee, Expert witness to the
Committee
on Science Research and Technology in the U.S. House of Representatives
in hearings on the F.D.A., and as a member of the Ethics Committee at
the UCLA Medical School. He has authored many academic papers for various
national and international medical journals, has delivered lectures
to
divers audiences in America and abroad, and is currently interested in
pain management and Euthanasia.
Program recording date and length: 2001 ~ 1 Hour 25 Minutes (This study was presented originally at UCLA.)
