Two articles discuss health-related reasons that people might have to actively bring their lives to an end. One considers the situation of a person who, because of illness, becomes a burden on loved ones. A person in such a situation might prefer to die, and the author argues that, while there is no obligation to hasten one's death, the choice to do so could sometimes be reasonable. Another article discusses a case in the Netherlands in which a woman with severe dementia was euthanized at a point when her advance euthanasia directive did not align with what she said, when asked, about death. The authors defend the authority of her advance directive against a range of objections.
Articles
Brent Kious
On the Authority of Advance Euthanasia Directives for People with Severe Dementia: Reflections on a Dutch Case (Open Access)
Henri Wijsbek, Thomas Nys
Reevaluating the Ethical Issues in Porcine-to-Human Heart Xenotransplantation (Open Access)
Henry Silverman, Patrick N. Odonkor
Another Voice
Xenotransplantation Clinical Trials and the Need for Community Engagement
Michael K. Gusmano
Essays
Errors in Converting Principles to Protocols: Where the Bioethics of U.S. Covid-19 Vaccine Allocation Went Wrong (Open Access)
William F. Parker, Govind Persad, Monica E. Peek
Perspective
Assess Technologies, Bioethicists Must Take Off Their Blinkers
Inmaculada de Melo-Martín
U.S. Lawsuit Claims Federal Law Can Require Emergency Abortions
Stephen R. Latham
Policy & Politics
Zoonoses and Animal Culling: The Need for One Health Policy
Zohar Lederman
Book Reviews
Maybe We Should Try the Precautionary Principle?
Rachel Cripps, Daniel Steel
Lucia Wocial
At the Center
Athmeya Jayaram