Making Sense of Physician Assisted Suicide – Dr. Lydia Dugdale

Dr. Lydia Dugdale argues that physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia are morally and medically dangerous because they normalize suicide, undermine the physician-patient covenant, and place vulnerable people at risk.

This lecture was given on February 12th, 2026, at Vanderbilt University.

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About the Speakers:

Dr. Lydia Dugdale is the Silberberg Professor of Medicine and Director of the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at Columbia University in New York City. As a medical doctor and ethicist, she cares for patients, consults on complex ethical issues in the hospital, and teaches medical trainees and undergraduate students. Her scholarly work focuses on physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia, the need to prepare well for death, and questions of moral injury and human flourishing. She is author of the book The Lost Art Of Dying: Reviving Forgotten Wisdom (HarperOne, 2020) and is currently writing a book on hope.

Keywords: Autonomy, Canada, Euthanasia, MAID, Medical Ethics, Oregon, Physician Assisted Suicide, Suffering, Vulnerable Patients, Life And Death