Sep 15 2008
Dr Rodney Syme, author of A Good Death: An argument for voluntary euthanasia, is the keynote speaker at the Sydney Law School's Health Governance, Law and Ethics Oration on Thursday 18 September.
Dr Syme has assisted many terminally ill people to die and in this enlightening and controversial event he will argue that the necessity to relieve suffering and to respect a patient's autonomy places doctors in a unique and dangerous position in relation to the law.
An advocate for medically assisted dying for nearly 20 years, Dr Syme further argues that lawmakers and prosecutorial authorities have conspired to avoid addressing this significant moral and ethical issue, and as a consequence medical practitioners are forced to operate outside the law.
The annual Health Governance, Law and Ethics Oration showcases just some of the key issues explored in the Sydney Law School's Master of Health Law (MHL) degree, widely recognised as one of the nation's leading postgraduate programs in health and medical law.
Also speaking at the event are Dr Roger Magnusson, Associate Professor and Program Coordinator for the Master of Health Law degree at the Sydney Law School, and author of Angels of Death: Exploring the Euthanasia Underground (2002, Melbourne University Publishing); Dr Bernadette Tobin, Director of the Plunkett Centre for Ethics at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney; and Miriam Cosic, literary editor for The Australian and author The Right to Die? An Examination of the Euthanasia Debate (2003, New Holland Publishers).
The seminar will be chaired by Dr Kristin Savell, from Sydney Law School, who teaches a unit on Death Law as part of the Master of Health Law. Admission to the Oration is free, however places are limited and registration is required. Registration forms and information are available online.