The catastrophic impact of Covid-19 has transformed human societies across the world. Its impact has been most brutal at life’s ending and we have had to endure digital goodbyes, solitary grieving and funerals with a handful of masked mourners unable to physically comfort one another.
The pandemic has created unimaginable challenges for doctors, nurses, carers and many other front-line workers who have been forced to deal with life and death issues far beyond their normal experience. They have had to fight the virus and its effects with limited time, knowledge and resources. And in doing so, they have often put at risk both their lives and those of their families. In these physically intense and emotionally bewildering times, what are the ethical guidelines for palliative care?
Professor John Wyatt will explore the ethical interface between medical science and Christian faith, with particular reference to the coronavirus pandemic. His talk will be suitable for a non-specialist audience and there will be an opportunity for some on-line discussion.
Professor Wyatt will explain that while we cannot choreograph our own death, there are ways that we can prepare to die well with the help and support of relatives, friends and carers. He will describe recent medical advances in palliative care for the sick and dying. He will also examine the 'art of dying' as a Christian tradition. He will outline opportunities for dying well and faithfully, and provide real-world examples of personal growth and instances of reconciliation and personal healing in relationships.
John Wyatt is a doctor, author, speaker and research scientist. He is Emeritus Professor of Neonatal Paediatrics, Ethics and Perinatology at University College London. Previously, as a consultant, he specialised in the treatment of brain damage in new-born infants. As a senior researcher at the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, Cambridge, he is addressing the ethical, philosophical and theological challenges raised by recent advances in artificial intelligence. His books on medical ethics include “Dying Well” (2018); “Right to Die” (2015); and “Matters of Life and Death” (2009). A new book “The Robot Will See You Now”, on Christian responses to the challenges of AI, will be published in July 2021.
