Use of the cessation of all brain function as a criterion of death has long seemed a settled issue, but the Uniform Law Commission recently started discussing changes to the laws that were adopted, more than 40 years ago, following a recommendation it had then issued. After opening the discussion, however, the Commission soon slammed the lid down on the can of worms it realized that it had opened.

In an essay published by the Washington Post on October 17, Peter Singer, Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics in the University Center for Human Values, discusses recent developments in the discussion of how we determine that someone’s life has ended, and calls for a more open discussion of this fundamental ethical question.  

Read it here.