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ABC NEWS CLOSE-UP: THE RIGHT TO DIE (TV)

Summary

One in this occasional documentary series presented by ABC News. This edition, reported and narrated by Steven Geer, examines the ethical implications of death. The following topics are discussed: what the Bible says about life and death; how machines can take on some functions of the human body; the rights that family members have when it comes to the deaths of their loved ones; whether doctors must always pursue "life"; whether quality or quantity of life is more important; whether patients with terminal illnesses should know about them; machines making it hard to determine whether someone is alive; the difference in brain waves between someone who is alive and someone who is brain dead; the dialysis process; how medical science extends the life of cystic fibrosis patients; talking about death with children; decisions parents often have to make when it comes to the early-in-life deaths of their children; the role of clergy at the bedside of the dying; new techniques for pastoral care in hospitals; how people died in decades and centuries past; where most people die in modern times; coping with death; how doctors should talk with dying patients; a brother who committed euthanasia on his paralyzed older brother, and the legal implications of his death; "mercy killings"; when older people wish to die; helping loved ones kill themselves; filing living wills; how to define euthanasia; how various U.S. states legally address euthanasia; doctors "playing God"; the legalities of living wills; and how one can die with dignity. The program also includes interviews with the following people, among others: professor of surgery, Dr. Samuel Powers; pediatrician Dr. Paul Patterson; psychiatrist Dr. John Schowalter; psychiatrist Dr. Elisabeth Kubler Ross; living will advocate Mrs. Porter Raney; and Kentucky Congressman Tim Lee Carter. The program ends with a final commentary by Geer. Commercials deleted.

Preservation of the Post–World War II American Television Documentary Collection is supported in part by a Federal Save America’s Treasures grant administered by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Details

  • NETWORK: ABC
  • DATE: January 5, 1974 8:00 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 0:51:10
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: T:04895
  • GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
  • SUBJECT HEADING: She Made It Collection (Marlene Sanders)
  • SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1973-1988
  • COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

  • Marlene Sanders … Producer, Writer
  • Victoria Hochberg … Director
  • Stephen Geer … Narrator, Reporter
  • Tim Lee Carter
  • Paul Patterson
  • Samuel Powers
  • Mrs. Porter Raney
  • Elisabeth Kubler Ross
  • John Schowalter