Video Transcript

Welcome to a new feature on the Saint Anselm blog. From time to time, we will ask faculty members and others to shed light on issues in the news, and post their answers either as text or short videos. Health care reform is making headlines these days, so we have started with a professor of medical ethics, Dr. Daniel Daly, assistant professor of theology.

President Obama raised the concerns and costs of end of life care this spring, when he discussed the treatment of his late grandmother, who received a hip replacement after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. "If somebody told me that my grandmother couldn’t have a hip replacement and she had to lie there in misery in the waning days of her life — that would be pretty upsetting,” Obama told The New York Times.

We asked Professor Daly to outline an ethical framework for making the often wrenching decisions about health care that can come in the final stages of life. He discusses the difference between ordinary and extraordinary care in the context of Catholic theology.

The Office of College Communications and Marketing welcomes suggestions for In Context interviews. If you would like to suggest a topic or have something you’d like to discuss, please contact Barbara LeBlanc or Doug Minor.