skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, June 19, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Israel, Iran trade strikes as Trump weighs U.S. involvement in conflict; Challenge to ND gender-affirming care ban in play, despite SCOTUS ruling; 'Jubilee Day' was honored before Juneteenth in 1800s Indiana; Ohio urged to restore $61M for foster care in final budget talks.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Lawmakers on both sides urge President Trump not to enter the Israel-Iran war. Supreme Court deals the transgender community a major blow by upholding a Tennessee state law.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Hurricane Helene mobilized the North Carolina community of Marshall in unexpected ways, giant data centers powering AI want cheap rural land but can face community pushback, and ceramics made by Cherokee potters honor multiple generations.

KY Doctors Voice Support for Medical Aid-in-Dying Option

play audio
Play

Monday, April 4, 2022   

Doctors who specialize in geriatric medicine say they're seeing Kentuckians with advanced cancer and other serious illnesses travel out of state to end their lives on their own terms.

It may mean going to Oregon, which as of last week will no longer require a person to establish residency to be eligible for medical aid in dying.

Oregon is one of 10 states, along with the District of Columbia, where the practice is legal.

Dr. Christian Furman, medical director of the Trager Institute and Smock Endowed Chair in Geriatric Medicine at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, explained most of her patients are terminally ill and in their 80s or 90s. She said doctors in Kentucky want to expand the options for these patients and their families.

"We can definitely help with a lot of the pain and symptoms, and taking care of the patient and family as they need care," Furman explained. "But there are those patients where, you know, you just can't."

A recent poll from the nonprofit Compassion & Choices found voters, nationwide and across party lines, are eight times more likely to vote for candidates who sponsor or support medical aid-in-dying legislation.

The American Medical Association is opposed to the practice, however its Code of Medical Ethics affirms that pro and con positions are in moral equilibrium and says physicians may participate in medical aid in dying without violating their ethical obligations.

Furman note it is common for terminally ill patients to refuse food or water, a sign they are ready to end their lives.

"I've never had anybody intentionally say, 'OK I'm going to stop eating and drinking, so I'll die quicker.' I have had people say, they're just ready," Furman recounted. "They've made the decision, they're ready to die, they don't want any life-prolonging treatments."

She added physicians in the state are becoming more aware of the importance of expanding end-of-life options for patients' agency, comfort and care.

"We have a palliative medicine fellowship at U of L, and we teach this in our fellowship, what medical aid in dying is," Furman stressed.

Rep. Josie Raymond, D-Louisville, introduced a bill earlier this year, which would legalize the option in Kentucky.

Disclosure: Compassion & Choices contributes to our fund for reporting on Civic Engagement, Health Issues, Senior Issues, and Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
A parklet is an elevated public space, usually converted from a parking space and used to enhance community experience and support local businesses. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Eight Wisconsin cities, including four rural communities, will receive improvements to help make their communities more livable. Eleven grantees …


Social Issues

play sound

A bill prohibiting credit reporting on Oregonians' medical debt has been signed into law by Gov. Tina Kotek. Hailed as a significant victory for …

Environment

play sound

June is World Oceans Month, and advocates are warning that industrial shipping pollution hurts both oceans and port communities. At least 31 …


Flowers and notes are placed outside the Brooklyn Park home of state Rep. Melissa Hortman after the Minnesota lawmaker and her husband were fatally shot in what police say was a politically motivated attack. (Mike Moen/PNS)

Social Issues

play sound

Minnesotans gathered at the state Capitol last night for a candlelight vigil for Rep. Melissa Hortman, D-Brooklyn Park, after she was assassinated …

Social Issues

play sound

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday released an opinion that allows Tennessee to keep in place a ban on gender-affirming care for minors. While seen …

More than 500 Ohio children were reported sleeping in county government offices over a one-year period due to a lack of foster care placements. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Ohio child welfare advocates are urging lawmakers to restore more than $60 million in funding to address the state's ongoing foster care placement cri…

Social Issues

play sound

A Pennsylvania literacy organization is commemorating the Juneteenth holiday by highlighting the history and contributions of Black people in the Unit…

Environment

play sound

Forest fires have broken out in parts of New Mexico that state forecasters had already warned would see an elevated wildfire risk this summer due to h…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021