Description
An archival film about a delicate subject. In the 1970s a doctor in Florida who was also in the state legislature introduced a bill to permit a person to sign a ‘Living Will’ saying do not keep me alive if I become in a non-recoverable state with loss of faculties. Florida was (and still is) a place with the highest proportion of elderly people who often retire there because of its climate.
The Bill also authorised a next of kin, or if there was none, a group of three doctors, to authorise the withdrawal of means of keeping alive. How do you assess the value of a life? Various doctors speak for and against this bill and one compares it with the Nazi Euthanasia Laws. The social issues of keeping people alive by machines is discussed and the programme looks at both sides of the argument and features the people most concerned.
This film is of historical interest and reflects the cultural attitudes, medical procedures and language of the time it was made. The imagery and film quality may not be to modern standards. But the issues raised are timeless.
This programme can be rented on our Video on Demand system for £1.50. For this you can view as often as you like within a 48 hour period of your own choosing.
