Assisted Lab

New research by @pittella.bsky.social on 2004 doc Manon by André St Pierre, which profoundly shaped views on assisted dying in Québec Journalist Benoit Dutrizac has maintained that Québec's Bill 52 should have been called ‘the Manon Brunelle Law’ assistedlab.ch/visual/manon

See below for our take on Jane Shi's 10-word erasure poem ‘Bill C7: An Overview of Available Help’, a disability critique of Canada's extension of MAID to include people whose death is not reasonably foreseeable. assistedlab.ch/textual/bill...

New entry on Adriano Silva’s 2025 book, ‘O dia em que Eva decidiu morrer’ by @pittella.bsky.social 74-year-old ‘Eva’ seeks assisted suicide in Switzerland, as it is illegal in Brazil. This story mixes journalism with activism to promote the right-to-die. assistedlab.ch/textual/o-di...

📣Nouveau balado avec Manuelle Légaré 📣 En entretien avec Vanessa Rampton, Manuelle revient sur sa pièce Club Sandwich Mayonnaise & sur la perte de son père, l’humoriste Pierre Légaré, dans le contexte québécois où l’aide médicale à mourir (AMM) s’est rapidement normalisée. assistedlab.ch/podcasts

Publishing today an updated entry on Amanda Villegas's photos of her husband Chris Davis. This raw and arresting series about Chris's end-of-life influenced legislative amendments to California's End of Life Option Act. @amandaraevillegas assistedlab.ch/visual/this-...

Vincent Humbert's book ‘Je vous demande le droit de mourir’ shaped debates on assisted dying in his country. Republishing today our entry on one of the most influential cultural artefacts in France #FindeVie Analysis by Jordan McCullough 👇 assistedlab.ch/textual/je-v...

New in our archive 👇 Ecuadorian writer Adolfo Macías Huerta's award-winning novel Pensión Babilonia follows a couple unraveling after their daughter's death: the husband drawn into a secret society that turns suicide into ceremony Analysis by @pittella.bsky.social assistedlab.ch/textual/pens...

New in our Archive: 14-year-old Valentina Maureira's 2015 video plea to Chile's president requesting the right to die. Her appeal went viral and ignited a national debate on assisted dying in Chile. Analysis by @pittella.bsky.social assistedlab.ch/visual/video-plea #AssistedDying #Chile

We wrote for @statnews.com on how films about assisted dying can narrow the frame of debate, but also have real policy impacts 👇 www.statnews.com/2026/08/05/n...

New entry in our Archive by @pittella.bsky.social Michela Murgia's Accabadora — the Sardinian tradition of the 'one who finishes' read through the lens of assisted dying narratives. assistedlab.ch/textual/accabadora #AssistedDying #Bioethics #NarrativeEthics assistedlab.ch/textual/acca...

New in the archive: Daniele Pieroni's 'Trascolorare' — the Tuscan poet's meditation on death written before his assisted death in May 2025. This poetical testament became entangled with the legal battles for assisted dying in Italy👇 By @pittella.bsky.social assistedlab.ch/textual/tras...

On 15 July French parliamentary deputies voted to legalize assisted dying (aide à mourir) under strict conditions. See below for insights into the cultural objects that shaped this fraught process that lasted years. assistedlab.ch/search?q=Fra...

Sharing today our first entry from Uruguay, 1st Latin-American country to carry out a comprehensive euthanasia reform, written by @pittella.bsky.social Florencia Salgueiro's viral social-media thread about her father Pablo, who slowly died from ALS, became part of parliamentary records there.

New entry on Spanish play ‘Celebraré mi muerte’ by physician Marcos Hourmann. In 2005 he helped 82-yr-old Carmen die in a Spanish ER, and was fired & sued by the hospital. See @pittella.bsky.social on how this documentary play tries to reclaim his narrative agency. assistedlab.ch/performative...

Our friends at the Applied Ethics Lab @ulethbridge.ca are hosting an important conference on MAiD in Canada: the first 10 years. See👇for details and submit your abstract by August 15

New entry on the Portuguese – Brazilian – Spanish film ‘Sonhar com Leões’ by Paolo Marinou-Blanco See 👇 for a discussion by @pittella.bsky.social of its depiction of suicidal ideations, assisted dying, and border-crossings assistedlab.ch/visual/sonha...

🎉New Podcast🎉 Very excited to share that our episode with Peter Torres Fremlin @desibility.bsky.social, Joe Wood and Vanessa Rampton is now available! Listen here for an incredibly rich discussion on assisted dying, disability politics, and what agency really means. assistedlab.ch/podcasts

Who gets to tell a story about an assisted death? Publishing today an analysis of Deborah Ziegler’s book portrait of her daughter, activist Brittany Maynard, from her childhood until her death. @deathwithdignity.org, @compandchoices.bsky.social assistedlab.ch/textual/wild...

See below for our analysis of The Brittany Maynard Story – recorded for @compandchoices.bsky.social, published by @people.com – which influenced California’s End of Life Option Act & end-of-life debates up til today. Photo courtesy of Dan Diaz & TheBrittanyFund.org. assistedlab.ch/visual/the-b...

Hier mit @assistedlab.bsky.social über Schellenursli und assistiertes Sterben philosophieren

In this book physician Éric Kariger shared his version of the ‘Vincent Lambert affair’, a French legal and media storm following the decision to withdraw the interventions that were artificially sustaining Vincent’s life in 2019. Analysis by Jordan McCullough 👇 assistedlab.ch/textual/ma-v...

A viral 2021 interview with Colombian Martha Sepúlveda, who did not have a terminal prognosis but wanted a legal euthanasia, shows her seemingly unworried attitude and Catholic faith. Analysis by @pittella.bsky.social 👇 assistedlab.ch/visual/notic...

Blending emotion with humour, the film ‘All of Us’ by Willem Wallyn offers a moving reflection on mortality, vulnerability, and human connection. Analysis by Sophia H. Rüfer 👇 assistedlab.ch/visual/all-o...

Such a treat to hear @pittella.bsky.social speak about borders, boundaries and margins last week at a Poetry Matters @mcgill.ca event, all themes he's worked on for Assisted Lab. & to learn about the work of Elizabeth Wood and @itsshanicenicole.bsky.social!

The novel 'Komt een vrouw bij de dokter' by Kluun depicts Stijn's struggle to cope with his wife's cancer diagnosis. As she chooses an assisted death, Dutch readers and viewers of the film adaptation had more to say about Stijn’s behaviour and actions than Carmen’s. assistedlab.ch/textual/komt...

Thanks so much to MCPHS, the always phenomenal @drhophd.bsky.social, and wonderful colleagues at the Center for Health Humanities in Boston for hosting us yesterday to talk about the stories of assisted dying!

Read Jordan McCullough's "The Bioethics of Fiction" and the whole new issue of l'esprit créateur FREE #S2O #OpenAccess at @projectmuse.bsky.social tiny.one/2p9fad55 It's a special issue on "Future Worlds of Health," guest edited by Benjamin Dalton, Benjamin Gagnon-Chainey, and Kaliane Ung

When presenting this project we are almost always asked about narratives on assisted dying and dementia. New entry on this difficult topic and ‘Die Fliegengöttin’ by Hansjörg Schertenleib by @marcakeller.eurosky.social assistedlab.ch/textual/die-...

✨new publication ✨from Assisted Lab's Jordan McCullough on the potential of fiction for bioethical reflection on assisted dying in L'Esprit Créateur @hopkinspress.bsky.social dx.doi.org/10.1353/esp....

This documentary 'T is Goed Zo' follows the last three months of Eelco de Gooijer, a 38-year-old Dutch man suffering from severe mental health problems who decides to end his life by euthanasia. Analysis by Sophia H. Rüfer 👇 assistedlab.ch/visual/t-is-...

Much of the disability movement is against assisted dying, but disabled people have also been at the forefront of demanding access to it. This article takes a step back to see the complexities of what's at stake, in terms of policy & personal experiences. www.disabilitydebrief.org/debrief/coun...

'Bis dass der Tod' by author and physician Jens Petersen, a fictional account of a ‘mercy killing,’ won the prestigious Ingeborg Bachmann Prize and challenges the reader's ethical thinking For an analysis by @marcakeller.eurosky.social for Assisted Lab 👇 assistedlab.ch/textual/bis-...

Novel 'Ik omhels je met duizend armen' by @ronaldgiphart.bsky.social of @detaalstaat.bsky.social discusses euthanasia in the Netherlands when there was no law, but doctors could perform it without risking prosecution. Analysis by Wouter Schrover for Assisted Lab👇 assistedlab.ch/textual/ik-o...

3/3 If you happen to be in Bielefeld, join us. I'm looking forward to meeting & dialoguing with other researchers doing transdisciplinary work in Medical Humanities❗ 👉 For more info on Assisted Lab: assistedlab.ch

2/3 I'm thrilled to share some insights at Bielefeld University on Mar/6, during the MED METHODS event, dedicated to Experimental Research. ℹ️ My intervention is titled: «Expiring visas: Outlining the right to die through bordercrossing narratives in Spanish and Portuguese.» Here's my abstract.

1/3 Since 2024, I have collaborated with @assistedlab.bsky.social to research cultural objects that have influenced the legal debate on MAiD. 💡 As my work has been haunted by borders & bureaucracies, I became interested in how MAiD is often framed as a bordercrossing that requires a visa.

'Translúcido' follows the last day of Rubén, an Ecuadorian immigrant in NYC who decided to forgo cancer treatment & end his life. An ECU/VEN/USA co-production, the film has reverberated differently in the 3 countries. I've written for @assistedlab.bsky.social about the film & its repercussions.

New in our archive! Tot altijd, a film by Nic Balthazar, tells the story of Mario Verstraete, a patient with multiple sclerosis who wanted the legalization of assisted dying in Belgium. On the film, its critcism and praise see the analysis by Wouter Schrover👇 assistedlab.ch/visual/tot-a...

Thank you Jacalyn Duffin @drugshortage.bsky.social for this generous and thoughtful review of our archive 😍 medhum.org/review/jacal...

‘As intermitências da morte’ by José Saramago explores the economic, political, & ethical questions raised if, suddenly, people stopped dying. To see how it has been cited in debates on the legalization of assisted dying see 👇 Analysis by @pittella.bsky.social assistedlab.ch/textual/as-i...

Broadcast on TVNZ ‘Sunday’ programme in 2022, this short doc follows assisted dying campaigner and cancer patient Esther Richards in the days before her assisted death. It hints at the challenges of Esther’s decision but predominantly publicises the new right to die. assistedlab.ch/visual/esthe...

Now that @governor.ny.gov has signed New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act, reposting here some entries from our archive on the films, books, and other media that have influenced conversations in the US 👇 assistedlab.ch/search?q=uni...

2011 documentary ‘Epilogue’ by Manno Lanssens follows the last months of Neel Couwel’s life who decided to end her life through legal euthanasia in Belgium. For an analysis by Sophia H. Rüfer see 👇 assistedlab.ch/visual/epilo...

The novel Los, by Tom Naegels, provides a critical reflection of the criteria outlined in Belgium's euthanasia law. Analysis by Wouter Schrover 👇 assistedlab.ch/textual/los-...

The story of Ramón Sampedro influenced the legalization of assisted dying in Spain and elsewhere. But beyond Alejandro Amenábar's film Mar Adentro with Javier Bardem, there's also Sampedro’s own book 'Cartas desde el infierno' Analysis by @pittella.bsky.social 👇 assistedlab.ch/textual/cart...

📣 Podcast 📣 Balado 📣 Assisted Lab's Jordan McCullough met Claire Fourcade @clairefourcade3, palliative care doctor & head of advocacy department of SFAP (www.sfap.org) To listen to their discussion on palliative care and assisted dying in France (en français) 👇 assistedlab.ch/podcasts

New entry from Canada on 'When My Doctor Offered to Help Me Take My Life' by @billgardner.bsky.social, one of his essays from 'I have Serious News' Analysis by Robyn Otto 👇 assistedlab.ch/textual/when...

This documentary by Vincent Fooij, about the last months of right to die activist Jean-Marie Lorand, was an important reference as Belgium legalized euthanasia in 2002 Analysis by Jordan McCullough assistedlab.ch/visual/chron...

You might also enjoy our latest episode with Dr Jessica Young open.spotify.com/episode/3wD4...

New entry in our archive from the Netherlands! De Goede Dood (A Good Death) by Wannie de Wijn portrays a range of human responses to assisted death, exploring grief and inviting audiences to reflect on the process. Analysis by Sofia Rüfer 👇 assistedlab.ch/visual/de-go...