Kathleen Stock Argues Against State-Sanctioned Euthanasia

This week, I have a guest whom many of you will know from the culture war over transgender rights—former University of Sussex philosophy professor Kathleen Stock.

But Kathleen Stock’s latest book, titled Do Not Go Gentle, isn’t about gender. Rather, it’s about assisted dying, or euthanasia…Whatever name you pick for it, Kathleen argues that a formal government-run system that actively assists people seeking to kill themselves is immoral.

Now, before proceeding further, I should let listeners know that I’m on the opposite side of the debate from Kathleen on this issue. While I opposed a lot of the expansive socially progressive agenda implemented by Justin Trudeau during his time as Canadian Prime Minister, this is an issue that I think he got right. I support the right of citizens to access what in Canada is called Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID). And so I came to Kathleen’s book as a skeptic.

Do Not Go Gentle didn’t change my mind on the subject. But I did find it fair-minded and thought-provoking. It’s also more nuanced than some readers might expect. Specifically, Kathleen is careful to say that she doesn’t oppose the practice by which doctors take measures that allow terminally ill patients suffering great pain to accelerate their passing. But she believes that this should be done in a way that is negotiated privately between patient and caregiver—as opposed to a full-scale program run by the state.

Once euthanasia is institutionalized in this way, Kathleen argues, it is only a matter of time before patients are encouraged to solve an ever-growing list of woes by abandoning life altogether.

Please enjoy my interview with Kathleen Stock, author of Do Not Go Gentle: The Case Against Assisted Death.