by Maurice Lamm

About the author: Orthodox Rabbi Maurice Lamm is a rabbinics professor at Yeshiva University in New York City. He is a hospice care activist and the author of a number of books on Judaism, death, and hope, including The Jewish Way of Death and Mourning.

We are toying with life and death again, and the flames of unintended consequences could blow the lid off society as we know it.

To the Valley of Dried Bones

Former Colorado Gov. Richard Lamm informed the seriously ill and elderly who need artificial life support that they have a "duty to die." Dr. Kevorkian performs his suicide-assistance in the back of old vans. An Internet site, called Deathnet, is where people chat about how best to die. Derek Humphrey's bestselling Final Exit provides prescriptions...