When journalist Esmé Deprez receives a text from her father, Ron Deprez, asking for help to die, she enters one of the most ethically fraught spaces in modern medicine: Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD). This episode explores what it means to assist a loved one’s death under MAiD law—and how personal compassion collides with professional and societal ethics.

This episode features:

Esmé E. Deprez: Writer and investigative journalist. 

Jeffrey Kahn, PhD, MPH: Andreas C. Dracopoulos Director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics.

Jennifer Eitingon, MD: Medical Director of Monument Health Hospice and Inpatient Palliative Care Attending Physician.

You can see photos and read more about Esmé and Ron Deprez’s story in her 2021 essay, “Death With Dignity: How I Helped My Dad Die.” 

“playing god?” is a podcast by the iDeas Lab at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. 

To read a transcript of this episode, visit the iDeas Lab website at https://bioethics.jhu.edu/pgs2e1 

The Johns Hopkins University Sesquicentennial is proud to support this podcast. JHU celebrates 150 years of pioneering education and research—advancing knowledge to meet the challenges of every generation. Learn more at 150.jhu.edu.