PhD graduate applies her expertise to overlooked group in medical assistance in dying

During her graduate studies, Kathryn Morrison worked both inside and outside the classroom to support ethical challenges in pediatric end of life decisions. Her research and interests lie in the theoretical ethics of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) for mature minors — capable children under 18 years-old.

Now that Kathryn will be a newly minted PhD at Fall convocation, she’s looking to the future and her role as Clinical and Organizational Ethicist to offer ethics support to clinical teams, patients, and families on decisions related to MAiD.

When she began her PhD, Kathryn took her interest in academic bioethics one step further by attempting to solve practical issues in healthcare. One such practical issue, and the subject of Kathryn’s Applied Philosophy dissertation explores the notion of extending MAiD eligibility to one of the vulnerable populations, mature minors — a challenging topic which presents conflicting legal and ethical obligations to children.

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