Death with Dignity: A Series of Conversation around End of Life Matters” from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at the church, 308 E. Second St. N. in Newton.
The series began on Oct. 6 with a showing of the film “How to Die in Oregon” and will continue through Nov. 10.
Each session can stand alone, so participants are encouraged to attend one or all sessions.
During this week’s session, Randy Caldwell, an attorney at Caldwell, Brierly, Chalupa & Nuzum, PLLC here in Newton, and Kevin Van Wyk, of Van Wyk Insurance Agency in Pella, will speak about the impact the passing of legislation legalizing Physician Aid in Dying in Iowa would have legally and with regard to insurance. Such legislation was proposed here in Iowa during the last legislative session and is expected to be considered again this session. There will also be a time for questions.
The purpose of the series is to invite participants into consideration of and conversation around physician aid in dying that they might grow in their understanding of the issue through encountering various perspectives. Each session will begin with a brief explanation of what is meant by death with dignity. Two of the remaining sessions will include additional speakers (medical staff, hospice workers and religious leaders) sharing their thoughts on the issue, while the other two will center on articles that address the topic both for and against. The series is not meant to convince participants to either support or oppose physician aid in dying but to engage in conversation and to stimulate thinking about the topic.
This series is free and open to the public.
For more information, call the Rev. Jessica Petersen at 641.792.3773.