A Right to Die?: The Dax Cowart Case an Ethical Case Study on CD-ROM

The fascinating and moving case of Dax Cowart is one of the best known and most significant in applied ethics, highlighting the ethical and medical dilemmas over an individual's right to die. As a young man, Dax Cowart was seriously injured and left with greatly reduced quality of life as a result of a car accident. Dax's struggle to die and the arguments surrounding the decisions of those involved made him a cause celebre in the Right to Die movement. This CD-ROM, developed in association with Carnegie Mellon University, presents this important case in detail. The user sees and hears Dax himself and those surrounding him, and is forced to participate in the difficult decisions being made. The user is asked to make brief statements justifying these decisions, which can be reviewed at the end of the session. By participating in this interactive process, students develop, practice and defend their ethical analysis and decision-making using a "real world" case study.