Discussions in Bioethics : Who Should Decide?

One of a series of short, open-ended dramas designed to stimulate discussion of values and ethics in relation to modern medical technology. A young couple's marriage is threatened over a decision as to whether the husband should accept a job researching poison gas for military purposes. The wife is adamantly opposed. Regardless of their decision, someone will take the job. Should one morally accept responsibility for the consequences?

One of a series of short, open-ended dramas designed to stimulate discussion of values and ethics in relation to modern technology. Because of her religious convictions, a seventeen-year-old girl refuses medical treatment that will prolong her life. Her decision remains firm in spite of the pleas of her physician, who begins to question who has the right to determine a person's life or death.

Erwan, Caroline, Vincent, and Charlie-Anne are survivors: against all odds, modern medicine kept them alive through extreme measures taken just after their birth. Since then, they have suffered from serious neurological consequences and a range of disabilities. Technology can now work miracles to save lives. But at what price? Medicine Under the Influence tackles a taboo subject: the tragic effects of life-sustaining medical treatment on infants. Through the courageous testimony of a handful of doctors and therapists as well as the shocking stories told by devoted parents of disabled children, Lina B. Moreco's powerful documentary denounces the lack of support offered to science's little "miracles." Once saved, the children are more or less left to their fate by a medical system that does not give them the therapy needed to improve their quality of life and develop to their fullest potential. With its heart-tugging characters, this troubling yet essential film opens our eyes to an intolerable situation, one that affects some 2,000 newborns every year in Quebec. Bonus Features Interview with Dr. Pierre Marois, Physiatrist Interview with Dr. Claude Mercier, Clinical bioethics committee Interview with Me Jean-Pierre Ménard, health lawyer In French with English subtitles.