Philosopher and bioethicist Peggy Battin will lead a presentation and discussion through the Rappahannock Institute for Lifelong Learning (RILL) on issues surrounding end-of-life care. The class will be held on Thursday, Sept. 23 from 2 to 4 p.m. via Zoom.

Battin is a distinguished professor of philosophy and adjunct professor of internal medicine at the University of Utah. She has worked for decades to defend the right of terminally ill individuals to have greater control over the timing and manner of their deaths. Her academic work tackles issues around end-of-life care, suicide, euthanasia and religion.

In 2008, Battin’s personal and professional worlds collided when her husband Brooke Hopkins broke his neck in a bicycle accident, becoming quadriplegic. When he eventually decided to die after years of struggling with his condition, Battin found she was the one dragging her feet the most as her husband sought to have his ventilator and other life-prolonging technologies discon...