NY Times Magazine explores ‘The right to die, the will to live’ in article about bioethicist’s husband

New York Times magazine cover

“If Margaret Pabst Battin hadn’t had a cold that day, she would have joined her husband, Brooke Hopkins, on his bike ride. Instead Peggy (as just about everyone calls her) went to two lectures at the University of Utah, where she teaches philosophy and writes about end-of-life bioethics. Which is why she wasn’t with Brooke the moment everything changed.” — from the article.

In an excellent article in the Sunday New York Times magazine, writer Robin Marantz Henig profiles Brooke Hopkins and his wife Peggy Battin and how their life — and views of life — changed dramatically after a bicycle accident left Brooke a quadriplegic.

Both had what they thought were well-reasoned views on the right to die. Peggy, as a philosophy professor who teaches and writes about end-of-life care, found herself looking at the issues from a different perspective.

The Times package includes a video interview with the Hopkinses.