Speaker: Thomas W. Mayo, J.D., Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Altschuler Distinguished Teaching Professor, and Professor of Law at the Dedman School of Law at Southern Methodist University and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center

Abstract: In medical terms, "futility" results from the inevitable playing out of illness, trauma, and advanced age. In ethical terms, however, it represents a serious ethical dilemma. Texas unexpectedly broke new ground in 1999 with a law that attempted to map out an approach to resolving the dilemma. Subsequent developments have been even more unexpected.