The debate over physician-assisted suicide.
Tangle
Isaac Saul
4.7 • 817 Ratings
🗓️ 3 September 2025
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In recent years, several U.S. states and a number of countries have legalized Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID), also known as physician-assisted suicide or physician-assisted death. While definitions vary, the practice generally allows people facing imminent death from a terminal illness to end their lives by administering drugs with support and supervision from a doctor (or team of doctors). In some countries, people with certain chronic illnesses and disabilities are also eligible for MAID. As more states considerlegalizing the practice, proponents and opponents have raised ethical concerns about how MAID is regulated — and whether it should be legal at all.
Today’s piece includes detailed discussions of suicide. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From executive producer Isaac Saul, this is Tangle. |
| 0:12.5 | Good morning, good afternoon and good evening, and welcome to the Tangle podcast, a place where you get views from across the political spectrum, some independent thinking, and a little bit of our take. |
| 0:28.2 | I am your host, John Law, filling in for Isaac, and today we are going to be talking about medical assistance in dying or maid, also known as physician-assisted suicide or physician-assisted |
| 0:39.8 | death. It's a controversial and sensitive topic, but we are trying to discuss some issues that |
| 0:45.8 | we find fascinating and politically relevant and topics that our readers and listeners might be |
| 0:51.0 | interested in. So we're trying this experiment out. Originally, |
| 0:54.4 | this was discussed on a recent episode of Suspension of the Rules with Isaac Ari and Camille. |
| 0:59.2 | Today, Ari is going to be giving his take on this issue. We just want to include that before you |
| 1:04.1 | read today's piece, it does include detailed discussions of suicide. If you are having thoughts of |
| 1:09.9 | suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 suicide. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988-8-suicide and |
| 1:15.2 | crisis lifeline, or go to speakingofsuicide.com slash resources for a list of additional resources. |
| 1:23.5 | All right, with that said, let's move on to today's quick hits. |
| 1:35.8 | Music All right, with that said, let's move on to today's quick hits. Here are your quick hits for today. |
| 1:38.1 | First up, a federal appeals court issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration |
| 1:42.9 | from deporting a group of alleged gang members from Venezuela under the Alien Enemies Act. |
| 1:48.2 | Separately, a federal judge ruled that President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated federal law by deploying National Guard members and Marines to Los Angeles in June. |
| 1:58.0 | The judge barred the administration from further use of federal troops for domestic law |
| 2:02.0 | enforcement except in limited cases. Number two, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. |
| 2:07.3 | Space Command headquarters will be located in Alabama, reversing a decision by former President |
| 2:12.5 | Joe Biden to keep the command at its temporary headquarters in Colorado. Number three, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser issued an executive order requiring local |
| 2:22.0 | coordination with federal law enforcement to the maximum extent allowable by law within the |
| 2:27.4 | district. Separately, President Trump said he would deploy National Guard troops to Chicago and |
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