Teachers will obviously need to use some judgement and sensitivity before using these questions. [edit] Death What rituals does your culture have regarding death? Are children "protected" from knowing about the death of people they know? What do you think is best? What is the legal status of euthanasia in your country? Do you think that people have the right to commit suicide? Why/why not? Are you able to define a difference between euthanasia and murder? How long should doctors keep someone alive who is brain dead? How does the Hippocratic oath, with its Primum non nocere ("First, not to harm"), relate to euthanasia? If we were to permit euthanasia this would save on the cost of health care. What do you think about this justification? Have you thought about what you want your family to do when you die? Have you spoken them about your death? [edit] After death There are some imaginative things which you can arrange to happen to your remains after you die. For instance you can have them incorporated into a fireworks display, you can have them compressed into a diamond ring or you can have an oak tree planted over them. Would you like to do any of these things? Which ones and why? Alternatively you could have your body (or just your head) frozen in a cryogenic chamber until science can cure you. It's expensive though, and there are doubts about whether your memory would survive. Would you like to do this? The scientist and inventor, Ray Kurzweil, thinks he will be able to live a healthy life forever. How would you react to this possibility? Some people donate their organs for transplants or to research. What do you think of this? Have you considered the possibility of doing so?