Stanley A. Terman, Ph.D., M.D.
About the author...
Stanley A. Terman received his B.A. from Brown University, his Ph.D. from M.I.T., and his M.D. from U. Iowa. A board-certified psychiatrist, he was on the faculty of the University of California, Irvine. Now he heads Peaceful Transitions® and Caring Advocates®, whose staffs of clinical, legal, and spiritual professionals assist patients and families facing end-of-life challenges. Dr. Terman has participated actively in three bioethics committees in San Diego, and is on the consulting staff of the San Diego Hospice. He has appeared before California's Law Revision Commission and has served as chief of staff at a local psychiatric hospital. He sometimes testifies in civil cases as an expert. In his clinical practice, Dr. Terman assesses patients' judgment when they wish to create Advance Directives, appoint a power of attorney for medical or financial decisions, or Refuse Food & Fluid.
In these days of political polarities, Dr. Terman tries to maintain a balanced approach. He provides advice to those who wish to avoid prolonged, unnecessary end-of- life suffering or the progressive indignity and dependency of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias by exercising the legal peaceful choice of Voluntary Refusal of Food & Fluid (sometimes, by Proxy). Yet he has also criticized the actions of Dr. Kevorkian and declined to join the former Hemlock Society. If asked what beliefs he holds most dear, his answers are, "We are morally obligated to honor a patient's previously expressed wishes," and "Do everything possible to learn directly from the patient, what she or he wants." In the latter context, Dr. Terman's declaration was submitted to Florida Judge George Greer in the fiercely litigated case of Terri Schiavo.
Dr. Terman has written a medical thriller, Lethal Choice, which is based on a conspiracy theory of Physician-Assisted Suicide that explores end-of-life ethical principles, and is the primary author of The Best Way to Say Goodbye: A Legal Peaceful Choice at the End of Life. This "book-within-a-book" strives to meet the needs of both general and professional readers with memoirs, humorous tales, cartoons, practical guidelines, and over 250 medical references and legal citations. Dr. Terman is also the contributing editor to Last Wishes: Memoirs and Professional Advice on Peaceful Transitions, a forthcoming anthology.
Dr. Terman's interests in part are reflected by the titles of his lecture offerings: "Do We Need to Legalize Physician-Assisted Suicide" "Why Refusing Food and Fluid may be the BEST WAY to say goodbye" "How to plan ahead for a dignified death if the diagnosis is Alzheimer's" "A Critique of The President's Council on Bioethics report, Taking Care" and "Does art accurately reflect the last chapter of life?" (in which he discusses Hollywood's depiction of end-of-life decisions and dementia). Dr. Terman's family includes Elias and Alex (his sons); Sharon (his daughter); Alex's wife, Nadine; and Emily and Lauren (Beth's daughters). He lives in Carlsbad-by-the-Sea with his wife, Beth Gardner, and two Pomeranian dogs.