Ariane Plaisance

In a world where death is often hidden behind hospital walls, the role of end-of-life doulas is emerging as a response to a deep need: bringing meaning, connection, and gentleness back into a moment too often dominated by medical procedures and the fast pace of care. End-of-life doulas accompany people who are dying, and their loved ones, for months, sometimes years. They offer emotional presence, support difficult decision-making, and help families navigate this period in ways that reflect...

In an article published in Nature on September 15, 2025, science journalist Tammy Worth describes the rise of “griefbots,” conversational agents capable of imitating the voice, writing style, and even personality of deceased individuals based on their digital traces. There are now more than half a dozen platforms offering this ready-to-use service. Developers claim that millions of people use them to send text messages, make phone calls, or otherwise interact with digital reconstructions of...

Abortion and assisted dying (euthanasia), two practices situated at the opposite ends of life, generate intense ethical and political debates. Despite their fundamental differences, they raise common questions about autonomy, dignity, and the influence of society on individual choices. In Relational Autonomy in Bioethics: The Case of Late-Term Abortion and Medical Assistance in Dying (2022), Bernier, Bernatchez, and Sweeney Beaudry show that decisions regarding abortion or medical assistance...