In the third and fourth of this series, the discussion turns movingly to the doctor's dilemma--and society's--at the junction of life and death. WFB: "Isn't medicine walking into a situation in which it will almost certainly devise terribly expensive technological forms of relief, in which case there is a rationing aspect built into the situation?" WH: "I think one of our difficulties is, in point of fact, that era is already here." ... CL: "Most people in their later years approach the issue of death with one eye on what it will mean for the finances of the family, especially the younger generation." ... MH: "I think it's very clear looking historically that the medical establishment was very reluctant to honor patient requests to not resuscitate or to withdraw feeding tubes, and it took the courts to force the medical establishment to comply with patient wishes. And I think that that has led an attitudinal shift. In fact, the complaint now is that the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction, that now physicians and hospitals are insisting on withdrawing treatment because it's futile under their definition of futility even though the family wants to continue treatment."