title: The grey zones of birth and death.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The promise of science to find clear and distinct boundaries for birth and death seems to have failed. The more science advances the more blurred the boundaries become. An overview of the history and the current trajectory suggests that the more we advance the greater the blurring.
  
  
  METHODS
  The paper examines the history of scientific advance in the areas of birthing and dying and traces the path for the early promise for definitive answers to the new more uncertain and ambiguous positions we have come to.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The problems associated with birthing and dying increasingly require humanistic philosophical discussion rather than scientific experimentation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto ON, Canada. sholom@glouberman.com
authors.forename: Sholom
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Glouberman
mesh_terms: D001690:Biological Science Disciplines; D001926:Brain Death; D003643:Death; D006801:Humans; D008020:Life Support Care; D036801:Parturition; D018458:Persistent Vegetative State; D047928:Premature Birth; D013534:Survival