I was a medical student when I first saw someone die. A middle-aged woman lay in the intensive-care unit surrounded by machinery that recorded her heartbeat, measured her blood pressure and pumped air ...

Re “We Need a New Definition of Death,” by Sandeep Jauhar, Snehal Patel and Deane Smith (Opinion guest essay, Aug. 1): As a physician and a neuroethicist who has argued for the rights of people with a ...