Physicians do not have to give therapies or perform procedures that they judge to be futile, and Catholic patients have the moral right to determine what is extraordinary or ordinary care. For the past decade a debate has been raging within the medical, ethical and legal communities on the concept of medical futility. Despite its emergence as a dominant topic of discussion, especially as it applies to end-of-life care, the concept of medical futility is not new.
In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson declared Ellis Island part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. Ellis Island was opened to the public on a limited basis between 1976 and 1984. Starting in 1984, Ellis Island underwent a major restoration, the largest historic restoration in U.S. history.
The Ellis Island Immigration Station Opened on Ellis Island in January of 1892. Ellis Island occupies a physical and emotional location no other historic site can match. Ellis Island provides multiple lenses on culture, race, memory and history, through which an American drama of passage, uncertainty and optimism can be better understood. Ellis Island is hauntingly beautiful. The architecture is magnificent, the views are unparalleled, and the history is palpable. It is the center of global immigration in the harbor of one of the worldâs iconic cities. It is a timeless place that personally touches all of us, because all of us have an immigration story.