Read a Jan. 6, 2011, article in Bloomberg Businessweek about Kiva, a microlending non-profit, and how microfinancing can help women around the globe.

The Institute of Halal Investing in Portland, Ore., can provide an Islamic perspective on microfinance and development assistance. It is associated with Rubicon Global, a halal financial advisory firm.

John Hardwig is professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His research interests include bioethics, especially end-of-life issues, and he is the editor of Is There a Duty to Die?: And Other Essays in Medical Ethics.

The Catholic Medical Association opposes assisted suicide. Mario Dickerson, who has a background in theology and philosophy, is executive director.

Richard Norman is a professor emeritus of moral philosophy at the University of Kent. He is the author of On Humanism (Routledge, 2004) and a founding member of Humanist Philosophers Group.

Euthanasia.com, which opposes euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, posts links to numerous religious leaders’ and organizations’ statements on the issue.

ReligiousTolerance.org has a page of resources on euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, including information on various faith groups’ positions.

Read about legal and ethical issues in dying, posted by the American Geriatrics Society Foundation for Health in Aging.

James Lenman is a professor in the department of philosophy at the University of Sheffield. His research focuses mainly on ethics (especially metaethics) and morality. He is a member of the Humanist Philosophers Group.