Why Canadians With Disabilities Need To Be Wary Of Medicalized Killing

Here’s a good take on what legal medicalized killing means to people with disabilities in Canada.

Euthanasia: Another word for murder?

Euthanasia is once again in the spotlight.

The Carter case, now before the courts in B.C., seeks to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada. It’s a constitutional challenge which seeks to legalize these practices as medical treatment and to be regulated within provincial health-care regulations.

On April 21, 2010, Canada’s parliament soundly defeated Bill C-384, which sought to amend the Criminal Code, allowing the right to die with dignity. It was a bad piece of legislation which, had it passed, would have directly threatened the lives of persons with disabilities.

We won this battle. However, Canada’s right-to-die lobby aren’t giving up that easily. more

Art Caplan Is Too Optimistic

Transparency alert: Art Caplan, commenting on something I said quite a while ago, called me a “cockeyed optimist.” I took that as a compliment. What he says in this piece is mostly useful, but he’s spinning nevertheless. He’s at pains (sorry) to say that if you choose all kinds of medical care at the end of your life, no prob. Really? This in a world where doctors are trained first and foremost as utilitarian bean counters and where whatever fine document you have saying what you want is easily overridden by doctor power? Now, maybe I can return the compliment.

Not a 'Death Panel': Call it 'Quality of Life'

I'm Art Caplan from the Center of Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. Today I'd like to talk to you a little bit about end-of-life care planning. This has been a very controversial issue. At first, the Obama health reform included financial incentives for doctors to talk with their patients about end-of-life care planning, but it has been withdrawn from legislation because there has been pushback. Some people are arguing that this is a kind of rationing or almost a form of death panel discussion where you're trying to persuade people not to use medical resources. more

Disabled And Medically Vulerable Will Be The First To Die

Yes, it’s true, the medically vulnerable and disabled will, indeed, be targets if assisted sucide or euthanasia are legalized. That’s what this piece argues. Also, if you want a slice of how the general population sees this issue, read the comments section after the article – chilling.

Don't allow deaths 'under cloak of assisted suicide'

Vulnerable people could be pressured into ending their own lives under laws on assisted suicide, a peer warned today.

Onora Sylvia O'Neill, Baroness O'Neill of Bengarve, said any future legislation could never carry enough safeguards to stop people being exploited.

Speaking ahead of her appearance at the Commission on Assisted Dying today, Baroness O'Neill said she believed there is "no way that we can pass safe legislation that could sufficiently protect vulnerable people". more