Assisted Suicide & The Elderly In Switzerland: Take Out The Trash

Here's a fairly balanced spotlight on the Swiss and assisted suicide. Whichever side you come down on, it's clear that if you are old, you're dispensable, just like the trash. Heart breaking.

European Court: Swiss Right To Refuse Killing Drugs

Talk a out mixed messages: the Swiss want closer regulation of assisted suicide while the European Court of Human Rights says that the Swiss are OK for refusing to give someone the drugs that would help him die.

Suicide appeal dismissed by European court

Switzerland did not violate any human rights when it refused to give a mentally ill man over-the-counter access to a drug in order to end his life.

In a ruling on Thursday, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg dismissed an appeal by the 58-year-old man, who after two suicide attempts in 2004 turned to Dignitas, a Swiss assisted suicide organisation. more

The Swiss: Regulate Killing, Don't Ban It

Ah yes, the good ol’ Swiss, they who are getting a little uncomfortable with the increasing numbers of foreigners coming to their pristine shores to kick the bucket. The answer? Why, more rules, policy, and bureaucracy, of course. Would never occur to them to think about outlawing assisted sucide.

Swiss official seeks crackdown on 'suicide tourists'

And in recent years, foreigners have been coming in larger numbers to die. A report by the Bloomberg news service says that Switzerland is the only country that allows doctors to help foreigners die (often via a large dose of barbituates). And it says that more than 25% of 380 assisted suicides in 2009 involved non-Swiss.

Now, former Swiss Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf wants to make assisted suicide more difficult by requiring the process be supervised by doctors who aren't affiliated with one of the country's four right-to-die organizations. And Zurich voters are due to decide in May whether to ban assisted suicide, the article says. more

Aussie Euthanasia Bill Dead - For Now

Looks like attempts for legalized euthanasia in Aussie’s Northern Territory are stifled – for now. Remember, never relax around the pro-deathers. They’re already working on something for next year in Aussie, trust me.

Euthanasia bill 'will not pass'

ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope says a Greens bill to restore the Territory's right to make euthanasia laws will not pass.

In 1997 the Federal Parliament banned the ACT and the Northern Territory from debating euthanasia laws.

Late last year Greens Leader Bob Brown introduced a private member's bill to overturn the ban.

Mr Stanhope has written to all Federal MPs urging them to support the bill, saying it is about the democratic rights of ACT voters and not euthanasia.

He says he has received responses from around three dozen Federal MPs so far, with only a few indicating their support for the bill. more

More UK Calls For Medicalized Killing

That old Brit pro-deather bat Baroness Warnock is chattering again about how the assisted sucide/euthanasia law in the UK should be changed so that only “professionals” are allowed to do the killing, seeing that poor amateur pro-deathers might screw up the job. Just what we need, a new generation of Doctor Deaths just waiting to get the hands and needles on you.

Warning over 'assisted suicide' law

The law on assisted suicide could lead to the worst possible "botched" death and must be changed, an inquiry has heard.

Current guidelines, issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) last year, are "particularly bad", creating confusion and uncertainty, Baroness Warnock said.

While amateurs are allowed to help someone to die, she argued the complex procedure of mercy killing should only be carried out by qualified medical professionals. more

Doctors Don't Always Respect Patients' Last Wishes!! What A Shock!!

Well, yes, we’d expect the medicos to respect or final wishes, wouldn’t we? Too bad in many places, including in this piece from Malta, that’s not nearly as accurate as you’d think.

Organ donors’ wishes to be respected even after death

Relatives would soon lose the right to revoke the wish of a deceased family member to donate body organs, Health Minister Joe Cassar said.

“An organ donor card doesn’t really mean much other than my wish when I am declared clinically dead,” Dr Cassar said, pointing out that, as things stood, any relative or next of kin could order the hospital not to abide by the deceased person’s wish. 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

Killing Not Wrong, It's The Silly Law That's Wrong, You Simpletons!!

This is how the pro-deathers drags us down the slippery slope – see, assisted sucide and euthanasia are not morally wrong, they just need to be “regulated. Ahem . . . like in the Netherlands, where medicalized killing is out of control and on the rise.

Group wants 'right-to-die' changes

The law on helping people to die must be changed because current guidelines have led to an "unregulated situation" where anyone can be assisted to die, campaigners have claimed.

Dignity in Dying chief executive Sarah Wootton said the 1961 suicide act was "no longer fit for purpose" and new guidelines brought in after the case of right-to-die campaigner Debbie Purdy should be replaced with an updated law that clearly states which acts are criminal and which are not. more

Israelis Smack Down Euthanasia Proposal

Good for the Israelis – lawmakers have just slapped down a proposal to legalize euthanasia.

Knesset rejects euthanasia law proposal

In a preliminary reading, the Knesset has rejected a law proposal that would have allowed terminally ill patients to take drugs that would cause them to die. more

Minnesota Hospital Tries To Usurp Patient's Medical Proxy

You don’t think pro-deathers lurk among our medical types? Read this – a Minnesota hospital, on doctors’ advice, suing a wife who is demanding care for her husband that the doctors don’t want to give and think is useless. See? Even if you’re the designated, legal proxy for someone else, the medicos are so hell-bent on death that they may sue to rid you of your obligations. We’re s lucky, aren’t we?

Wrenching court case: Doctors vs. patient's wife

Al Barnes has been in eight hospitals in the past 10 months. His diagnoses include end-stage respiratory distress, renal failure, dementia and other maladies.

Now the 85-year-old from Scandia, Minn., is at the center of a wrenching and unusual court struggle over who will control his medical care.

A doctor at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park will go to court Wednesday, seeking to replace Barnes' wife with a substitute decision-maker and arguing that she is making futile and reckless decisions to prolong her husband's life. more

Clarification: Refusal Of Treatment Vs. Suicide

Everyone already has the right to refuse any and all medical care. Deliberately stopping eating and drinking is suicide, just as surely if they had put guns to their head and pulled the trigger.

12 Days Into Fast, Couple Die

An elderly Albuquerque couple who began refusing food and water on Jan. 2 have died. Armond Rudolph, 93, died Thursday and his wife, Dorothy Rudolph, 90, died Friday. more

Beware The Pro-Death Poster People

Let me be clear: Chronic and terminal illness is hardly easy. However, beware the poster-people who use their medical disability to foster death. It’s not on.

Parkinson's disease holds former Wash. governor prisoner: 'It's a long battle'

SEATTLE – He was Washington's most popular governor. Today, he's a much different Booth Gardner, ravaged for almost 20 years by Parkinson's disease.

The former governor is no longer able to read. He spends most of his time in a wheelchair and has a full time caregiver at his Tacoma condominium.

His devoted daughter, Gail Gant, manages his care and affairs. He looks to her to help him find the words that won't come. more

Legal Assisted Suicide Means Abuse By Family Members - Trust Me

Ah, yes, let’s make killing people a “family matter.” You know, all those “family members who can’t wait to get their hands on the inheritance, checks for which are nowhere to be found in any assisted suicide statutes.

Right-To-Die Should Be Law Of The Land — It Should Be A Family Matter

The morning of March 11, 1997, Denise Oquisanti Kiernan told Harry, her husband of three years, that she was going to take a ride.

They'd been discussing that ride for some time. Denise, a 42-year-old East Hartford native, had lived for a decade with multiple sclerosis. She'd written a letter to Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the controversial right-to-die proponent, in which she said, "I am in constant, unbearable pain. This has been a very slow death to me. Please help me."

What happened next was the focus of two trials in which a jury and two judges tried to decide whether Harry had aided Denise in her death, which she accomplished by asphyxiating while sitting in an idling van in the couple's Glastonbury garage. more

Quebec Euthanasia Debate Pro/Con

Here’s a half-decent pro-con related to the euthanasia debate in Quebec, Canada.

Euthanasia laws in Quebec: a debate

Looking at both sides of what could change the way medicine is practiced in the province. more

Swiss Getting Uneasy About Foreigners Who Come To Be Killed

OK, this is a joke, right? The Swiss are now, suddenly, getting worried about all those foreigners who line up at Swiss death clinic Dignitas to be killed? Such hypocrisy, such arrogance, such slef-centernedness.

Suicide Tourists Make Swiss Minister Uneasy as Terminally Ill Seek Escape

Switzerland is the destination of choice for people from abroad who want to die. The office of the country’s top legal official is pushing to change that.

While assisted suicide is permitted in the Netherlands, Belgium and the U.S. states of Oregon, Washington and Montana, only Switzerland allows doctors to help foreigners end their lives. More than 25 percent of the 380 assisted suicides in Switzerland during 2009 involved foreigners, most of whom died after drinking water laced with a lethal dose of barbiturates.

Former Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, who was replaced by Simonetta Sommaruga in November, has proposed making the practice more difficult by demanding oversight by doctors who aren’t connected with one of the country’s four right-to-die organizations. Assisted suicide has been legal in Switzerland since 1942. more

Now In Canada: Murder People, Claim It Was "Compassionate"

We’re starting to see this more and more in the US and now in Canada: Murder your parents, then say it was “compassionate” so that you’ll get a lesser charge or even the admiration of the pro-deathers, who might actually come to your defense, make you a hero, and dare the authorities to convict you. Gee, I wonder where all these murderers are getting their ideas???????

Man faces murder charges in case involving 'elements of compassion'

 A 47-year-old man is facing two charges of first-degree murder in a family-death case his lawyer suggested might involve "elements of compassion" akin to those raised by the Robert Latimer conviction.

Sylvain Guidi did not enter any plea Monday in a brief Joliette, Que., court appearance following the weekend shootings of both his parents. The trio shared the family home in the small town of St.-Jean-de-Matha, about 100 kilometres northeast of Montreal.

Guidi was charged with premeditated homicide after the bodies of Claude Guidi, 75, a retired Longueuil police officer, and his 71-year-old wife, Denise Cloutier-Guidi, were found Saturday evening. more

Golden Globe Rewards Assisted Suicide & Euthanasia - Shame On Them

Yawn. Hollywood rewarding an actor playing a killer – what else is new? Well, it’s Pacino’s portrayal of killer jack Kevorkian. Note the media spin – he wasn’t a killer, he was a “helper.” Excuse me, time to barf . . .

Al Pacino Wins Golden Globe for ‘You Don’t Know Jack’

Al Pacino won a Golden Globe for best actor in a mini-series or television movie during the 68th Golden Globe Awards.

Mr. Pacino plays Dr. Jack Kevorkian in the HBO Films biopic entitled “You Don’t Know Jack,” a doctor who helps people with assisted suicide. more

Dueling Montana Assisted Suicide Bills Head for Debate

Here’s the latest context on the dueling assisted suicide bills being debated in Montana.

State Legislature to take up assisted suicide bills

HELENA — The Legislature has been out of session in the year since the Montana Supreme Court ruled that nothing in state law prevents physician-assisted suicide, leaving doctors and terminally ill patients to operate without regulations or oversight.

Now that lawmakers have convened in Helena, they are being asked to consider two competing measures: one that would create rules for doctors who are asked to write a prescription for a lethal dose of medication and another that would ban assisted suicide altogether. more

Brit Writer Thinks Euthanasia Progressive & Opponents "Primitive"

So, another writer/celebrity says medicalized killing is just fine. Ya know, I wish these so-called eminent lights o society would shut up. Stick to writing, Mr. Amis. Oh yes, and I love the part that if you believe in the specialness, the uniqueness of life, well, you just a primitive Neanderthal. Such arrogance, such (as the Brits would say) a toffee-nose.

Martin Amis says euthanasia is 'an evolutionary inevitability'

Mandrake has cheering news for the nation: Martin Amis is to campaign for the laws on assisted suicide to be reformed.

The author, who caused an outcry last year when he called for euthanasia booths to be installed on every street corner, says that he now regards euthanasia as nothing less than "an evolutionary inevitability". more

Those Creepy Dutch Pro-Death Doctors . . .

This is the beginning of a long address by a Dutch doctor about how peachy everything is in the Netherlands regarding assisted suicide and euthanasia. It’s persuasive enough that if you didn’t know the truth of what’s happening in the Netherlands, this guy sounds perfectly reasonable. Creepy, just creepy.

The Dutch Way. The solution in the Netherlands.

Mister Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen.

To start with:

“Euthanasia, if allowed by the law, should never become an answer to failing care or fear of loneliness”!

Gerrit Kimsma told me once that to him the real value of euthanasia comes not from the act itself, but from the ability for the doctor and the patient to speak openly about it.

I am very honoured to be asked to contribute to this meeting of the French National Ethical Committee. more

Watch The Assisted Suicide Debate in Montana - Very Important

Watch Montana very closely – this might turn into a bigger battle than anyone thinks.

Legislature to take up assisted suicide bills

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The Legislature had been out of session in the year since the Montana Supreme Court ruled that nothing in state law prevents physician-assisted suicide, leaving doctors and terminally ill patients to operate without regulations or oversight. more

Coming Soon: Doctors To Be In trouble If They Won't Kill Their Patients

Yes, folks, this is where we are: The pro-deathers are pushing the idea that if a patient wants euthanasia, then who the hell are doctors to disagree? In other words, if you’re a doctor and you conscience determines that you shouldn’t kill your patients, you will have no choice but to listen to your patient - or get in trouble.

Does the Health Care Bill Violate 'Rights of Conscience'?

Now that there's a new Congress in session, there is renewed concern whether 'Rights of Conscience' of health care workers will continue to be protected under the new Health Care Bill. more

UK's Channel 4 Sets Up Euthanasia Debate

This is being promoted as a media “debate” about whether euthanasia should be legalized in the UK. This innovative branch of Channel 4 poses serious questions about current cultural issues. Debate? Well see . . . Although I’m not too hopeful.

4thought.tv asks if euthanasia should be legalised in Britain. more

Canadian Pro-Deather Under Fire

This is an excellent piece by my colleague and friend Alex Schadenberg exposing a prominent Canadian pro-deather.

Jocelyn Downie is planning to spin the truth about euthanasia at McGill University

An article written by Olivia D’Orazio and published in the Canadian Lawyer Magazine on December 29, 2010; explains that Jocelyn Downie will once again be spinning her false arguments concerning the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada.

Downie, a long-time advocate for the legalization of euthanasia, who published the book: Dying Justice: A Case for Decriminalizing Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide in Canada and who has been working with a one-sided committee on behalf of the Royal Society of Canada to produce a document that will promote the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide, will be speaking on January 13, 2011 at McGill University.

Downie is quoted as stating in the article:

“My ideal [situation] would be that it, euthanasia and assisted suicide, be taken out of the Criminal Code and be handled through a commission that oversees what’s going on and sets out very clear standards under which euthanasia or assisted suicide can be practised.” more

Aussie Couple Who Wanted To Euthanize Their Daughter Make Excuses

Predictable: The Aussie couple who inquired about euthanasia for their disabled child (who was then found dead in a swimming pool) didn’t really think about euthanasia, it’s all just a misunderstanding. Uh-huh.

Talk of euthanasia just distress, inquest hears

TALK of euthanasia and murder-suicide by a couple whose daughter showed signs of disability was only ''an extreme reaction'' to distressing news, not evidence they wanted to harm the girl, their lawyer told an inquest yesterday.

Two-year-old Maia Comas drowned in a blow-up pool at her family's Curl Curl home on December 3, 2007. Three months earlier she was tentatively diagnosed with Rett syndrome, a severe developmental disorder that leaves patients requiring full-time care. more