Mont. lawmakers punt on physician-assisted suicide
HELENA, Mont. - Montana legislators had been asked to choose between two paths in creating a physician-assisted suicide law: Ban the practice completely, or else create regulations for doctors and terminally ill patients to follow.
Now it appears they'll do neither. more
Apex court seeks doctors' presence in euthanasia plea
The Supreme Court today sought the personal presence of a 3-member team of doctors from Mumbai to assist it on the vexed question of permitting euthanasia (mercy killing) of a rape victim virtually brain dead for the last 36 years. more
German Medical Association eases rules on assisted suicide
Germany's medical community has liberalized its code on helping sick patients die, giving more freedom to individual doctors. The change reflects a growing acceptance of assisted suicide among German doctors.
The German Medical Association has presented new guidelines for physician-assisted suicide, allowing greater leeway for doctors to rely on their own conscience when deciding whether to help ill patients die. more
Should terminally ill Vermonters be allowed to end their lives?
"The hardest thing I have ever done was to care for my father as he suffered as he died," said Aaron Loomis of Patient Choices Vermont. "Every one of those final days my father would look at us, my sister, my brother, please help me end the suffering, but we could not grant his final wishes. Indeed my father had no choice."
Backers of a bill introduced at the Statehouse believe it's time Vermont gave terminally ill patients the choice to end their lives with the help of a doctor. more
Cleveland billboard promotes 'death with dignity' Opponents question where Final Exit Network is heading
The Final Exit Network billboard on I-77 near the East 30th exit in Cleveland. The backers say the campaign is intended to create dialogue, opponents fear assisted suicide is the group's political goal.
Commuters heading into Cleveland on I-77 are seeing an exit sign this month that won’t take them downtown. A highway billboard from the Final Exit Network is promoting ‘death with dignity’ as part of a national campaign. Opponents say the billboard could lead Ohioans toward assisted suicide or worse. more
Latimer still defends killing daughter
Saskatchewan farmer Robert Latimer stands by his decision to end the life of his severely disabled daughter almost 20 years ago, in his first interview since being released on full parole in December.
In an exclusive interview with Radio-Canada (the CBC's French service), Latimer is unrepentant about killing his daughter Tracy in 1993. He also speaks frankly about his deep anger towards Canada's justice system, and its failings. more
Dublin suicide ‘workshop’ a bust with twice as many protesters as attendees
DUBLIN, February 17, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – “Dr. Death” Philip Nitschke’s controversial visit to Ireland proved to be anti-climactic after only a handful of people turned out for his Dublin suicide workshop, over half of whom were journalists. more
It Can Happen Here
American author Sinclair Lewis, in his chilling 1935 novel It Can’t Happen Here, imagines the United States becoming a fascist state. Doremus Jessop, a small town Vermont newspaper editor, tries valiantly to warn his compatriots that what is taking place in Europe in the 1930s could occur on this side of the Atlantic, but is met with disbelief—“It can’t happen here.”
The National Assembly of Quebec’s Select Committee on Dying with Dignity (with the slogan of the pro-euthanasia movement of the last 30 years written into its very title!) has been holding hearings across the province for several months. They have heard a variety of opinions and will soon be faced with the unenviable task of writing their report. more
Sussex Police warning to euthanasia doctor
Police have warned that a euthanasia doctor could be acting illegally by advising people on ending their lives. Dr Philip Nitschke was detained by airport officials as he travelled to Britain yesterday, ahead of a workshop in Sussex aimed at showing elderly and ill people how to kill themselves.
Dr Nitschke, who is also known buy the nickname Doctor Death, was detained at Heathrow airport when he arrived in Britain ahead of the talk in Eastbourne carrying his “deliverance machine” – a laptop computer used to administer a lethal dose of drugs or gases. more
Probation for assisted suicide
COLUMBUS, Neb. — A district court judge said Tuesday that no sentence he gave a 34-year-old Columbus woman who assisted in the suicide of her boyfriend last summer would relieve the sorrow and grief suffered by the man’s family and friends. more
Euthanasia advocate urges courage over legislation
ASSISTED SUICIDE advocate Dr Philip Nitschke last night urged Irish politicians to show courage and not to fear the wrath of the church when it came to legislating for euthanasia. more
Idaho moves to ban assisted suicide
BOISE - Amid quotes from scripture and urgings from anti-abortion activists, an Idaho Senate committee on Wednesday approved legislation to outlaw physician-assisted suicide in the state, making it a felony. more
UK court mulls sterilizing mentally disabled woman
LONDON (AP) — A British judge ruled Tuesday that more evidence is needed before deciding whether to grant a mother's wish to have her mentally disabled daughter sterilized — a case that is troubling medical ethicists.
The 21-year-old woman, who has a significant learning disability and has been identified only as P, already has one child who is being cared for by her mother, Mrs. P. The woman is scheduled to give birth via cesarean section on Wednesday and her mother had proposed that doctors could sterilize her daughter at the same time. more
Organisers pull plug on 'suicide' workshop by Dr Death Philip Nitschke
A “SUICIDE” workshop held by a euthanasia expert known as Dr Death has been axed after the venue pulled out. more
It's time for us to discuss the right to die
Almost a year after Bernice Levitz Packford left us, she is still prompting us to think about what is right and wrong, and about life and death.
Packford took her own life. She was 95, she was tired, and she was ready to go. She declared her desire to die in a letter to the Times Colonist in February 2010, sparking talk throughout the community about the pros and cons of assisted suicide.
One month later she overdosed on hydromorphone, a powerful prescription painkiller, in her Fairfield home. A coroner's report concluded that Packford committed suicide.
Anyone who was found to have helped her, or even counselled her to carry out her suicide, could face charges under the Criminal Code of Canada, punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Victoria police investigated her death and decided Packford had not been assisted. more
Think tank Demos has become, alas, little more than a pressure group for assisted suicide
I have at last received a response to my questions to Lord Falconer, challenging the constitution of his “Commission” on Assisted Dying. The letter comes not from Lord Falconer himself, but from Kitty Ussher, director of the think tank Demos, more of which in a moment.
Ussher is very friendly and as helpful as she can be. I see she was Economic Secretary to the Treasury when the credit crunch arrived and was subsequently at the Department of Work and Pensions. She was also Labour MP for Burnley until last year. She is obviously an experienced and highly intelligent woman. Which makes the nature of her letter all the more surprising. more
Why Safe Voluntary Euthanasia is a Myth
The criminal law in Australia holds that the intentional taking of human life is a major criminal offence. This accords with the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Australia is a signatory, which declares that the right to the integrity of every person’s life is equal, inherent, inviolable, inalienable and should be protected by law.
Since the intentional taking of human life is the specific aim of every euthanasia law, such a law would be unique in the following critically important ways:
• it would intend to subvert the existing law
• it would fail to respect the principle that all are equal before the law
• it would fail to respect the principle that all human lives have equal value, and
• it would attempt to gain legal recognition for the concept of life not worth living. more
Bill to set rules for doc-assisted suicide fails
Lawmakers tabled a bill Thursday that would have established rules for physician-assisted suicide — setting up a situation where Montana could remain in limbo under a 2009 court ruling that doesn't specifically prevent doctors from getting criminally charged in such cases.
The Montana Supreme Court has ruled that nothing in state law prevents a doctor from prescribing lethal drugs to mentally competent, terminally ill patients. But the court didn't determine if the state constitution guarantees the right to physician-assisted suicide.
Doctors fear they still could be prosecuted in such cases, although the high court ruling said that they could use, most likely successfully, physician-assisted suicide as a defense to homicide charges.
Many were hoping the Legislature would bring clarity to the issue — either by setting up rules or definitively saying it is banned. more
'Time for mercy killing debate'
A GP who admitted giving lethal doses of painkillers to his patients has called for a national debate on euthanasia, saying it is already common practice in hospitals.
But Dr Howard Martin, the former County Durham GP, who learnt this week that he will not face a second trial for the murder of three patients, has called on others to lead the discussion, saying he now wants a quiet life. more
Wife's surprise shakes Barnes case
Lana Barnes entered Hennepin County Probate Court Wednesday morning determined to win aggressive care for her frail husband and remain his medical decision-maker. more
Six countries, six defeats for euthanasia
Dr. Peter Saunders, the former director of the Care Not Killing Alliance in the UK and a speaker at the upcoming Third International Symposium on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide that will be in Vancouver BC on June 3 - 4, 2010, yesterday published an article about the fact that euthanasia and assisted suicide bills are being defeated everywhere. more
B.C. social activist committed suicide, coroner's report concludes
VICTORIA — Social activist Bernice Packford died as she lived — on her own terms.
A coroner's report, which was just released Tuesday, concludes that Packford committed suicide last March in her Fairfield home by overdosing on hydromorphone, a powerful prescription painkiller. more
‘Sanctum’ Review: Exhausting, Visually Stunning, Pro-Euthanasia Adventure
Everyone loves a little bit of adventure, but some people take it to the extreme, whether climbing Everest or exploring the wonders of deep-sea diving. The hardy band of explorers in the new thriller “Sanctum” are crazy enough to engage in both at the same time, by tunneling and swimming their way through the largest cave ever discovered – a gaping hole that burrows at least two miles down below the earth’s surface. more
Birth of French 'saviour sibling' raises bioethics questions
A very special baby was born on January 26th at the Antoine Béclère hospital near Paris. As an embryo, Umut Talha (Turkish for "our hope") was screened so that his parents knew he would not suffer the same genetic disorder that has afflicted his siblings. Not only that, but cells from his umbilical cord can also be used to treat his sister, an idea that's raising questions about bioethics in France. more
Legislature Takes on Physician Assisted Suicide
Death can be one of the hardest things to talk about and the Legislature tackled the controversial topic as two physician-assisted suicide bills brought forward emotional testimony.
“And in the end it took three of us to hold her down in a hospital bed so that they could put the needles in to give her terminal sedation rather than let her take medication at home to die where she wanted to,” says Mignon Waterman, a former State Senator who watched her close friend die. more
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