No Death Panels? Read This

If you still think there isn’t a policy idea that is essentially the Death Panel idea, read this excellent piece by my colleague Paul Byrne.

End of life planning--the Blumenauer way

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D. Oregon) has strong agenda to encourage early death for United States citizens. Oregon was the first state to legalized physician-assisted suicide. This happened November 8, 1994, by the narrow margin of 51% to 49%. Washington State became the second state in 2008. Montana has been added through a Supreme Court ruling.

Medicare is funded by working United States citizens who made it clear through their voice and votes on November 2, 2010 that they do not want to pay for end-of-life counseling or encouragement. But now the government has regulated that they do not care what the people want. This is evident in the fact that just 3 weeks after the November 2 voting, Medicare regulation was printed Monday November 29, 2010 as Federal Register/Vol. 75, No. 228, which changes definitions of "First annual wellness visit" and "Subsequent annual wellness visit" by adding "a new element (vii)" to the final regulation text that would read as follows: "Voluntary advance care planning as that term is defined in this section upon agreement with the individual." more

At Last: Respect For Nazi Euthanasia Victims

It’s comforting to know that even after all these years, the Austrians are planning on paying respect to the victims of Nazi genocide - respect these victims never received in life. Would that that respect were more pervasive among the pro-deathers today.

Austria to exhume bodies in Nazi euthanasia probe

HALL, Austria (Reuters) - Hundreds of graves found at an Austrian state hospital will be exhumed once the ground thaws to see if any are victims of a Nazi-era purge of patients deemed unworthy to live, authorities said on Tuesday.

The discovery of about 220 bodies in a hospital cemetery during a construction project in Hall, near the Tyrolean capital Innsbruck, aroused suspicions that some of those buried there between 1942 and 1945 were victims of a euthanasia campaign. more

Murdering Patients Is OK As Long As "There's No Other Option" Really?

Under Swiss law, this doctor is a murderer. But wait!! She pleaded not guilty because she had “no other choice” but to kill her patient. See? Argue that you’re powerless (except for being able to kill) and hey, presto!! You’re off the hook!! I’ll bet nobody challenged the good doctor about her knowledge of palliative care and pain management.

Case puts assisted suicide at a crossroads

The acquittal of a doctor accused of euthanasia has rekindled the debate on assisted suicide in Switzerland, ahead of votes at the cantonal level on the issue.

A regional criminal court in Boudry, canton Neuchâtel, ruled in December that the doctor had no choice when she took the final step to end the life of a terminally ill patient. The acquittal was made definitive in a ruling issued on Tuesday.

Direct active euthanasia is illegal in Switzerland but assisted suicide and passive euthanasia (mercy killing) are not. more

Pro-Death Rant Masked As Reasoned Discussion

Here’s a pro-deather rant masquerading as reasoned discussion. So obvious, surely they can do better than this?

Don’t reignite ‘death panel’ insanity

Let’s dispense quickly with any politically motivated twisting of death and dying in 2011.

We don’t need to reignite the insanity that spun the term “death panels” into the health care debate in 2009.

Expect much wrangling about health care reform as Republicans flex their newly elected collective strength to undermine the goals of the Obama administration. Fine, it is to be expected. Room exists to debate measures intended to solve the nation’s health care quandaries and ensure that Americans wind up healthier for the efforts.

But let’s hope the American public doesn’t fall for the same trick twice as the topic of end-of-life care arises. I’m hedging that we won’t. Increasingly, many of us are caring for aging parents, experiencing firsthand the struggle to make decisions for loved ones when that person can no longer voice their own wishes about care. more

The Drumbeat For Medical Rationing Increases

Truth in transparency: The author of this piece, Arthur Caplan, once called me a “cockeyed optimist.” I took it as a compliment. He’s a highly respected ethicist, but here it sounds to me like he’s beating the drum for rationing care. Death panels, anyone?

Dialysis payment program is costly in too many ways

. . . Experts agreed that the End- Stage Renal Dialysis program might ultimately

serve 10,000 people with kidney failure and would cost Medicare about $135 million dollars. They expected many of those on dialysis would return to work — paying taxes that would help cover the costs involved.

The experts were wrong. . . .

The End-Stage Renal Dialysis program was an act of noble compassion. But ripping off the American people by allowing too many people to receive lousy or unnecessary care is not compassionate at all. It is cruel. more

Terri Schiavo's Executioner Retires - Good Riddance

Wanna see what evil looks like? Read this piece. The Florida judge who ordered the execution of Terri Schiavo has retired. In so doing, he tells the media how hard the whole thing has been on him. I guess being infamous is much worse than dying of starvation and thirst like he had Terri do.

Judge Who Ordered Euthanasia of Terri Schiavo Retires

The Florida state judge who allowed the former husband of disabled patient Terri Schiavo to take her life by depriving her of food and water, has retired from the bench. more

When Nazis Did It: Murder - When The Pro-Deathers Do It: "Mercy"

They’re still discovering bodies of Germans with disabilities murdered by the Nazis. I’ll not belabor the point, but in this day and age we’re doing the same thing in many places, only now we call it “mercy,” “a right,” and “compassion.” Don’t buy it, not once. 

Graveyard may contain Nazi victims

A hospital graveyard in western Austria could contain the remains of up to 220 people killed by the Nazis. . . . More than 75,000 people were killed by the Nazis for having physical or mental disabilities. more

Hospice Nurses, Yes, Euthanasia, NO!! Part 1

When I first saw the title of this YT movie, "Dying With Dignity" I assumed it was another pro-death hit-piece, but it's not. It's a cheer for hospice nurses and their work with the dying as part of the Marie Curie organization. This is what we need more of - compassion, professional care & support, and TRUE dignity in a natural death, not the ersatz "dignity" of being killed by your doctor.


Here's Part 1. Part 2 below.

Hospice Nurses, Yes, Euthanasia, NO!! Part 2

Here's Part 2:

Yes, Alzheimer's patients Need Care & Support, Not Euthanasia

Here’s an excellent piece reminding us that there are actually professionals who care for and support people with Alzheimer’s disease, versus the barbarians in the Netherlands and Belgium who think these people should be euthanized.

Giving Alzheimer’s Patients Their Way, Even Chocolate

PHOENIX — Margaret Nance was, to put it mildly, a difficult case. Agitated, combative, often reluctant to eat, she would hit staff members and fellow residents at nursing homes, several of which kicked her out. But when Beatitudes nursing home agreed to an urgent plea to accept her, all that changed.

Disregarding typical nursing-home rules, Beatitudes allowed Ms. Nance, 96 and afflicted with Alzheimer’s, to sleep, be bathed and dine whenever she wanted, even at 2 a.m. She could eat anything, too, no matter how unhealthy, including unlimited chocolate. more

Helping Someone Kill Themselves OK As Long As You're "Passionate" About It?

You remember South African Sean Davidson, don’t you? He of flying from South Africa to New Zealand to help his mother kill herself. Predictably, he’s now a hero, and he’s not letting up. I suggest that we’re in deep trouble when someone who helps kill somebody else spins it as “passion.” Heaven help us all.

Mixed views over 'mercy' killing prof

THERE has been mixed public reactions to whether University of Western Cape professor Sean Davison, who is facing trial in New Zealand for the assisted suicide of his mother, had committed an act of mercy or murder.

Davison is adamant that if he committed a crime it was one of passion.

"If I'm perceived to have committed a crime, it would be a crime of passion. I have made many mistakes in my life, I have many people that I need to apologise to, but helping my mother end her (suffering) was not one of those mistakes," Davison is reported to have said. more

Excellent Balance On Assisted Suicide in Canada 1

Here's Part 1 of 4 (see the others below) of a very well balanced report on assisted suicide and euthanasia in Canada:

Excellent Balance On Assisted Suicide in Canada 2

Part 2 of this very good series:

Excellent Balance On Assisted Suicide in Canada 3

Part 3 of the balanced Canadian TV report on assisted suicide/euthanasia:

Excellent Balance On Assisted Suicide in Canada 4

Here's the final part to this very balanced Canadian report around assisted suciide and euthanasia:

Man Commits Suicide Because Palliative Care Was Lacking

I posted earlier in the week the latest victim of pro-death Swiss killing clinic Dignitas. Here’s the latest – Andrew Colgan left a suicide note that blasts all the usual suspects. If you read this blog even tangentially, you’ll know the arguments he made to kill himself and break his mother’s heart. The part that really gets to me is that Andrew’s primary reason for killing himself was pain. There’s no need for that to happen to anyone because we have the means, medically, to make sure people are comfortable until natural death. My suspicion is that living in the UK palliative care was hardly a priority.

How dare they stop me ending my pain?

TRAGIC suicide clinic Brit Andrew Colgan left a heartbreaking letter blasting UK laws for preventing him from ending his life at home.

Multiple sclerosis victim Andrew, 42, had spent months arranging his death at Dignitas in Zurich, Switzerland.

He left his family an 11-page note describing his torment as his condition became unbearable.

Scientist Andrew wrote: "One aspect that really frightens me is how some people's moral attitudes can prevent me from having the end I want. How dare they?

"I have never been so frightened. I wish I could stay in the UK but the laws and general complications here make it necessary to go elsewhere, away from so many things and so many people I love so very much. more

Make Sure You & Your Doctor Agree About Euthanasia

Well, whichever side of the euthanasia debate you’re on, you’d better make sure your doctor sees the world the way you do.

Euthanasia & Physician-Assisted Suicide...What Are Doctors Thinking?

Have you ever wondered about the opinions of practicing doctors toward euthanasia (the doctor deliberately hastens the death of a terminally ill patient) and physician-assisted suicide (the patient hastens his or her own death, with the help of a doctor).

To achieve a better understanding of doctors' attitudes and practices regarding these highly controversial societal issues, the American Society of Clinical Oncology surveyed 3299 U.S. cancer doctors. Cancer doctors (oncologists) were questioned because in the U.S. these specialists more commonly address these issues than do other doctors.

The researchers reviewed the doctors' attitudes in relation to a theoretical patient who had terminal cancer of the prostate with unremitting pain. They were also questioned about how they felt about requests for and their participation in euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.

The results of the study were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine 2000;133:527-532.

Of the U.S. cancer doctors that were surveyed, 25% supported the use of physician-assisted suicide for a terminally ill patient with unremitting pain, while 6.5% supported euthanasia. more

Politician's Regret? Nah, Just Sorry He Got Caught Out

Here’s why he regrets the email he sent, which asked everyone to keep quiet that they were using regulations to slip in the death panels that were rejected in Obamacare last year – he was outed.

Democrat Who Started Latest Death Panels Row Regrets Email

The Democrat who started the latest national debate over the inclusion of so-called “death panels” by the Obama administration into federal regulations now regrets doing so.

The office of Representative Earl Blumenauer, an assisted suicide advocate from Oregon who works closely with pro-euthanasia groups like Compassion and Choices, alerted supporters of the change the Obama administration implemented and worked to ask them to keep the news quiet.

“We would ask that you not broadcast this accomplishment out to any of your lists e-mails can too easily be forwarded,” his staff wrote. “Thus far, it seems that no press or blogs have discovered it but we will be keeping a close watch and may be calling on you if we need a rapid, targeted response. The longer this [regulation] goes unnoticed, the better our chances of keeping it.”

The memo talked of a “quiet” victory and had the congressman worrying about how Republican leaders would “use this small provision to perpetuate the ‘death panel’ myth.” more

US Courts' View Of Assisted Suicide

This got by me when it was broadcast earlier this year. It’s a good piece on legal aspects of assisted suicide in the US.

C-SPAN's Supreme Court Broadcasts: Assisted Suicide

Does the Constitution give a person the liberty to choose death over life?

The Supreme Court in 1997 faced that question in Washington v. Glucksberg and it did so at a time in our nation's history when the question of the morality and the legality of assisted suicide was very much a subject of intense public debate. Much more so than today. The popularity (many say infamy) of Dr. Jack Kevorkian, a Michigan doctor who became (and remains) a universal symbol of the issue, was perhaps at its peak. In fact, the case was decided two weeks after jury selection began in the fourth Michigan trial of Kevorkian based upon his conduct in assisting the elderly to die by administering lethal doses of medication. more

Even Scholars Swallow The Pro-Deather Line

This appears in the latest edition of the premier US academic paper, the Chronicle of Higher Education. The author is obviously a scholar, and he takes a half-hearted stab at assisted suicide, not having a clue as to pretty much anything he’s talking about. This is the problem – so-called bright people are just as likely to swallow the propaganda of the pro-deathers. Too bad, this piece does nothing to clarify, everything to confuse.

End-of-Life Care and Advice

I turned 70 this year, so I suppose I have another 10 years of life, give or take. . . . I don’t think much about the long-term and certainly not about the hereafter.  . . .

But as the time approaches, assuming I don’t go suddenly in a car accident or with a heart attack, I very much hope I can get some good and experienced counseling. If I am going out with cancer or whatever, I want to know about the predicted sequence and so forth. How long will I be mobile? When will I no longer be able to wipe my own bottom? Will I be in a lot of pain? And that sort of thing. more

The Macabre Banality Of Assisted Suicide

So it goes. Another poster person death at Swiss killing factory Dignitas. The story is written in the now-predictable vein of hero-who-enacts-the-human-right-of-committing-assisted-suicide. So banal, so bereft of feeling. So sterile, so nihilistic. So evil.

MS sufferer dies at Swiss assisted suicide clinic

A MULTIPLE Sclerosis sufferer has ended his life at an "assisted suicide" clinic in Switzerland.

Andrew Colgan died in Zurich after a 10-year fight against MS. more

Obamacare: Yes, There Really Are Death Panels

Just in case you’re still a little confused about the whole “death panel” thing, this piece should clarify it for you. I agree with it entirely.

Death panels are just the first step

Sarah Palin deserves an apology. When she said that the new health-care law would lead to "death panels" deciding who gets life-saving treatment and who does not, she was roundly denounced and ridiculed.

Now we learn, courtesy of one of the ridiculers -- the New York Times -- that she was right. Under a new policy not included in the law for fear the administration's real end-of-life game would be exposed, a rule issued by the recess-appointed Dr. Donald M. Berwick, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, calls for the government to pay doctors to advise patients on options for ending their lives.

These could include directives to forgo aggressive treatment that could extend their lives.

This rule will inevitably lead to bureaucrats deciding who is "fit" to live and who is not. more

No, Advertising Death Is NOT To Foster Debate, It's To Propagandize

Well, we all know by now that the pro-deathers are engaged in a full court press to market death just like hamburgers, hence this sign that’s gone up in Pittsburgh. Whats most disturbing about the piece, I think, is the reporter’s glib agreement that assisted suicide and euthanasia are a human right. Really???? This is how it goes, unfortunately: Stupid reporter claims killing as a human right, laypeople read this, and, being uninformed, assume that yes, it is indeed a human right. Propaganda, lies, spin, erroneous info, all in one sentence. Oh, and by the way, these ads are NOT aimed at "enlivening the debate." For the pro-deathers the debate is long over, it's only that the rest of us poor schlubs are so retrograde and unsophisticated that we haven't quite gotten it yet.

Billboard's aim: Enliven controversial debate Right-to-die group posts

A billboard paid for by the Final Exit Network went up Tuesday at the Boulevard of the Allies and McDevitt Place in Oakland.

A new billboard erected Tuesday at the intersection of the Boulevard of the Allies and McDevitt Place in Oakland says simply, "Die with Dignity -- the Final Human Right."

Nothing much to argue with about that. But Final Exit Network, the national organization that paid for the billboard and offers its contact information on it, hopes there is plenty of debate in the next month over the right-to-die issues the sign raises. more

Ha-Ha: Suicide Is Such A Funny Joke . . .

See, this pro-death stuff seeps into popular culture and diminishes the horror of medicalized and other killing as an act of mercy. Cilla Black is a has-been Brit actress and singer who announced several weeks ago that she’d rather go to Swiss killing clinic Dignitas than have a poor quality of life. This report is about how her sons are now making macabre jokes about shipping old mom off to her death. Ha-ha. Hilarious. Let’s see what happens when Black actually decides to go to Dignitas – I’ll bet the jokes will be far fewer and further between then.

CILLA BLACK’S A PANTO DAME…

. . . On her comments this month when she said she doesn’t want to live past 75, she says: “I just want my grandchildren to remember me like I am. If I’m 75 and like I am now I’ll be happy. I was stressing that I didn’t want to go like my mother, having to be fed. It’s quality of life not the quantity.”

But her words have left her the butt of her three sons’ jokes.

“My boys come out with all the sick jokes: Surprise Surprise, you thought you were going to Barbados but you’re off to Dignitas!” [a Swiss assisted dying centre] laughs Cilla. more

Propaganda Alert: This Is Hardly A Balanced Report

Propaganda Alert: Read the heading on this piece and then the first few paragraphs. Debate? Nope, this is a piece firmly in the tank for killing. Read everything on this topic carefully, and you’ll soon be able to separate the genuine debate from the pro-death spin.

Year in Quebec marked by emotional debate on assisted suicide, euthanasia.

QUEBEC - Nicole Gladu doesn't know exactly how much longer she is going to tolerate watching herself slowly lose the ability to walk, talk and use her hands. But she finds comfort in the fact that when she's had enough she can opt out.

If by then Quebec or Canadian laws don't let her put an end to her life by assisted suicide, she'll travel to a clinic in Switzerland - with a good friend.

``My great challenge is to live without hope, without becoming hopeless,'' said Gladu, who suffers from post-polio syndrome and whose condition is deteriorating. more