By Wesley J. Smith The focus on suicide prevention continues to erode. In Ozy — which bills itself as being about “fresh stories and bold ideas”— self-described “reporter” Molly Fosco applauds that suicidal depression is increasingly being looked upon as a “terminal illness,” and hence, opines that we should view the suicides of the deeply …
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By Margaret Somerville Two senior physicians who have championed the legalization of euthanasia in their jurisdictions have rejected current “appalling” developments in euthanasia in their countries. Yet, these developments should have been anticipated. So, why weren’t they? Pro-euthanasia advocates focus just on individuals and only in the present – a combination of radical autonomy/ intense …
Continue reading "The splash of assisted-suicide and euthanasia blinds us to their far-reaching ripples"
By Michael Cook In March, the UK’s Royal College of Physicians (RCP) changed its position on “assisted dying” from opposition to neutrality after conducting a poll of its members. Dissidents, however, have denounced this as a “sham” and now the Charity Commission has launched an investigation into the controversy. A Charity Commission officer told the …
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By Michael Cook The Netflix show “13 Reasons Why” was associated with a 28.9% increase in suicide rates among U.S. youth ages 10-17 in April 2017, following the show’s premiere, after accounting for ongoing trends in suicide rates, according to a study in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The …
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By Dave Andrusko Excluding children, who are utterly powerless, no vulnerable group is more exposed to “assisted suicide” than patients with Alzheimer’s, especially advanced Alzheimer’s. That is why you are seeing more and more trials balloons—for example, “Should Alzheimer’s Disease Qualify for Assisted Suicide” —probing for grounds to justify assisting the suicide of a woman …
Continue reading "Softening the resistance to “assisting” the suicide of people with an “elevated” risk of Alzheimer’s"
By Nancy Valko Editor’s note. This article was originally published in The Public Discourse. Is the real healthcare crisis not enough physician assisted suicide laws? Or is it the staggering and increasing number of people losing their battles with mental illness and committing suicide? It has been over twenty years since Oregon’s physician-assisted suicide law …
Continue reading "Six things you must know before you decide whether to support or oppose physician-assisted suicide"
By Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director – Euthanasia Prevention Coalition Congratulations to the many groups and individuals who worked to defeat Nevada’s doctor assisted suicide bill. SB165 had passed in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee (3 – 2) on March 25 but lacked sufficient votes in the full Senate. A few days ago, the …
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Editor’s note. This is excerpted from an article written by Ronald W. Pies, MD, and Annette Hanson, MD and it was published by mdmag.com. Footnotes are omitted for clarity. Introduction In an age of “alternative facts,” it’s hard to sort out myth from reality when it comes to so-called ‘medical-aid-in-dying’ (MAID)—also called physician assisted suicide …
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By Alex Schadenberg, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition Dr. Gordon Macdonald, the parliamentary officer for “Care for Scotland,” wrote an excellent article that was published in the Scotsman on April 19, explaining why assisted suicide should not be legalised. Under the headline “Legalizing assisted suicide is a start of a slippery slope,” Macdonald begins by discussing why …
Continue reading "Scotland is being pressured to legalize assisted suicide. They need to care not kill."
By Wesley J. Smith It is an unfortunate feature of the contemporary age that many look at suicide as a human right to be enabled (in some cases, for now) rather than a tragedy to be prevented whenever possible. Now, in Germany, that question is about to be decided by the country’s highest court. From …
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By Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director – Euthanasia Prevention Coalition The assisted suicide issue has been debated in Germany for many years. In recent years Swiss assisted suicide groups have been campaigning for assisted suicide not only in Germany but worldwide. Yesterday, Germany’s Constitutional Court, the nation’s highest court, heard a challenge to the 2015 law …
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By Nancy Valko In March, I wrote a blog “Is the American Nurses Association Ready to Drop Opposition to Assisted Suicide?” about the ANA draft position paper changing its stance from opposition to assisted suicide to “The Nurse’s Role When a Patient Requests Aid in Dying.” “Aid in Dying” is the ANA’s new term for …
Continue reading "While Opposition to Nursing Involvement in Assisted Suicide Grows, a Dire Warning from Canada"