Category: Assisted Suicide

By Wesley J. Smith The Washington Post published an irresponsible puff piece that effectively grants moral permission to elderly people to commit suicide by self-starvation — known in euthanasia parlance as VSED (“voluntary stop eating and drinking”) — and quasi-teaches them how to do it. Of course, the story doesn’t put it that way. Instead, …

By Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition An Arizona nurse has pleaded not guilty of murder, in a California court, based on her allegedly injecting her friend with assisted suicide drugs. According to an article by Kim Bellware published in the Washington Post: Kristie Jane Koepplin, 58, of Peoria, Ariz., pleaded not guilty in …

On October 28, leaders of the Christian, the Jewish and the Muslim faiths signed a Declaration against Euthanasia and assisted suicide. Based on the arguments and justifications articulated in this position paper, the three Abrahamic monotheistic religions share common goals and are in complete agreement in their approach to end-of-life situations. Accordingly, we affirm that: …

Editor’s note. The following declaration was adopted by the 70th World Medical Association [WMA] Assembly, Tbilisi, Georgia, October 27, 2019. The WMA reiterates its strong commitment to the principles of medical ethics and that utmost respect has to be maintained for human life. Therefore, the WMA is firmly opposed to euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. For …

By Wesley J. Smith A new suicide clinic is advertising its dark services in Switzerland — with “native English speaking” staff to ensure that suicide tourists attend. I will not name the clinic, but it does not take health into account when determining “eligibility.” From its web page: [Name deleted] believes that it is the …

By Wesley J. Smith The media often write about assisted suicide as if the only opponents are pro-lifers, religious conservatives, and the Catholic Church. But that is, as the old saying goes, fake news. Some of the most vociferous and effective opponents of legalizing suicide by doctor are members of the disability rights community, organizations …

By Not Dead Yet The National Council on Disability (NCD) has issued the second in a series of reports on Bioethics and Disability. NCD’s release on the report today [Wednesday] focuses on “a federal examination of the country’s assisted suicide laws and their effect on people with disabilities, finding the laws’ safeguards are ineffective and …

By Laura Nicole Last week, Italy’s constitutional court ruled that euthanasia is not a crime if it is done for a chronic, non life-threatening condition or for “intolerable” pain, and that anyone who “facilitates the suicidal intention… of a patient kept alive by life-support treatments and suffering from an irreversible pathology” would not be charged …

An Evil and Unnecessary “Choice” By John Stonestreet & Roberto Rivera Six years ago, Sean Tagert of British Columbia was diagnosed with ALS, better known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.” An ALS diagnosis is essentially a death sentence. There is no known cure. People with ALS eventually lose control over most of the muscles in their …