By Michael Cook A government commission in Quebec has recommended the use of advance directives in euthanasia. In a report released in December, the committee says that “a person who is old enough and competent can make an advance request for medical assistance in dying following a diagnosis of a serious and incurable disease leading to incapacity” …
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By Michael Cook A former chair of the Danish Council of Ethics has published a broadside on legalised euthanasia in The BMJ. Ole Hartling, a doctor, author and co-author of several books, was a member of the Council between 2000 and 2007 and its chair for five years. During that time, the Council carried on …
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Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition An article published by Spark Chronicles indicates that since legalizing euthanasia on June 25, 2021, Spain has had at least 50 euthanasia deaths and 130 requests. Spain’s euthanasia law is oriented toward approving euthanasia for people with disabilities. Spain approves euthanasia for “serious, chronic and debilitating conditions or serious, incurable …
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By Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition Dr. John Maher, who is a leading psychiatrist and editor-in-chief, of the prestigious Journal of Ethics in Mental Health, wrote an excellent analysis of the current euthanasia (MAID) practise in Canada that was published in the Hamilton Spectator on January 4. Maher examines the current situation through …
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By Alex SchadenbergExecutive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition I reported a few weeks ago that the Austrian parliament had legalized assisted suicide for people with disabilities. The media have now published many articles about the Austrian assisted suicide law that went into effect on January 1. For example, an article by Bob Cronin for Newser.com reported …
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By Right to Life UK Belgium has been criticised for its radical euthanasia law during a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) in Geneva, Switzerland. The UNHCR is undergoing a “Universal Periodic Review”, in which member states’ human rights records are scrutinised and they may be called to consider reforms. Several states …
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By Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition In March 2021, Canada’s parliament passed Bill C-7 which expanded (MAiD) euthanasia to people who are not terminally ill, but living with chronic conditions. Bill C-7 also approved euthanasia for people with chronic mental illness, but the government put the application of euthanasia for mental illness on …
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By Michael Cook Most requests for euthanasia in the Netherlands come from people suffering from cancer. But the number of patients who have dementia, psychiatric disorders, or multiple geriatric syndromes (MGS) is growing steadily. An article by Dutch physicians in JAMA Internal Medicine examines the kind of geriatric syndromes which motivate a person to ask …
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By Michael Cook The president of Portugal has refused to sign a bill legalising euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa criticised its wording as imprecise. This is the second time this year that Rebelo de Sousa, a former law professor, has rejected a euthanasia bill. He sent the first version to Portugal’s Constitutional Court for an assessment in …
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By Michael Cook The Royal Dutch Medical Association (KNMG) has released guidelines for the euthanasia of patients with dementia who have made a written advance directive. It will no longer be necessary for the patient to agree at the moment of the euthanasia. The new approach follows a court case in which a doctor was …
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By Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition A research article by Nancy Preston, a Professor of supportive and palliative care at Lancaster University, published by The Conversation on December 8, outlines studies concerning the experience of medical professionals who participate in euthanasia. She reports that it is stressful to kill someone. Under the subhead “Uneasy …
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By Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition As the slippery slope in the Netherlands euthanasia experiment is greased, other nations may follow. The DutchNews.nl reported that the latest Netherlands euthanasia development is the change by the Dutch Medical Association (KNMG). Doctors may now euthanize patients with advanced dementia who made an advanced request while …
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