The Push Is on For Elderly Assisted Suicide

By Wesley J. Smith The assisted suicide in Switzerland of the aged scientist David Goodall — and the media swoon over the event — has pushed the assisted-suicide advocacy envelope beyond the dying to the elderly. A notable example is an article published at the Center for Science and Health, where an MD named Jamie …

Continue reading "The Push Is on For Elderly Assisted Suicide"

All the richer for having the privilege of remembering for both of us

By Dave Andrusko Editor’s note. My family and I will be on vacation through August 25. I will occasionally add new items but for the most part we will repost “the best of the best” — the stories our readers have told us they especially liked over the last ten months. I lead an adult …

Continue reading "All the richer for having the privilege of remembering for both of us"

An urgent need for palliative care as the world turns grey

By Michael Cook Is the developed world prepared for the avalanche of elderly people who will die of cancer and dementia? A report in the journal BMC Medicine says No. About 75% of people approaching the end of their lives would benefit from palliative care services. But after crunching the numbers, researchers at the Cicely …

Continue reading "An urgent need for palliative care as the world turns grey"

Struggling woman with dementia euthanised in Netherlands

Relatives had to hold her down so that the doctor could give the lethal injection. By Michael Cook A Dutch doctor has been rebuked by a Regional Review Committee after she gave a lethal injection to a demented patient who appeared to be struggling to stop the procedure. The incident emerged when the Regional Review …

Continue reading "Struggling woman with dementia euthanised in Netherlands"

We will help you die of boredom: Dutch govt

‘Completed life’ euthanasia will soon be legalised in the Netherlands By Michael Cook In the 19th Century a statue of Tanonius Marcellinus, consul of Campania (now the region around Naples) was unearthed in the town of Benevento. It bore a remarkable inscription, one which must be unique in the history of Western Civilization. It described …

Continue reading "We will help you die of boredom: Dutch govt"

A grandmother’s journey through Alzheimer’s: The privilege of remembering for both of us

By Dave Andrusko I lead an adult Sunday school class and many of the members have parents who are aging rapidly and/or in declining health. We often talk about what that entails, not only for them, but for their siblings and even for the grandkids. Earlier this week I had coffee with one member of …

Continue reading "A grandmother’s journey through Alzheimer’s: The privilege of remembering for both of us"

Should we support the suicidal-elderly, or simply let them jump?

By Paul Russell Philip Nitschke is surprised and dismayed that British Police tried to stop a retired English professor from committing suicide at her home near of Exeter in the UK recently. When police attended the home of Dr.. Avril Henry after Interpol had informed them that they believed that an illegal import of the …

Continue reading "Should we support the suicidal-elderly, or simply let them jump?"

10% of elderly Americans abused, says NEJM

By Michael Cook Doctors need to be able to recognize the tell-tale signs of elder abuse, according to the New England Journal of Medicine, because about 10% of the elderly experience some form of abuse. “Thus, a busy physician caring for older adults will encounter a victim of such abuse on a frequent basis, regardless …

Continue reading "10% of elderly Americans abused, says NEJM"

National Right to Life Urges Congress to Block Obama Administration Proposal Whose Effect Would “Nudge” Senior Citizens to Agree to Premature Death

WASHINGTON – The National Right to Life Committee is urging Congressional action to keep an Obama Administration proposal to pay doctors for “advance care planning” in Medicare from taking effect, and instead to provide for balanced, neutral materials to assist patients in implementing their own values 1 (“Advance care planning” refers to counseling potential patients …

Continue reading "National Right to Life Urges Congress to Block Obama Administration Proposal Whose Effect Would “Nudge” Senior Citizens to Agree to Premature Death"

Tax dollars could be spent to “nudge” older people to agree to premature death under Senate bill

By Burke J. Balch, J.D., director, Powell Center for Medical Ethics at the National Right to Life Committee Last week, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) introduced S. 1549, the Care Planning Act of 2015, to use federal tax dollars to pay health care professionals to counsel older people in deciding …

Continue reading "Tax dollars could be spent to “nudge” older people to agree to premature death under Senate bill"

Older Americans Have Better Quality of Life Than Younger Americans Predict

  By Micaiah Bilger, Education Director, Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation I stumbled on an interesting article today about our assumptions about growing old. The Wall Street Journal piece “Why Everything You Think about Aging May Be Wrong” examines people’s expectations about growing older and compares them to older adults’ actual experiences. In an age where bureaucrats …

Continue reading "Older Americans Have Better Quality of Life Than Younger Americans Predict"