By Michael Cook In 1950, 8% of the American population was 65 years old and over. In 2023, that figure is about 17%. By 2050, it is estimated that it will rise to 22%. Who will give medical care to the ageing population? Geriatricians, most people would say. But that is far from certain. According to …
Continue reading "The number of elderly is rising, but not the number of geriatric specialists"
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"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"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"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"‘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"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"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?"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"By Mary Prentis As a twenty-four year old woman, I know it’s very rare to be blessed with three living grandparents. I have fond memories of special nights at their houses, exciting Florida days on their boat, and their support and attendance at various school functions and events. My grandparents have bandaged scraped knees, quieted …
Continue reading "Never A Burden"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"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"