Patient-Directed Suicide Has Morphed into Family-Determined Suicide

Thomas Eppes, M.D.

To view original article, click here.

Recently the effort to legalize physician-assisted suicide has ramped up in Virginia. For 2,500 years, medicine has claimed the role of healer, but this dangerous public policy would change that by requiring a doctor’s participation in a patient’s demise .

Patients should never be conflicted about which role their physician plays.

New Zealand: From Scammers to Euthanasia Advocates, These Are Dark Days in Old Ladydom

To view original article, click here

Rosemary McLeod

OPINION: These are perilous times for tottering toward old ladydom. The women's mags cut your life support at 50 unless you're Helen Mirren, sooner if you're not, in which case you might as well sign up for the Philip Nitschke death machine, with optional funeral casket.

Proposed Federal Palliative Care Act Is a Springing Euthanasia Bill

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

In 2012, an article in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that many doctors object to physician-assisted suicide.[1] The article's authors, Dr. Lisa Lehmann and Julian Prokopetz, argued back that assisted deaths need not be physician-assisted.[2] They said that a central government mechanism should provide the assistance instead:

We envision the development of a central state or federal mechanism to confirm the authenticity and eligibility of patients' requests, dispense medication [the lethal dose], and monitor demand and use.[3] 

Virginia: Legislative Panel Punts on Assisted Suicide-Euthanasia Proposal

Del. Scott Garrett, MD

To view the original article, click here.

By Katie O' Connor, Virginia Mercury

A group of lawmakers shot down proposals to allow medical-aid-in-dying, also known as physician-assisted suicide [and euthanasia], in Virginia on Wednesday in a review of a series of legislative recommendations on health care.

Del. Kaye Kory, D-Fairfax, requested that the Joint Commission on Health Care study the medical-aid-in-dying debate, in which a patient with less than six months to live obtains lethal drugs through a physician to end his or her life.

Memo to the U.S. Senate HELP Committee: Vote No on the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

For a summary sheet including a similar House bill (H.R. 1676), click here. For a pdf version of this memo, click here.

I.  INTRODUCTION

I am an elder law attorney and president of Choice is an Illusion, a nonprofit corporation opposed to assisted suicide and euthanasia.[1] Formed in 2010, Choice is an Illusion fights against assisted suicide and euthanasia throughout the U.S. and in other countries.[2] We also fight against hospice and palliative care abuse.

S. 693, the Palliative Care and Hospice Education & Training Act," amends the existing Public Health Service Act to require financial support for “Palliative Care and Hospice Education Centers.”[3] This is a new program, which will include direct patient care.[4]

Existing federal palliative care programs, such as the Medicare hospice benefit, are plagued by fraud, poor quality care and a gross waste of taxpayer money.[5] S. 693 must be rejected unless problems with existing programs are resolved; Congress must not throw good money after bad. The bill must also be rejected for the reasons set forth below. 

South Africa: Euthanasia Society President Charged with Murder of Disabled Man

EUTHANASIA-FREE NZ: MEDIA RELEASE

Click here to view.

Sean Davison, a New Zealand citizen who was convicted of assisted suicide in Dunedin, appeared in a South African court on Wednesday on a murder charge.

The charge is in relation to the death of Anrich Burger, 53, who became a quadriplegic after a motor vehicle accident in 2005. He was not terminally ill.

Roger Foley Challenges Canada's Euthanasia Law

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/denied-assisted-life-by-hospital-ontario-man-is-offered-death-instead-lawsuit

An Ontario hospital that wants to discharge a suicidal man [Roger Foley] with a crippling brain disease threatened to start charging him $1,800 a day, and suggested his other options included medically assisted death [non-voluntary euthanasia], according to a new lawsuit.

It also claims Canada’s new assisted dying laws are unconstitutional and should be struck down because they do not require doctors “to even try to help relieve intolerable suffering” before offering to kill a terminally ill patient.

Mexico Addresses Euthanasia

To read the entire article, click here

The Supreme Court has endorsed the right of Mexico City residents to use marijuana for medicinal purposes as established by the city’s constitution.

Eight of 11 judges ruled yesterday that the Constitutional Assembly of Mexico City, a body formed to create a new constitution for the capital, had not encroached on federal jurisdiction by including an article enshrining the right to use medicinal marijuana....

The Supreme Court also endorsed a range of other articles in the city’s constitution against which challenges had been filed, including the right to die with dignity, the right of access to water, the right to sexuality, the right for the local government to enter into agreements with international entities and the right for migrants not to be criminalized while in the capital regardless of their legal status.

With regard to the dignified death provision, the PGR argued that it effectively allowed for euthanasia and assisted suicide, which are prohibited under federal law and whose regulation is the exclusive domain of the federal government.

The Doctor Ordered Her Own Family to Physically Hold her Down

https://www.dailywire.com/news/34014/netherlands-elderly-woman-forcibly-euthanized-paul-bois

By Paul Bois, August 3, 2018

One inherent consequence that so-called "Death with Dignity" advocates seem to ignore is the possibility that doctors and family members will pressure people into euthanasia or assisted suicide for convenience.

A case in the Netherlands takes that one step further, as an elderly woman was euthanized against her will by family members eager to move on with their lives.

Quick Facts About New York State Euthanasia Bills (Paulin, Savino)

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

For a pdf version, click here.

1.  Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide

The bills, A. 2383-A & S. 3151-A, are titled “Medical Aid in Dying.” This is a traditional euphemism for active euthanasia and physician assisted suicide. The bills seek to legalize these practices.

2.  Definitions (Traditional)

“Assisted suicide” occurs when a person provides the means or information for another person to commit suicide, for example, by providing a rope or lethal drug. If the assisting person is a

physician, a more precise term is “physician-assisted suicide.”

“Euthanasia” is the direct administration of a lethal agent to cause another person’s death. Euthanasia is also known as mercy killing.

Portugal Euthanasia Bill Defeated

"Euthanasia is a recipe
for elder abuse."

Portugal’s parliament rejected on Tuesday a bill that would have legalized euthanasia. The measure lost 115 to 110, with 4 abstentions, in the 230 seat parliament

Prior to the vote, hundreds of people protested in front of the parliament building, carrying placards, including "Euthanasia is a recipe for elder abuse."

Judgment Entered Declaring Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia Law Unconstitutional & Prospectively Prohibiting Use

Alexandra Snyder, Esq.

Yesterday, Riverside County Judge Daniel A. Ottolia entered judgment declaring California's assisted suicide/euthanasia law void as unconstitutional. The judgment states:

The Court held the End of Life Option Act ("Act") was passed by a special session of the Legislature in violation of Article IV § 3(b) of the California Constitution because the Act is not encompassed by any "reasonable construction" of the Proclamation granting the special session the authority to legislate. The Court therefore held that the Act was void as unconstitutional.

California Assisted Suicide Law Is Unconstitutional; Decision Upheld by Appeals Court

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Last week, Riverside Superior Court Judge, Daniel Ottolia, overturned California's assisted suicide law when he ruled that the legislature acted outside the scope of its authority [when enacting it]

California passed the state's assisted suicide law in a special health care funding session after the legislature failed to pass the assisted suicide bill in its normal session.

Judge Ottolia, held that "the End of Life Option Act [legalizing assisted suicide] does not fall within the scope of access to healthcare services," and that it "is not a matter of health care funding."

New Zealand Euthanasia Bill Delayed by Mass Replies

Raymond Hoa, MP

An unprecedented surge in public submissions has seen a bill legalising voluntary [and non-voluntary] euthanasia in New Zealand pushed back until next year.

SBS News - An unprecedented outpouring of feedback about a bill legalising euthanasia in New Zealand has seen a potential law change delayed.

The parliamentary committee considering the controversial End of Life Change Bill - which would give people with "a terminal illness or a grievous and irremediable medical condition" the option of assisted dying - has received more than 35,000 submissions already.

Assisted Suicide Bill Defeated in Guernsey

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

The Guernsey parliament, today, defeated a proposal to legalize assisted suicide in the British Island state by a vote of 24 to 14.
This is incredible news considering the resources that the assisted suicide lobby invested into passing assisted suicide in Guernsey, that they viewed as a possible "opening" to the legalization of assisted suicide in the UK.

A coalition of groups formed to defeat the bill included disability rights groups - Not Dead Yet UK, and the Guernsey Disability Alliance, also the British Medical Association, and the Care Not Killing Alliance in the UK. 

Finland Slashes Citizens' 'Dying With Dignity' Initiative for Euthanasia

A citizens' initiative on "active death help" or euthanasia has been overwhelmingly rejected by the Finnish parliament.

The vote was 128 to 60.  For more information, click here.

Judge Rules California Assisted Suicide Law Unconstitutional

NAPA, Calif.,  Life Legal  — A California judge overturned the state’s assisted suicide law this morning, ruling that the legislature acted outside the scope of its authority when it enacted the End of Life Option Act.

The Act’s sponsors introduced the bill in a special session of the legislature convened by Governor Jerry Brown to address Medicaid funding shortfalls, services for the disabled, and in-home health support services.

Margaret Dore Testifies

Margaret Dore, testifying against Bill A.2383-A, seeking to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia in New York State. For more information, see Dore's bill analysis, at these links:  memo and appendix

Margaret Dore Testifies Against New York Bill Seeking to Legalize Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia

NEW YORK CITY - Margaret Dore, president of Choice is an Illusion, issued the following statement in connection with her testimony today before the New York Assembly Health Committee in opposition to Bill A.2383-A.

Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia

“The bill is sold as ‘aid in dying,’ which is a traditional euphemism for assisted suicide and euthanasia,” said Dore. “The term is also misleading in the context of the bill, which is not limited to dying people.”

New Hampshire: Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia Study Bill Rejected for Now

Senator Donna
 Soucy, Esq.

By Ellen Kolb*

SB 490 was a gateway to assisted suicide, and the Senate just slammed it shut for now

On a 12-10 vote, the New Hampshire Senate has killed a bill that would have paved the way for assisted suicide. I did not see that result coming. Thank-yous are in order, including one I didn’t think I’d ever be writing.

Voting “inexpedient to legislate,” sending the bill into the trash heap: Senators Bob Giuda, James Gray, Harold French, Ruth Ward, Gary Daniels, Kevin Avard, John Reagan, Donna Soucy, Regina Birdsell, Chuck Morse, William Gannon, and Dan Innis. If any one of them had voted differently, today’s outcome would have been different.