MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'assisted suicide'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:12:13 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4911475&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2Fm0PrHuvugis%2F Early last Friday morning Dr. Jack Kevorkian died at the age of 83. He was a Michigan pathologist who put assisted suicide in the forefront of medical ethics world. Kevorkian was often referred to as ”Dr. Death” as he was a staunch supporter of physician-assisted suicide and “right-to-die” legislation. He was charged with murder numerous times in the 1990s for helping terminally ill patients take their own lives and was convicted of murder in 1999 stemming for the death of a patient who suffered from Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was paroled four years ago in 2007. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Related posts:Violent Death: Preventing Chronic Disease Isn’t Enough November... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4911475 Tue, 07 Jun 2011 13:22:46 +0100 4911475 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893322&cid=t_164022_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2011%2F06%2Fjack-dr-death-kevorkian-dies-age-83%2F Dr. Jack Kevorkian, a pathologist by training who advocated for assisted suicide, died at age 83 from pneumonia and kidney failure at Beaumont Hospital in Michigan. (Source: Inside Surgery) Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893322 Sat, 04 Jun 2011 04:33:32 +0100 4893322 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4162988&cid=t_164022_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fms-plus-depression-does-not-have-to-equal-suicide%2F Hemingway used to refer to the times when depression held him to the very brink of self-murder as “black ass days.” Comments in the past week have brought this topic to the fore of our attention in a very personal way, and I feel compelled to address what is often taboo, but must be spoken. A 1991 Canadian study looked at MS patients who died between 1972 and 1988 and found that people with multiple sclerosis died from suicide at a rate seven-and-a-half times higher than age-matched people in the general population. According to a 2005 Danish report, people with multiple sclerosis committed suicide at a rate twice as high as that in the general population. That study looked at 10,174 people in whom multiple sclerosis was diagnosed between 1953 to 1996; a significant finding was tha... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4162988 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 20:22:52 +0100 4162988 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3358926&cid=t_164022_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F03%2F12%2Fbmj-2010-vol-340-no-7741%2F Contents page Fade Fave: Author calls for UK to set up tribunal for assisted suicide Fade Skinny: One of the United Kingdom’s best selling authors has called for an assisted suicide tribunal to which people could apply for permission to end their lives at a time of their own choosing. The call by Terry Pratchett, who has early onset Alzheimer’s disease, came as the BBC released the findings of a poll showing that nearly three in four people believe that a friend or relative should be able to assist a terminally ill loved one to commit suicide without fear of prosecution. (NHS Athens is required to access this article online) Filed under: Athens Password, Current Awareness, E-Journals, Journals, Ooops Missed Category! Tagged: Assisted Suicide, Athens Password, Current Awareness, E-Jour... Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3358926 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:59:46 +0100 3358926 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3338351&cid=t_164022_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Fno-%25e2%2580%259cdeath-with-dignity%25e2%2580%259d-for-ms-patients%2F I am not a morbid person - a black sense of humor; that I’ll cop to – but a recent batch of comments on a previous post on the subject brought the topic back to my mind. I’ve been meaning to post something of a follow-up ever since my state passed a “Death With Dignity” Act, back in 2008. It was a hard-fought battle between the two sides with impassioned pleas from proponents and opponents alike.  In the end, the measure passed overwhelmingly. The thing is, the law was crafted with such tight restrictions as to make (some say “appropriately”) difficult to carry out.  In fact, a reading of the 10 pages of legalese which is the law makes it quite clear that a person in the final throws of MS would not be eligible for the relief intended by the law. A person, in Washin... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3338351 Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:42:03 +0100 3338351 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3136616&cid=t_164022_111_f&fid=36048&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAHeartyLife%2F%7E3%2FRtpRhJ-QiXI%2F Montana is going to be the third state in the United States to allow for physician-assisted suicide, say news reports. Currently, both Oregon and Washington state allow for physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients. A year ago, news was made when a state District Court judge ruled that the terminally ill people in Montana were protected by the state’s constitutional rights and should be allowed to get the medications they needed to die on their own terms. This ruling wasn’t argued against, but in order to have it clarified and at the highest levels, advocates for physician-assisted suicide brought the case before the state Supreme Court. On Thursday, December 31, 2009, although the Supreme Court did not comment on the state constitution guaranteeing the right to di... A Hearty Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3136616 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 15:32:55 +0100 3136616 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2828147&cid=t_164022_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F09%2F24%2Finterim-policy-on-prosecuting-assisted-suicide%2F Title: Interim policy for Prosecutors in Respect of Assisted Suicide Issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions The Skinny: Consultation with interim guidance on prosecution for cases of assisted suicide. The public interest factors in favour of prosecution identified in the interim policy include that: The victim was under 18 years of age; The victim’s capacity to reach an informed decision was adversely affected by a recognised mental illness or learning difficulty; The victim did not have a clear, settled and informed wish to commit suicide; for example, the victim’s history suggests that his or her wish to commit suicide was temporary or subject to change; The victim did not indicate unequivocally to the suspect that he or she wished to commit suicide; The victim did no... Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2828147 Thu, 24 Sep 2009 04:55:33 +0100 2828147 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2602059&cid=t_164022_111_f&fid=36048&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAHeartyLife%2F%7E3%2FdgWJjihzA5A%2F Assisted suicide - not the same thing as euthanasia - is a controversial topic for some and quite straight forward for others (UK Debating Assisted Dying Again) But, while people - politicians, ethicists, and just about everyone - debate it, others are finding themselves in the position of having to make that decision, with or without legal blessing. This is what Sir Edward Downes, a renowned conductor, and his wife Joan did after traveling from their home in the United Kingdom to an assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland. Sir Edward was almost blind and deaf and Mrs. Downes had terminal cancer. The couple had been married for 54 years. They ended their lives, dying hand-in-hand with their adult children at their side. The Downes’ and their family had to make the trip because assiste... A Hearty Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2602059 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:49:53 +0100 2602059 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2598224&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34595&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnhsblogdoc.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F07%2Fmore-suicides-in-switzerland.html I was sorry to hear this morning that Sir Edward Thomas Downes, CBE, has died at the age of 85. I was sorry to hear that his wife, Lady Joan Downes has died at the age of 74.The trendy, left-wing teenagers who dominate the BBC treated this news in a way that signified their approval of Sir Edward and Lady Downes mode of death. Even ageing John Humphreys, who will not see 60 again, indulged in some gratuitous euphemism. Sir Edward and Lady Downes did not "pass away". They committed suicide. Most worryingly, there was no mention of the fact that Lady Downes was only 74. Why did she want to die?Let us not beat about the bush. I repeat, Sir Edward and Lady Downes committed suicide. They travelled to Switzerland to visit those macabre killers at Dignitas and obtain from them a service that is i... NHS Blog Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2598224 Tue, 14 Jul 2009 07:42:00 +0100 2598224 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2576666&cid=t_164022_111_f&fid=36048&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAHeartyLife%2F%7E3%2FBCOOIr01vCw%2F Assisted dying isn’t the same thing as euthanasia, although the two are often linked hand in hand. The practice of euthanasia is someone actively choosing to end someone else’s life for a particular reason. This could be because the person is terminally ill so another person puts the death into motion or it could be someone killing another person who has a disability or illness. In other words, the death is brought on by someone else’s hands and someone else’s decisions. Assisted dying, on the other hand, is helping someone who has chosen to die - to die. In other words, assisted suicide. However, since suicide is technically illegal in most places, assisting in a suicide is also illegal. That’s why there’s been a push in many countries to allow people t... A Hearty Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2576666 Tue, 07 Jul 2009 01:56:33 +0100 2576666 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2452445&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blisstree.com%2Fhealthbolt%2Fassisted-suicide-issues-debated-in-britain%2F Swiss clinic Dignitis and the issue of assisted suicide have been in the British media spotlight lately, mainly due to a debate that is taking placing before the  House of Lords. This debate revolves around an old law and a new case. The old law, the 1961 Suicide Act bans assisted suicide in Britain and criminalises anyone who aids, abets, counsels or procures someone else’s suicide. The new case -  a 46-year-old woman with progressive multiple sclerosis who wants to travel abroad to die and wants to ensure her husband Omar Puente won’t be  prosecuted if he helps her travel. The law as it stands can allow for the prosecution of  relatives and friends who travel with someone planning to undertake assisted dying overseas. Granted, government law officers readily admit that thos... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2452445 Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:08:47 +0100 2452445 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2441271&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F05%2Ffirst-washington-legal-assisted-suicide.html The first Washington State legal assisted suicide has happened. C and C, of course, promptly issued a press release. From the story: The woman, Linda Fleming, 66, of Sequim, Wash., on the Olympic Peninsula, died Thursday evening after taking lethal medication prescribed by a doctor under the law, according to a news release by the group, Compassion and Choices of Washington. The release said the woman received a diagnosis of Stage 4 pancreatic cancer a month ago, and “she was told she was actively dying.”Ms. Fleming was quoted in the release as saying: "I am a very spiritual person, and it was very important to me to be conscious, clear-minded and alert at the time of my death. The powerful pain medications were making it difficult to maintain the state of mind I wanted to have at my d... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2441271 Fri, 22 May 2009 21:01:00 +0100 2441271 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2441273&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F05%2Flegislation-proposed-in-canada-for.html More proof--as if it were really needed--that the assisted suicide movement believes in death on demand for any non transitory physical or mental condition perceived by the suicidal person as causing unbearable suffering. From the bill (C-384):(7)Despite anything in this section, a medical practitioner does not commit homicide within the meaning of this Act by reason only that he or she aids a person to die with dignity, if (a) the person (i) is at least eighteen years of age, (ii) either(A) continues, after trying or expressly refusing the appropriate treatments available, to experience severe physical or mental pain without any prospect of relief, or(B) suffers from a terminal illness.Note that the patient does not have to be physically ill--mental pain will do. Note also that even if th... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2441273 Thu, 21 May 2009 21:24:00 +0100 2441273 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2424073&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F05%2Fassisted-suicide-as-prophylactic.html The media repeatedly pound home the false meme that assisted suicide is only about people diagnosed with a terminal illness. True, some American activists make that argument. But the "terminal illness limitation" is unquestionably the minority view within the movement.Case in point: On April 15, 2008, Ruth von Fuchs, a leader in the Canadian Right to Die Society told Canada AM (CTV) that she supports Betty Coumbias--the Canadian woman who is not sick, but who wants to travel to Switzerland with her terminally ill husband to commit assisted suicide. From the transcript (no link):RUTH VON FUCHS: Anyhow, the thing with Betty Coumbias I think will be an extension, because it will show there is no duty to live, that life is not an obligation, it's a right but not an obligation. It will also sho... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2424073 Tue, 19 May 2009 19:32:00 +0100 2424073 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2398634&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F05%2Fcasualty-of-popular-cultures-pro.html We have discussed the suicide proselytizing in the media and popular culture here many times on SHS. But this story hits the nail! A woman with MS named Angela Harrison watched a television drama in which the protagonist went to Switzerland for suicide tourism--and then killed herself. From the story: A multiple sclerosis sufferer killed herself after watching a BBC drama about euthanasia starring Julie Walters, an inquest heard. Angela Harrison, 44, took an overdose of drugs after watching one-off drama 'A Short Stay in Switzerland', screened on January 26. She was rushed to Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Cambridgeshire, and died two days later. The inquest at Huntingdon law court on Thursday heard how Angela, from Eynesbury had battled depression for many years as a result of her MS. She had s... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2398634 Fri, 08 May 2009 16:58:00 +0100 2398634 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2398635&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F05%2Fwashington-state-assisted-suicide-non.html Washington State's assisted suicide controversy continues to burn. Articles keep coming out complaining that patients who legally qualify for help in killing themselves are being refused, while hospitals and physicians continue to exercise their right under the law to opt out. From the latest story:Providence St. Peter Hospital and Capital Medical Center officials said Thursday that the hospitals will not participate in physician-assisted suicide under the state's new Death with Dignity law, but instead will refer terminally ill patients to their primary doctors.Providence Health and Services spokeswoman Karina Jennings said Thursday that the same standard applies for all of its medical facilities and nursing homes in Washington and Oregon. The key reason: Providence is a Catholic health c... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2398635 Fri, 08 May 2009 16:30:00 +0100 2398635 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2380775&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F04%2Fproblem-of-technology-when-virtue.html In keeping with our discussion today of the power of technology--and adding in Yuval Levin's insight that society has replaced "promoting virtue" with "preventing suffering" as its overriding purpose--you end up with this story: A man is accused of using the Internet to assist the suicide of a mentally disturbed young man who lived 4000 miles away. From the story:A British woman tried to alert U.S. police four years ago to an online predator she believes coaxed her emotionally fragile son to kill himself. Mark Drybrough, 32, hanged himself July 27, 2005 in his home in Coventry, just east of Birmingham in the English midlands. He was recovering from a nervous breakdown and under psychiatric care.After his death, his family found two months' worth of online correspondence he'd had with a per... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2380775 Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:33:00 +0100 2380775 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2375949&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F04%2Fby-ignoring-rational-arguments-made.html Some of our most formerly venerable medical journals are becoming increasingly radical. Critical Care Medicine, the journal for intensive care doctors, is a case in point. In the past, the Ethics Committee of the Society of Critical Care Medicine supported futile care theory, and quite notably, the Journal published an article arguing that "neurologically devastated" patients should be able to be killed for their organs assuming consent.Now, Yale School of Medicine (of course) professor Constantine A. Manthous, MD, has published in CCM advocating for the permissibility of physician-assisted suicide. (No link, from the abstract): Our collective repudiation of physician-assisted death, in all its forms, has complex origins that are not necessarily rational. If great care is taken to ensure t... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2375949 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:33:00 +0100 2375949 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2376510&cid=t_164022_131_f&fid=34999&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.marymeetsdolly.com%2Fblog%2Findex.php%3F%2Farchives%2F797-Support-my-choice-or-you-will-be-forced-to....html Everyone wants freedom of choice.  It has been a rallying cry for nearly four decades.  If only those who cry the loudest about choice actually cared about making sure people have choices.First, it was the freedom for women to choose abortion.  It is their bodies, they should decide.  But making it legal to "choose" was not enough.  Now millions of Americans who believe that abortion is a great evil have no choice but to support it with their tax dollars.  Then it was the freedom of scientists to choose destroy human embryos for medical research.  Science needs to have choices if it is going to progress after all.  But legally allowing scientist to choose what kinds of stem cells they want to work on is not enough.  Now millions of Americans who believe that destroying h... Mary Meets Dolly blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2376510 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 03:27:41 +0100 2376510 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2375955&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F04%2Fcoming-medical-conscription-to-require.html The day may be coming, and it might not be that far away, when doctors who are asked to help kill a patient--that is, to intentionally cause the patient's life to end--will be forced to either do the deed or refer to a doctor her or she knows will do the deed.We are seeing this conscription approach promoted in Washington State where many hospitals and doctors are refusing to participate in legalized assisted suicide, as is their right under the new law. This has angered assisted suicide advocates, who are now planting articles in newspapers and writing opinion articles trying to guilt doctors into violating their own consciences.The granddaughter of a man unable to commit assisted suicide has written such an article. She is a college student, and grieving her loss: Thus, I am not especial... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2375955 Sun, 26 Apr 2009 19:37:00 +0100 2375955 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2367426&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F04%2Fderek-humphry-has-another-teenage.html This has happened before and it will happen again. A teenager has apparently committed suicide using the death information contained in Derek Humphry's book Final ExitWho is Derek Humphry? He founded the Hemlock Society--now Compassion and Choices--with his second wife Ann Wickett, after becoming famous for a book he wrote about assisting the suicide of his first wife, called Jean's Way. Humphry abandoned Wickett when she was diagnosed with breast cancer (as did the rest of the "right to die" community), and she was ultimately befriended by Rita Marker, the hated enemy of "the ultimate civil liberty." Wickett eventually committed suicide, telling Marker in a note that Humphry's first wife Jean had actually died "by suffocation," rather than from the drug coctail Humphry said he gave her to... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2367426 Sat, 25 Apr 2009 18:32:00 +0100 2367426 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2364980&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F04%2Feureka-people-can-finally-die-with.html The assisted suicide movement is celebrating today as the first two lethal prescriptions have been written by death doctors in Washington State. From the story:Two prescriptions have been filled for life-ending drugs under Washington's new assisted suicide law, state health officials said Thursday.Health Department spokesman Tim Church said he could not provide any details about the people considering suicide, but the department has received two forms from pharmacists saying they have dispensed the drugs that people say they want to use to end their lives. The department has not received any forms certifying that a person has committed suicide under the state law that took effect in early March.Dollars to donuts the doctors are affiliated with Compassion and Choices. Moreover, these doctor... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2364980 Fri, 24 Apr 2009 17:54:00 +0100 2364980 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2347914&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F04%2Ffamily-caregiver-alliance-subtly.html This is subtle, but I think, very alarming. The Family Caregiver Alliance touts itself as a resource for people providing care for family members and others. From its "End of Life Choices" published on the FGA Web site:Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) seeks to improve the quality of life for caregivers through education, services, research and advocacy... FCA provides direct family support services for caregivers of those with Alzheimer's disease, stroke, head injury, Parkinson's and other debilitating disorders that strike adults.Sounds good, and I am sure it is. But then it gets scary: One of the "resources," indeed the first listed after the group itself (due to alphabetization), is the assisted suicide advocacy group Compassion and Choices.In light of that listing, following statement a... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2347914 Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:15:00 +0100 2347914 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2347927&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F04%2Fterminal-nonjudgmentalism-is-epidemic.html I shouldn't be surprised by anything the MSM does today in boosting social outlaws into cultural icons. For example, when Jack Kevorkian was at the top of his deadly game--even offering extracted kidneys from a disabled assisted suicide victim for transplant in a news conference--Time invited him as an honored guest to its gala 75th anniversary party where Tom Cruise ran up to shake his hand.Now in "Foolproofing Suicide with Euthanasia Test Kits," Time gives the Down Under "Dr. Death," Philip Nitschke the star treatment. Nitschke has called for the right of troubled teens to get access to suicide pills. He advised an Australian woman named Nancy Crick on how to commit suicide--and in the public advocacy leading up to the deed, told the press she had terminal cancer. After she committed sui... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2347927 Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:13:00 +0100 2347927 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2306944&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F04%2Fcalling-dr-death-calling-dr-death.html Compassion and Choices (formerly Hemlock Society) has been mighty peeved lately that so many ethical doctors are refusing to supply assisted suicide prescriptions to their patients. As I noted yesterday, Montana's doctors are apparently refusing to cooperate with the suicide agenda, and so C and C has issued a pitch for willing death doctors to jump to the fore in Montana with their prescription pads in hand.It's ethical. Really! And polls show that many doctors support "aid in dying," don't you know? (Unmentioned is that virtually every professional medical organization in the world opposes euthanasia/assisted suicide.) And, why, did you know that assisted suicide is consistent with the Hippocratic Oath? From its blog: "The Hippocratic Oath demands this foremost from physicians: Do No Har... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2306944 Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:28:00 +0100 2306944 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2306946&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F04%2Fnon-cooperation-in-assisted-suicide.html When I have time, I intend to list the hospitals and institutions that have said no to assisted suicide in Washington. Now, apparently the same spirit of non cooperation with being complicit in assisted suicide that sprang to life in that state in the wake of the passage of I-1000 has spread to Montana, where a judge imposed assisted suicide as a constitutional right. From the story:Four months after a District Court judge ruled that physician-assisted suicide is a right protected under the state's constitution, terminally ill patients say they're having trouble finding physicians willing to prescribe drugs that would hasten their deaths.Denver-based advocacy group Compassion & Choices held a conference call Friday to read a statement from a 67-year-old Missoula woman who is dying of o... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2306946 Sun, 05 Apr 2009 20:28:00 +0100 2306946 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2306952&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F04%2Flogical-outcome-of-assisted-suicide.html I don't know why anyone would be surprised by this story. Assisted suicide advocacy rests on two fundamental ideological premises: First, that we own our bodies and it is the "ultimate civil liberty" to decide on the time, manner, and place of our own demise. Second, that killing is an acceptable answer to the problem of human suffering. Once these values are accepted, preventing death on demand becomes logically unsustainable.The death on demand agenda is now being openly voiced in Switzerland, by the head of one of that country's suicide clinics. Apparently, the healthy wife of a terminally ill, suicidal husband, wants to die alongside him via assisted suicide. From the story:The founder of the Swiss assisted-suicide clinic Dignitas revealed plans today to help a healthy wife die alongsi... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2306952 Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:14:00 +0100 2306952 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2306959&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F03%2Fupside-down-medicine-in-oregon-paying.html Oregon's Health Services Commission has published the list of covered treatments under the state's rationed Medicaid law. Comfort care is high on the list, and includes assisted suicide. But the overseers of rationed care explicitly state that treatment to extend life if the prognosis for living five years is poor, will not be covered. From the Prioritized List, page SI-1:COMFORT/PALLIATIVE CARE It is the intent of the Commission that comfort/palliative care treatments for patients with an illness with expected five year survival be a covered service. Comfort/palliative care includesthe provision of services or items that give comfort to and/or relieve symptoms for such patients. There is no intent to limit comfort/palliative care services according to the expectedlength of life (e.g., six... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2306959 Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:05:00 +0100 2306959 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2306960&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F03%2Fvulture-nitschke-to-create-overdose.html Philip Nitscke is the Australian answer to Jack Kevorkian who has spent years as a media darling opining that "troubled teens" should have access to suicide pills, teaching people how to commit suicide, creating the "peaceful pill," a concoction of everyday products that can kill, and selling plastic Exit Bags for use in suicide--which I helped induce the government bring to an end when I exposed his little marketing scheme in The Australian during a 2001 anti euthanasia national speaking tour in Australia.Now, he is invading the UK with his ghoulish proselytizing. From the story:Australian pro-euthanasia campaigner Dr Philip Nitschke plans to launch testing kits for people to check the strength of drugs they have bought to commit suicide in the UK this year, a British newspaper has report... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2306960 Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:39:00 +0100 2306960 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2306966&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F03%2Fanother-final-exit-death-reported.html Apologists for assisted suicide, such as the Los Angeles Times editorial board, pretend that the Final Exit Network is a fringe group that does not reflect mainstream assisted suicide advocacy, rather than, as I have clearly demonstrated here, at SHS, within the very heart of the assisted suicide movement. FEN activists have been arrested in one case, and new deaths undertaken with their participation are coming out all the time.Here's the latest, of a depressed elderly man tired of living. From the story:Max Lom was depressed. His eyesight had failed. Simple tasks, like reading the newspaper, had become an exercise in futility.The 88-year-old Sarasota man wanted to die, although physically, he was healthy, according to his daughter.Last May, he swallowed a handful of pills in the hope of ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2306966 Sat, 28 Mar 2009 17:56:00 +0100 2306966 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2306968&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F03%2Fdecrying-too-much-suicide-details-in.html I agree with the perspective of this column in the Guardian. But it is missing a crucial element. From the column "Warning: Media Reports on Suicide Can be Fatal," byline Ben Goldacre: [O]ne important cause of suicide seems to have been missed...[I]t has been shown repeatedly that suicide increases in the month after a front page suicide story. There is also evidence that the effect is bigger for famous people and gruesome attempts.Overdoses increased by 17% in the week after a prominent overdose on Casualty (watched by 22% of the population at the time). In 1998 the Hong Kong media reported heavily on a case of carbon monoxide poisoning by a very specific method, using a charcoal burner. In the 10 months preceding the reports, there had been no such suicides. In November there were three;... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2306968 Sat, 28 Mar 2009 01:40:00 +0100 2306968 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2284469&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34595&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnhsblogdoc.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2Fpatricia-is-back.html I had forgotten how repellent Patricia Hewitt sounds. Whatever criticisms one has of Postman Pat, he at least is not political ipecac.I shivered as I heard her voice on the radio. She wants to slip a clause into the new coroner’s bill, preventing those who cart relatives over to Switzerland to see those nice people at the counter-intuitively named Dignitas from being prosecuted. At the moment, assisting suicide is a criminal offence and the only reason that there have been no prosecutions is that the DPP has decided that they are not “in the public interest”. It’s a classic British fudge. We are good at such fudges and, though illogical, it is often best not to change the status quo. Look what they have done to the House of Lords.Patricia wants to decriminalise assisting suicide bu... NHS Blog Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2284469 Fri, 20 Mar 2009 14:09:00 +0100 2284469 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2270320&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F03%2Fcompassion-and-choices-admits-to.html Compassion and Choices, the assisted suicide advocacy group, has admitted to undermining proper hospice care. That's not how they put it, of course. It brags that nearly 100% of Oregon assisted suicides last year--88% with which their representatives were involved--were in hospice. From the C and C press release:Compassion and Choices, the nation's largest advocate for end-of-life care and choices and steward of the Oregon Death with Dignity Act, today noted that nearly 100% of terminally ill individuals using the law in 2008 were enrolled in hospice. Hospice enrollment among those using the Act increased to 98%, with 59 of the 60 individuals enrolled. Over the prior 10 years of the Act's existence, 86% of patients using the Act were enrolled in hospice, in itself a very high rate of use.T... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2270320 Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:12:00 +0100 2270320 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2270322&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F03%2Foregon-compassion-and-choices-assisted.html The assisted suicide law called the Oregon Death with Dignity Act--as if dying without poisoning yourself to death isn't dignified--should instead be called the Oregon Compassion and Choices Assisted Suicide Enabling Act. It turns out that representatives of the assisted suicide advocacy organization--formerly the Hemlock Society-- are involved with the great majority of the assisted suicide deaths that take place in Oregon.Physicians for Compassionate Care former president Kenneth Stevens, MD, has gone through the statistics and come up with some startling--and telling--numbers. From his report:Officers of the assisted-suicide-proponent organization Compassion in Dying/Compassion and Choices of Oregon are authors of Oregon's physician-assisted suicide law and self-proclaim they are the st... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2270322 Mon, 16 Mar 2009 01:56:00 +0100 2270322 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2270323&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F03%2Fnhs-meltdown-scandalously-few-pain.html The deficiencies in the UK's health system are varied and many. And still, euthanasia advocates there push for assisted suicide to be legalized. But the Guardian--a left-wing paper--has just reported that the inability of UK patients to gain access good pain control is scandalous. From the story:Thousands of Britons are enduring unnecessary pain because of a lack of specialist clinics to ease their suffering, the government's chief medical officer will warn this week in his annual report.Professor Sir Liam Donaldson will argue that many people are forced to put up with pain which may prevent them working, disturb their sleep, trigger depression and wreck their quality of life when it could have been alleviated with the right help. Almost eight million Britons suffer chronic pain persisting... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2270323 Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:15:00 +0100 2270323 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2263899&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F03%2Fbitter-irony-washington-suicide.html Here's a bitter irony: A suicide prevention program from the State of Washington has been nationally recognized as an effective resource in saving lives. From the story:A Washington curriculum for suicide prevention has been recognized by a national resource center as a model program.The Help Every Living Person curriculum teaches high school students about suicide prevention. It helps students learn to recognize if a friend is thinking about suicide and helps them work on communication skills. The program was created in 2006 by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction with $100,000 from the state Legislature. Washington 9th and 10th graders have been using the curriculum for the past few years and now kids around the country are being exposed to the program.Too bad the state... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2263899 Fri, 13 Mar 2009 23:02:00 +0100 2263899 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2274143&cid=t_164022_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Ftrevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms%2Flife-with-ms-three-year-anniversary%2F Three years, scores of topics, nearly 400 postings, thousands of comments, LOTS of community members and we’re just getting started! Happy anniversary to Life with MS; it’s been three years baby! I’d like to take a moment from our typical conversation to thank all of you.  It is for, with and because of you that this blog has been so successful over the past three years.  You have signed up for RSS feeds, you’ve told your friends, family and support groups to check us out and more importantly you’ve kept coming back to Life with MS over and over again. You take our information. You submit ideas for new topics. You proffer tips and advice. You leave your opinions and comments. You make Life with MS a place I like to be. Upon my return to the US after my extended stay in Ireland,... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2274143 Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:34:28 +0100 2274143 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2249063&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F03%2Fanother-indiciation-that-assisted.html Don't get me wrong: I would object to assisted suicide even if it were ever going to be truly restricted to people with terminal illnesses. But of course, that isn't the goal, and it sure isn't the reality. The Final Exit Network illustrate this--although most of the obtuse or biased media continually miss the point, such as Time's hopelessly incompetent reportingAs I have written, FEN has never advocated restricting assited suicide to the terminally ill. The only major American group that does is The Hemlock Society. It didn't used to, but there was a takeover in which the former crackpot model of advocacy led by Derek Humphry--with suicide machine conventions, etc.--was replaced by the smooth and well tailored professional model led by Barbara Coombs Lee and Kathryn Tucker.With the profe... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2249063 Sun, 08 Mar 2009 15:29:00 +0100 2249063 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2249064&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F03%2Ftime-magazine-stinks-refuses-to-get.html This article could have been something to present a real debate rooted in the current news--whether or not one's perception of one's "quality of life" is a reason for suicide. Instead, the issue has been totally misrepresented as a case in which a group has "helped" terminally ill people in their "right to die" in states that haven't legalized the practice.In fact, the kind of people this group helps wouldn't be eligible for assisted suicide in Oregon or Washington State...Time magazine failed miserably in its duty to present basic facts accurately. The debate that followed within the article was worthless since it had nothing to do with the story it was supposed to be covering.I think the public deserves better. Everything I've read about journalist ethics would support that view. I hope ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2249064 Sat, 07 Mar 2009 16:47:00 +0100 2249064 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2240587&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F03%2Fwhy-cant-society-be-unequivocal-in.html Relativism is the bane of our times, although it is still selectively applied. We tell teenagers to try not to have sexual intercourse, but if you do--which we know you will--then please use a condom. Yet, we still know how to be unequivocal in some areas: We tell kids, "Don't smoke,!", not, "Don't, smoke--but if you do, only use filter-tipped cigarettes," because we know that if we did that it would only result in a lot of tobacco smoke being inhaled.It seems to me that well meaning people are being seduced into an equivalent stance on suicide, and it would just result in more suicides. Case in point is the column by Atlanta Journal Constitution pundit Jay Bookman, who in supposedly opposing the Forced Exit Network defendants, has fallen for their basic premise that bad health or disabili... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2240587 Thu, 05 Mar 2009 21:19:00 +0100 2240587 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2232370&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F03%2Fcorrection-final-exit-networks-ted.html A few days ago I wrote that Ted Goodwin, one of the Final Exit Network assisted suicide defendants, was a mainstream figure in the assisted suicide movement. He certainly is that. But I made an error by writing that he had resigned as vice president of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies. As far as I know he didn't. He resigned as head of the Final Exit Network. That means he is still in line to be the World Federation's president starting in 2010. Mea culpa. (Source: Secondhand Smoke) Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2232370 Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:00:00 +0100 2232370 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2232372&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F03%2Fintervention-and-prevention-proper.html The assisted suicide movement has the media eating out of the palm of its collective hand, by often getting reporters to adopt their lexicon--the euphemistic "aid in dying" as opposed to the accurately descriptive "assisted suicide"--and writing as if suicide were a necessity--even though the cases from Oregon show that almost all assisted suicides involve fears of loss of dignity or of burdening others, etc. And the media virtually never mention that proper hospice care includes intervention and prevention whenever a patient requests to end it all through suicide.But some in the medical professions still understand the ethical and truly compassionate practice of medicine and nursing. An article in Oncology Nursing News about a continuing medical education class encouraged me. From the sto... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2232372 Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:59:00 +0100 2232372 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2232374&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F03%2Fhospice-organization-reacts-to-fen.html The other day I posted about how a lawyer for one of the Final Exit Network defendants said that hospice is just assisted suicide in slow motion. This is dangerous demagoguery that could convince people not to seek the benefits that hospice can provide. The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization has now issued a press release rebutting the baseless charge. From the release:"Hospice compassionately cares for people who are near the close of life--but hospice isn't about how you die, it's about how you live. Hospice and palliative care focuses on how dying persons and their loved ones live each day, providing comfort and guidance along the way," said J. Donald Schumacher, president and CEO of National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. "The quote from that news article demo... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2232374 Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:54:00 +0100 2232374 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2232545&cid=t_164022_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F03%2F02%2Fwashington-state-allows-assisted-suicide%2F Those who are terminally ill with less than 6 months to live no longer have to travel to a foreign country or hope they can find a medical practitioner in Oregon who will look the other way and let them die with dignity. Washington state has become only the second U.S. state to allow assisted suicide, otherwise known as a death with dignity law. It’s meant to stop the prolonging of a life simply because we can — medical technology and advances making it possible. But we still have a ways to go, as the law doesn’t mandate such prescriptions when requested by a patient. Doctors can opt-out of the law’s requirements, meaning one has to doctor-shop to find a physician willing to write the deadly prescription. In fact, entire hospitals will be banning the practice: Und... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2232545 Mon, 02 Mar 2009 20:00:44 +0100 2232545 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2227114&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F03%2Fworld-federation-of-right-to-die.html I knew the assisted suicide crowd would try to make the four defendants in the assisted suicide of a man who had been treated successfully of cancer, but was undergoing difficult reconstruction surgery and needed a hip replacement, into some kind of civil rights-type heroes. Toward this end, some assisted suicide promoters have labeled them, "The Georgia Four." Meanwhile, the Board of Directors of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies has issued the following statement, demonstrating that the movement does not want to limit assisted suicide to the terminally ill:The Board of the World Federation of Right-to-Die Societies is very concerned by the recent arrest in Georgia of its Vice Chairman, Ted Goodwin, and others. Many of us have known Ted for several years and regard him as a m... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2227114 Mon, 02 Mar 2009 00:18:00 +0100 2227114 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2227115&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F02%2Fman-who-died-in-accused-final-exit.html John Celmer, the man whose death is the subject of the Final Exit Network assisted suicide criminal charges, was not terminally ill. Indeed, he had apparently beaten his cancer. From the story: John Celmer was making what his doctor considered “remarkable progress” last spring after two surgeries to reconstruct his jaw.The 58-year-old Cumming man faced hip replacement surgery for arthritis, but he appeared to have won a battle against head and neck cancer. Then, he was found dead."His doctor was shocked," said Forsyth County Coroner Lauren McDonald III. "He said he shouldn’t have died." McDonald said an autopsy confirmed that Celmer, who smoke and drank, was cancer-free at death; the man had died from asphyxia suffocation resulting from the inhalation of helium. The death was ruled a... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2227115 Sat, 28 Feb 2009 20:23:00 +0100 2227115 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2227116&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F02%2Flawyer-for-final-exit-network-slanders.html Assisted suicide advocates pretend that they support hospice, but their work undermines the entire concept, or at least, twists it into something that would be unrecognizable by its creator, Dame Cecily Saunders. But now a lawyer named Michael Kaminkow, who is defending two of the Final Exit Network assisted suicide defendants, has gone so far as to slander hospice. From the story: "Whatever happened here is no more than what happened in a hospice," said Michael Kaminkow, an attorney representing two of the network members arrested Wednesday. "In reality, a hospice is a suicide. It's just a little slower." Shame on Kaminkow. First, hospice isn't about causing life to end. It is about alleviating suffering and promoting human community and dignity for people with terminal illnesses and thei... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2227116 Sat, 28 Feb 2009 19:59:00 +0100 2227116 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2222383&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F02%2Firresponsible-advocacy-by-barbara.html There she goes again--meaning Compassion (Hemlock Society) and Choices head Barbara Coombs Lee--pushing the baloney that assisted suicide is only about preventing unalieviable suffering for the terminally ill. Worse, she engages in irresponsible demogoguery about proper care of dying patients. From her Huffington Post article: Let's be clear. The policies on end-of-life decisions in every state except Oregon, Washington and Montana are merciless and irrational. Dying patients are abandoned to their agonies and any talk of assistance in their dying occurs in hushed, confused tones. A decent society must do better.Well, that's not only fear mongering of the worst kind, but it is also a slander to the good work of hospice professionals, who most definitely do not abandon patients "to their ag... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2222383 Sat, 28 Feb 2009 18:36:00 +0100 2222383 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2222385&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F02%2Fi-am-now-associate-director-of.html I was recently asked to assume more responsibilities for the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide. I agreed and am now its associate director. This new gig will include speaking, writing, and media on the specific topic of euthanasia/assisted suicide. It will not affect nor limit my broader work on bioethics, animal rights, and human exceptionalism as a Senior Fellow in Human Rights and Bioethics with the Discovery Institute, which is not connected with the Task Force. Nor will it impact my consultancy with the Center for Bioethics and Culture. How fortunate I am to be affiliated with such good people and organizations.And please remember to keep in mind that SHS is my personal blog. The views I express here are my own and not necessarily those of the organizations w... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2222385 Sat, 28 Feb 2009 13:38:00 +0100 2222385 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2222387&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F02%2Fholding-plastic-bags-over-heads-of.html I have been following various aspects of the FEN activists' arrests. But this aspect of the story really caught my attention. SHSers will recall that I mentioned the book A Chosen Death in a previous post, and how its author Lonny Shavelson watched a Hemlock operative kill "Gene" by preventing him from tearing off a plastic bag she had put over his head.Well now, it appears that the FEN activists may have done the very same thing! From the story:At the Dawson County residence on Wednesday, [Ted] Goodwin [head of FEN and vice president of the World Federation of the Right to Die Societies] allegedly walked the undercover agent through the steps and demonstrated how he would hold the agent's hands to stop him from removing the exit bag, Bankhead said.The GBI said that after the death occurs,... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2222387 Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:57:00 +0100 2222387 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2222388&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F02%2Fkevorkian-against-final-exit-network.html Jack Kevorkian, who painted the delightful picture above, helped kill people--other than Thomas Youk, who he lethally injected--via an assisted suicide machine in which the client flipped a switch opening the valve of a canister containing carbon monoxide. Yet, he has come out against the alleged approach to assisted suicide taken by the arrested Final Exit Network assisted suicide practitioners. From the story:Southfield attorney Mayer Morganroth said Kevorkian, once referred to as Dr. Death, believes a doctor should always be involved in any type of assisted suicide."Other than that, he's not allowed to express any views about the methods they use," Morganroth said Thursday. "That's a limitation on his parole. The only thing he can say is that he disagrees with the methods and one of the... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2222388 Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:53:00 +0100 2222388 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2222389&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F02%2Fresisting-assisted-suicide-guidelines.html Compassion and Choices (formerly the Hemlock Society) has played a crafty game of pretense about the ultimate goals of its assisted suicide campaign. In debates (including those in which I have participated), in media interviews, in press releases, etc., its representatives have claimed that C and C wants only a very narrow legalization of "aid in dying," and that to be under strict regulatory control to ensure against abuse.Well, now that the drive to legalize assisted suicide has gained some traction, the ideological zeal of the group's leadership has caused them to go off that carefully tailored script. Kathryn Tucker is the legal director of C and C who got a sympathetic judge to impose a state constitutional right to "die with dignity" on Montana. As I noted in the Weekly Standard--co... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2222389 Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:12:00 +0100 2222389 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2222390&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F02%2Farrested-final-exit-network-activist.html In the wake of the arrests of four assisted suicide activists from the Final Exit Network, I believe an effort will be made to cast them as fringe characters within the movement.Don't believe it. One of the four is Ted Goodwin, who is the head of the FEN. Goodwin has been a stalwart in the movement for many years, to the point that in 2008 he was elected vice president of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies, the international umbrella organization to which most euthanasia/assisted suicide organizations belong. That means, had he not resigned just ahead of his arrest, he would have almost surely been elevated to the chair of president in 2010.The World Federation of Right to Die Societies doesn't advocate for restricting assisted suicide to the terminally ill. Its 2006 "Toronto M... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2222390 Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:47:00 +0100 2222390 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2222391&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F02%2Fmore-declarations-of-non-cooperation.html Right is right and wrong is wrong--regardless of legality: Another hospital has opted out of Washington's assisted suicide law. From the story: Sunnyside Community Hospital will not participate in the state's new Death With Dignity Act that takes effect next week, a decision likely to be followed by other hospitals in Yakima County...In announcing the hospital's decision Wednesday, chief executive Jon Smiley said members of the board, medical personnel and local residents felt that "this act does not meet the standards of a majority of people in our community."Assisted suicide shouldn't meet the standards of any physician or community. That realization will take time to reestablish after decades of "death with dignity" advocacy. But this is a good step in that direction. If enough health c... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2222391 Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:15:00 +0100 2222391 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2222393&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F02%2Fpower-of-love-is-power-of-life.html Day after day we are assaulted with the idea, fundamental to the assisted suicide movement, that some lives are not worth living and hence, not worth protecting from suicide. This advocacy, I believe, does not really promote liberty and freedom, but rather, endangers lives--of the elderly, people with disabilities and mental illnesses, and those with terminal or chronic diseases--by confirming their worst fears about their futures and their human worth.Contrary messages are sometimes made, as I strive to report here at SHS and elsewhere, but do not seem to penetrate as deeply as the "death with dignity" meme, perhaps because they require a deeper empathy and lack the power of repetition. Along this line, I think it is important to acknowledge the death of Christopher Nolan, a man profoundl... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2222393 Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:55:00 +0100 2222393 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2204941&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F02%2Fshs-in-telegraph-right-to-die-can.html After three rousing speeches and media appearances with David Prentice in Ireland on cloning and ESCR, I am off today over the Irish Sea to London, where I will speak Monday night in the Parliament Building about assisted suicide. Ahead of the event, I was asked by my sponsors to write a piece for placement in the UK Media. I was delighted that it made today's Telegraph. From my column:Imagine that you have lung cancer. It has been in remission, but tests show the cancer has returned and is likely to be terminal. Still, there is some hope. Chemotherapy could extend your life, if not save it. You ask to begin treatment. But you soon receive more devastating news. A letter from the government informs you that the cost of chemotherapy is deemed an unjustified expense for the limited extra tim... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2204941 Sat, 21 Feb 2009 06:26:00 +0100 2204941 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2200381&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F02%2Fhawaii-shows-backbone-against-assisted.html The passage of assisted suicide in Washington is not yet causing a major revamping of the political field. Hawaii's assisted suicide legislation looks like it isn't going to make it this year. From the story: The Hawaii Legislature will not take up a proposal to allow assisted suicides in the state. House Judiciary chairman Jon Riki Karamatsu said Wednesday he will not hear a bill that would allow terminally ill adults to get a lethal dose of medication to end their lives. Karamatsu says advocates of the measure haven't pushed strongly for the bill to be heard this year. He says he's open to considering it in the future.The apparent lack of energy by advocates is a surprise. Perhaps, they had counted the votes and realized it wasn't in the cards. In any event, Rep. Karamatsu deserves congr... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2200381 Fri, 20 Feb 2009 08:23:00 +0100 2200381 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2194766&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F02%2Fmore-proof-that-assisted-suicide.html The culture of death brooks no dissent, I have repeatedly warned. That means the assisted suicide agenda, if it is widely successful, will one day seek to force all doctors to participate in the mercy killings of their patients--either by doing the deed personally, or referring them to a death doctor they know will write the poison prescription (or eventually, lethally inject the curare).More proof: Barbara Coombs Lee of Compassion and Choices (formerly Hemlock Society), is in a dither about the Bush conscience clause regulation that prevents employers from discriminating against medical professionals who refuse to participate in assisted suicide (as one example) on moral grounds. From her blog: That meddlesome regulation encouraging healthcare workers to obstruct needed treatment consider... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2194766 Tue, 17 Feb 2009 23:28:00 +0100 2194766 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2187657&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F02%2Fhawaii-resisting-assisted-suicide.html I will be debating cloning, stem cells, and lecturing on assisted suicide for the next ten days. I have no doubt the term "human exceptionalism" will come up. In the meantime, I will check in here, too, with posts and reacting to what SHSers have to say. So please stay tuned and keep those comments coming. Onward! (Source: Secondhand Smoke) Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2187657 Sat, 14 Feb 2009 16:17:00 +0100 2187657 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2182386&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F02%2Fcompassion-and-choices-seven-principles.html Compassion and Choices (formerly Hemlock Society) is the abundantly funded, prime mover and shaker for the assisted suicide movement in the USA. It unquestionably had a good year in 2008 with the passage of I-1000 in Washington and the imposition of a fundamental state constitutional right to "die with dignity" in Montana. It has now issued its "Seven Principles" to "improve end-of-life care and expand patient choices." A clear and literal reading of these "principles," demonstrate that the goal is an essential death on demand. From its press release: Our Seven Principles can help guide lawmakers and policy experts to remember what’s important, and make sure our health care system and its providers are putting the patient first: 1. Focus. End of life care should focus on the patient’s ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2182386 Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:46:00 +0100 2182386 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2182389&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F02%2Fwhy-isnt-this-just-aid-in-dying-too.html A Canadian man is under arrest for assisted suicide in the death of his wife. She had no apparent illness. The couple were apparently suffering from very hard economic times, but precise details are not yet known. From the story:A 46-year-old Waterloo, Ont., man is scheduled to appear in provincial court Tuesday to face an assisted suicide charge after police found the body of his wife in a Thunder Bay motel Friday.Peter Bernard Fonteece has also been charged with criminal negligence causing death after his wife Yanisa Fonteece, 38, was found dead in a room at the motel shortly after 6 a.m. Peter Fonteece called 911, police said. Thunder Bay police released the name of the couple after it failed to locate Yanisa Fonteece's next of kin. The couple was unemployed and travelling west, possibl... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2182389 Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:17:00 +0100 2182389 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2160295&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F02%2Fnew-definition-of-love-help-your.html A San Francisco man named John West has alerted the media--in a book--that he helped his parents commit suicide. From the story: For attorney and author John West, his parents were lifelong sources of comfort, wisdom and pride. But West has been keeping a 10-year-old secret about his parents from everyone, including his two sisters, which he is revealing for the first time in a memoir called "The Last Goodnights." West helped his terminally ill parents commit suicide, a crime in the state of California, where the deaths took place. In revealing his actions, West acknowledges he could face prosecutionTen years later? Unlikely. In fact, the statute of limitations has passed.And here's some compassion: Though his parents had been active for most of West's life, their health deteriorated drama... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2160295 Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:21:00 +0100 2160295 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2149573&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F01%2Fassisted-suicide-in-wyoming-neutrality.html One of the purposes of professional medical organizations is to stand up for proper ethical policies and laws. Lately, we have seen too many such organizations going "neutral," on assisted suicide. How an organization dedicated to defending doctors and patients can be indifferent to one of the most important ethical and legal controversies that affect their patients' very lives is beyond me. But when a judge in Montana conjured a right to assisted suicide out of her hat, the head of the Montana Medical Association shrugged and sniffed that his group wasn't even discussing the issue because it had "bigger fish to fry." The latest such abdication of responsibility was in Wyoming, and it resulted in an anti-assisted suicide bill being defeated in a legislative committee. From the story:The bi... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2149573 Sat, 31 Jan 2009 16:04:00 +0100 2149573 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2141295&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F01%2Fwyomings-new-assisted-suicide-bill-to.html Wonder of wonders, Wyoming has stepped up to the plate to outlaw assisted suicide. From HB 120 (no link): (a) A person who has knowledge that another person intends to commit or attempt to commit suicide and who does either of the following with the intention of enabling or facilitating the suicide commits the offense of assisting suicide:(i) Provides the physical means by which the other person attempts or commits suicide; (ii) Participates in a physical act by which the other person attempts to commit or commits suicide.The bill ensures that good pain control is not considered assisted suicide and that removing unwanted life-sustaining medical treatment is not threatened. Good for Representatives Davison, Brechtel, Jaggi, McKim and Petersen and Senators Cooper, Meier and Peterson for spo... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2141295 Thu, 29 Jan 2009 04:50:00 +0100 2141295 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2134644&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F01%2Fhere-come-assisted-suicide-bills.html Two states have had assisted suicide bills introduced; Hawaii and New Hampshire. Hawaii's law requires a suicide "monitor" to be present at the death--which in practice would often be an assisted suicide ideologue, such as the "counselors" who work with Compassion and Choices:Monitor required; form. (a) A qualified patient shall designate a competent adult to act as a monitor and who shall be present at the time of actual administration of the medication to the qualified patient and shall witness the event. The monitor shall have the power to act on behalf of the qualified patient to:(1) Stop the administration of the medication if it has not yet been carried out; or (2) Enlist medical assistance to attempt to reverse the effect of the medication if the medication has already been delivere... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2134644 Mon, 26 Jan 2009 06:08:00 +0100 2134644 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2115496&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F01%2Fassisted-suicide-laws-will-never-be.html One of the things I have come to understand about the euthanasia movement is that the law will never be loose enough to satiate the appetite of the ideologically committed for death on demand. As one example, when the Dutch formally legalized euthanasia, the very next day the Minister of Health opined that suicide pills should be made available to the elderly who are tired of living but don't qualify to be killed. Similarly, suicide tourism would continue to Switzerland even if the UK legalized assisted suicide for the terminally ill.Then, there will always be people like Derek Humphry who has spent most of his adult life selling how-to-commit suicide kits and books. Now, he is promoting suicide "helium hoods." From his blog: Last Rights Publications' in Canada went out of business some ti... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2115496 Mon, 19 Jan 2009 22:30:00 +0100 2115496 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2110539&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F01%2Flet-death-bureaucracy-begin-in.html It is sickening to read the proposed bureaucratic forms that patients and their death doctors will fill out and send to the state when planning assisted suicides. Twenty years ago, people would have called me a total paranoid if I predicted this is what we would become. I wouldn't have believed it myself. Nonetheless, this is where we are as a culture. From the Proposed Rule Making document filed by the now ironically misnamed Department of Health:REQUEST FOR MEDICATIONTO END MY LIFE IN A HUMANE AND DIGNIFIED MANNERI, ______________________________________________________________________, am an adult of sound mind.First Middle LastI am suffering from _____________________________________, which my attending physician has determined is an incurable, irreversible terminal disease and which h... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2110539 Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:59:00 +0100 2110539 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2092488&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F01%2Fswiss-assisted-suicide-group.html The Swiss Government is investigating the assisted suicide facilitating/tourist host group Dignitas for making money off of helping people make themselves dead. From the story:Dignitas, which is meant to be a non-profit organisation, is being forced to open its accounts to prosecutors in Switzerland and disclose how much money it is receiving from its controversial business of assisting suicide.The founder of the group is reported to have become a millionaire by helping at least 870 terminally ill people--an estimated 100 of whom were British--die. It is said to have taken as much as £61,000 from one woman, 10 times its usual fee.Swiss law allows Dignitas to provide patients with a dose of barbiturate and a room in which their deaths are filmed, to prove they administered the lethal injec... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2092488 Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:13:00 +0100 2092488 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2089881&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F01%2Fjudicial-tyranny-in-montana.html When a very controversial ruling comes down from our rulers in black robes, it is customary that pending an appeal to the highest court, the decision be stayed--that is suspended--until the final decision from a higher court is in. But Montana's assisted suicide maven, Judge Dorothy McCarter, refused, dismissing a request for a stay of her ruling declaring a constitutional right to assisted suicide. This means because she believes in assisted suicide--unless and until a higher court intervenes--it is now legal for doctors to assist suicides of the terminally ill in Montana and there are no "protective guidelines." (Come to think of it, that's more honest, isn't it?) From the story:A judge here on Wednesday dismissed a request to freeze her own decision upholding Montana's right to physicia... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2089881 Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:29:00 +0100 2089881 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2078690&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F01%2Ffear-mongering-for-assisted-suicide-in.html Assisted suicide is not really about a "safety valve" against intractable suffering--that is just an assertion intended to soften the political ground, a cynical tactic intended to panic the public into supporting killing as an acceptable answer to human suffering. Scotland is the latest target of the international euthanasia movement, and true to form, the fear mongering is well under way. From the story:A DETERMINED group of pensioners have taken their right-to-die fight to the Scottish Parliament. Militant Retired have lodged a petition at Holyrood calling for a referendum on assisted death. The group's founder George Anderson said: "If I got to a stage where I was very ill, I would want the right to die to end my suffering. It's all about having a dignified death, rather than seeing pe... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2078690 Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:11:00 +0100 2078690 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2073794&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F12%2Fuk-prime-minister-gordon-brown-refuses.html Just as during the Kevorkian saga, some have claimed that the "cure" for "suicide tourism"--in which dying and disabled people fly to Switzerland to be made dead--has been legalization of assisted suicide. And just as in Kevorkian's day, family members and others have gone public, using their pain as a political weapon to demand that suicide killings of the ill and disabled be made easier so that family and friends can attend the demise in the suicidal person's home, rather than forcing the soon-t0-be dead patient to travel elsewhere to find someone willing to give them the poison cup. But PM Gordon Brown is unbowed. From the story:Gordon Brown has made clear the government has no intention of legalising assisted suicide. The prime minister said he was "totally against laws on that [issue]... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2073794 Tue, 30 Dec 2008 17:54:00 +0100 2073794 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2073798&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F12%2Fsuicide-counsellors-show-futility-of.html Jack Kevorkian was the ground breaker in modern times: A man made world famous helping people with disabilities, the terminally ill, and the existentially suffering kill themselves. For that, he now makes $50,000 a speech. In Australia, Philip Nitschke has counseled the suicides of people who were not close to being terminally ill, and even argued it should be available to "troubled teens." Ditto the suicide clinics in Switzerland, where the Supreme Court recently granted a constitutional right to assisted suicide for the mentally ill.In Germany, another one of these death fanatics has apparently set up shop. The government has obtain an injunction. From the story: German police have issued a temporary restraining order against controversial euthanasia advocate Roger Kusch, prohibiting him... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2073798 Mon, 29 Dec 2008 18:13:00 +0100 2073798 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2073799&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F12%2Fmontana-medical-association-cop-out-on.html The coalition against assisted suicide is made up of many branches that constitute a rare alliance among people on all sides of the ideological and religious/secular divides that are literally tearing this country and much of Western Civilization apart. Thus, disability rights activists--generally secular, politically liberal, and pro choice on abortion--work energetically with pro life activists on the issue, while agreeing to leave the abortion issue alone. Medical professional organizations and doctors--generally pro choice on abortion--work with Catholic Church on this issue, despite bitterly disagreeing on issues such as contraception. You get the drift.But I have been worrying in recent years that some physicians groups and doctors don't take this issue with sufficient seriousness--a... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2073799 Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:56:00 +0100 2073799 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2060837&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F12%2Fassisted-suicide-for-fun-and-profit-in.html Kenya is a very poor country. But some among the assisted suicide crowd apparently see it as prime pickings for the well off in that country, with suicide tourism for profit being proposed. From the story:Kenya could become the first country in Africa to legalise doctor-assisted suicide if lobbying by a group of local and foreign investors succeeds in convincing lawmakers to make it legal for terminally ill patients to be assisted to die.Mr John Hurst, a British investor and the managing director of Dignity International, is the man behind the plans to introduce the Doctor Assisted Suicide (DAS) in Kenya. He says the logic behind assisted-suicide is that since the terminally ill patient will eventually die, it would be better to hasten their death to save the patient from pain and the fami... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2060837 Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:13:00 +0100 2060837 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2055762&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F12%2Fblog-post.html I have an extended piece in the Weekly Standard on the Montana judge declaring it a "fundamental right" do "die with dignity"--e.g. to poison oneself with prescribed drugs--which as I noted in an earlier SHS posting about this, may be the only time that an advocacy propaganda phrase was elevated in a court ruling to the status of a constitutional right.In the piece I point out that much of the decision is, essentially about metaphysical opinions and concepts. From the piece:A premise of McCarter's ruling is that people have the right to decide for themselves what constitutes "dignity" according to their personal beliefs. After quoting the authorities she relied on--which would be too long to reproduce here--I state:In essence, Judge McCarter ruled that the individual's right to act upon su... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2055762 Sat, 20 Dec 2008 16:59:00 +0100 2055762 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2046639&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F12%2Fwhat-we-are-becoming-creating.html I have written about Philip Nitsckhe before. He is the Australian doctor who is obsessed with suicide machines and making sure that anyone who wants to kill themselves be able to do so, including--as he stated in an NRO interview--"troubled teens." With the new "professional" look of the assisted suicide/euthanasia movement, one would think that Nitschke would be in bad odor. He is not, of course, remaining a hero to the movement's death-on-demand grass roots and usually invited to speak at the seminars and contentions that are held around the world on making oneself dead.Now, Nitschke has made the news again--which seems is real raison d' etre. From the story:EUTHANASIA advocate Dr Philip Nitschke is in Adelaide to launch a death device – components of which can be bought from hardware ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2046639 Wed, 17 Dec 2008 21:28:00 +0100 2046639 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2039810&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F12%2Fdoing-swedish-radio-tomorrow-on-suicide.html Apparently assisted suicide is becoming a big topic in Sweden, and so I have been asked by Radio UPF, out of the University of Lund, to speak on the issue of "suicide tourism." They stated that opinions like mine aren't heard all that often, and so they asked for some of my time. I am, of course, honored, but wish my views were so ubiquitous that it bored people.For Swedish SHSers, the time is approximately 5:30 PM in Sweden, 11:30 East Coast Time (USA), and 8:30 AM, my time in CA. Here is the URL for Radio UPF. I think they have a listen live capacity for anyone else who might want to tune in. (Source: Secondhand Smoke) Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2039810 Wed, 17 Dec 2008 06:23:00 +0100 2039810 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2039816&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F12%2Fuk-debate-over-assisted-suicide-rages.html It is interesting how some things never change. In the 1990s, Jack Kevorkian's death circus lit a wildfire of debate over assisted suicide, with the default position being that since "terminally ill" people are going to commit suicide because the suffering is sometimes so unbearable, let's legalize it--under controlled circumstances. It didn't seem to matter a whit that Kevorkian's clients--they weren't patients since they only sought death from him, not care--mostly weren't terminally ill and that some weren't even sick at all. That truth for some reason could not or would not be seen--and often still isn't.A virtually identical paradigm has developed today in the UK. Suicide tourism is taking the lives of people who are dying and disabled, who fly to Switzerland for suicide facilitated b... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2039816 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 15:52:00 +0100 2039816 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2035516&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F12%2Fswiss-suicide-tourism-kevorkianism.html The similarities between the "suicide tourism" ongoing in Switzerland and Jack Kevorkian's death circus are just too striking to ignore. Both involved depressed people with disabilities, people with terminal illnesses, and some people who are not ill at all traveling from their homes to be made dead with the participation of strangers. Both involved publicity hungry vultures, Kevorkian and Dignitas' Ludwig Minelli (among others), who use their ghoulish fame to push a death on demand agenda.Here's a difference: Kevorkian helped kill for free, while Minelli's group charges about $8000 to be made dead. On the other hand, Kevorkian's goal, as described in Prescription Medicide, was to conduct medical experiments on living people being euthanized, a proposed process Kevorkian called "obitiatry.... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2035516 Sun, 14 Dec 2008 16:10:00 +0100 2035516 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2026820&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F12%2Fmontana-assisted-suicide-advocate-made.html The media usually report the assisted suicide agenda by, basically, printing the proponents' press releases and pretending that it is objective news. But sometimes, it comes back to bite them, as when the PR is mendacious.Case in point: When a Montana judge legalized assisted suicide, the stories all contained a statement by the plaintiff in the case praising the ruling. The only problem is that the plaintiff died before the ruling came out. That required a low key correction: In a Dec. 6 story about a court ruling that doctor-assisted suicides are legal in Montana, The Associated Press erroneously reported that terminally ill plaintiff Robert Baxter said in a statement that he was comforted by the ruling. Baxter died Friday night and had been unaware of the decision issued Friday, accordi... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2026820 Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:18:00 +0100 2026820 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2026892&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34595&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnhsblogdoc.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F12%2Fassisted-suicide-and-voyeuristic-ghouls.html Albert Pierrepoint : was he sane?The voyeuristic ghouls will be tuning in to Sky tonight to watch some poor man with motor neurone disease commit suicide. I shall not be watching. Not that I am against it being shown. It is not for me, but yet I am nauseated by the faux out-rage of middle England, who condemn the broadcasting of the moment of death on television, and yet welcome the re-introduction of hanging. In our strange society it is, of course, perfectly all right to watch gruesome deaths in Straw Dogs, the Texas Chainsaw massacre and Spooks, because in those the deaths are “only” simulated. Let there be real deaths,  a massacre in Rwanda, or wherever, and the news broadcasts are sanitised. Middle England prefers the camera to turn away at the last moment. What hypocrisy.If I ac... NHS Blog Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2026892 Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:29:00 +0100 2026892 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2026821&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F12%2Fassisted-suicide-advocates-dont-really.html Kathryn Tucker, the lawyer for the euphemistically named Compassion and Choices, who won the trial court ruling establishing a right to assisted suicide in Oregon (and I contend, much more) has shown a bit of the real agenda behind the movement. In reacting to the victory, she suggested that the state would look to Oregon for guidance on death regulations, but would have to be less stringent. From the story: Attorney Kathryn Tucker--who brought the case for right to die groups--expects Montana to look to Oregon and Washington for guidance. But she says Montana will have more freedom. Kathryn Tucker: "Let's just take the example of the waiting period. In Oregon there's a minimum 15-day waiting period. That provision very possibly would not survive constitutional scrutiny because it would be... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2026821 Tue, 09 Dec 2008 21:12:00 +0100 2026821 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2026822&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F12%2Fwhat-we-are-becoming-children-proposed.html The Dutch seriously proposed permitting 12-year-olds to opt for euthanasia, and that was beaten back for the moment. Now, a new Scottish proposal to legalize assisted suicide would give the "right to die" to children. From the story:Children aged 12 or even younger could be given the right to assisted suicide under a radical new Scottish bill proposed by veteran MSP Margo MacDonald.The independent politician, who has Parkinson's disease, wants to bring legislation before the Scottish Parliament next year which would legalise assisted suicide.Launching a consultation on her proposed End of Life Choices (Scotland) Bill yesterday, Mrs MacDonald suggested that the age limit for people wanting assistance to die should mirror that for children who are allowed under family law to "choose a life" ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2026822 Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:33:00 +0100 2026822 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2021312&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F12%2Fwed-better-open-our-eyes-or-this-is-our.html An elderly man has traveled to Switzerland for an assisted suicide, accompanied by his wife. From the story: Doctors from a euthanasia clinic held secret talks at Heathrow airport with a London pensioner before helping him die last week, the Standard has learned. A 90-year-old man named only as Chris--who was not terminally ill-died on Friday at Ex International, in Berne, after travelling to the Swiss capital with his wife on Tuesday.He is thought to be only the second Briton to die at the clinic, which until recently did not accept people from non-German-speaking countries. Chris, whose surname has not been revealed as he wanted privacy for his widow, had been planning to kill himself for about two years.He arrived in Britain in 1938 after fleeing Nazi Austria and went on to teach physic... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2021312 Mon, 08 Dec 2008 20:03:00 +0100 2021312 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2021313&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F12%2Fmontana-court-ruling-on-assisted.html One final reflection the court ruling finding a constitutional right to assisted suicide in Montana. This case--which will not be the final word due to an almost certain appeal--seems to be the latest to follow the "mystery of life" approach to jurisprudence, most infamously enunciated in 1992 by Supreme Court abortion case Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, in which Justice Kennedy wrote:At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.Yes, of course we all have the right to decide metaphysical issues for ourselves and the state cannot force a creed or belief system upon us. But it destroys society as a coherent social organism if each individual's "concept" overrides almost ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2021313 Sun, 07 Dec 2008 16:19:00 +0100 2021313 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2021314&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F12%2Fmontana-assisted-suicide-decision-reads.html I will admit I didn't get much sleep last night because of the Montana case imposing a constitutional right to assisted suicide there. I haven't been able to find a copy of the decision yet, but from the few quotes I have seen it appears a radically broad and hubristic ruling, that if followed, logically couldn't be limited to physician assisted suicide or the terminally ill. These two quotes stand out, as cited in the Hemlock Society, er Compassion and Choices Web page crowing about the ruling:"The Montana constitutional rights of individual privacy and human dignity, taken together, encompass the right of a competent terminally (ill) patient to die with dignity," McCarter said in the ruling. "The patient's right to die with dignity includes protection of the patient's physician from liab... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2021314 Sun, 07 Dec 2008 15:23:00 +0100 2021314 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2021556&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=35052&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FWomensBioethicsBlog%2F%7E3%2F477529513%2Fmontana-ruling-legalizes-assisted.html Late Friday night, a Montana judge ruled that physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill is legal. According to Judge Dorothy McCarter, "The Montana constitutional rights of individual privacy and human dignity, taken together, encompass the right of a competent terminally (ill) patient to die with dignity."While the Montana attorney general plans to appeal the ruling next week, for at least the time being, the state joins Oregon and Washington in allowing terminally ill patients the choice of when and how they die.-Kelly Hills (Source: Women's Bioethics Blog) Women's Bioethics Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2021556 Sun, 07 Dec 2008 14:13:12 +0100 2021556 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2017446&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F12%2Fcourt-imposed-assisted-suicide.html I wish I could say I was surprised, but judges have decided they get to decide all of our social issues today. A Montana trial court judge has legalized assisted suicide in Montana. From the story.A Montana judge has issued a ruling saying residents of the state have the right to doctor-assisted suicide. The ruling issued late Friday by state District Court Judge Dorothy McCarter makes Montana the third state in which doctor-assisted suicide is legal.The judge said Saturday she ruled in a lawsuit filed by a terminally ill Billings man, four physicians and a nonprofit patients rights group, Compassion & Choices. McCarter's ruling holds that mentally competent, terminally ill Montanans have a right to obtain medications that can be self-administered to bring about a peaceful death if the... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2017446 Sun, 07 Dec 2008 01:15:00 +0100 2017446 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1990544&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F11%2Fwhat-we-are-becoming-husband-wished-to.html This is what we are becoming. Valerie Myer was disabled by Parkinson's disease and wanted to commit suicide. That was apparently okay with her husband, who is furious he couldn't assist her. I will let the story speak for itself: Mr [Michael] Grosvenor Myer described his wife's decision as "rational and courageous" and said that she had wanted him to be with her at the end. Valerie Grosvenor Myer was a novelist, literary critic, biographer, poet, playwright and teacher. She died at the age of 75 at the couple's home in Haddenham, Cambridgeshire, on Aug 9 last year.She took an overdose of paracetamol after three previous attempts to take her own life. "She was a distinguished woman but Parkinson's disease had robbed her of the power of speaking articulately."Her beautiful italic handwriting... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1990544 Thu, 27 Nov 2008 02:23:00 +0100 1990544 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1968644&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F11%2Fdepression-in-assisted.html The abandoning ethic of assisted suicide is demonstrated by studies showing depression in many patients requesting hastened death. This point is commented upon in a letter to the editor in the British Medical Journal by Thomas Koch, a Canadian professor at the University of British Columbia. There is no link (BMJ 2008;337:a2479), so I am quoting it in full (citations omitted):Nobody should be surprised at the prevalence of depression and anxiety in Oregon patients requesting physician assisted suicide. This was the pattern of euthanasia’s expansion in Holland--a movement for relief of unbearable suffering in terminal cases became a means of termination for those whose problems were often more existential, or psychological, than physical. In Holland the critical case in law and ethics was... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1968644 Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:36:00 +0100 1968644 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1960507&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F11%2Ftake-pledge-against-assisted-suicide.html Just because assisted suicide is legal in Oregon and Washington-State, that does make it right. The time has come for a very public and vibrant declaration of non cooperation with the culture of death.Toward that end, a new campaign to "Take the Pledge" against assisted suicide has launched. allowinf people able to express their non cooperation as a "physician," a "medical caregiver," or "concerned citizen." More will be needed, of course. But it's a start.All who oppose assisted suicide, please take the pledge. And in our lives, let us strive to model the kind of acceptance and love toward others that could dissuade people from believing that their own lives--or that of family members--are not worth living. (Source: Secondhand Smoke) Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1960507 Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:24:00 +0100 1960507 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1955146&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F11%2Fchronic-pain-victims-more-likely-to.html I have met people with severe chronic pain in my travels and at my speeches. These people live very difficult lives that requires strong medical and emotional support from family, friends, and communities to help them keep going. Unsurprisingly, suicide levels among sever chronic pain sufferers is higher than the general public's. From the story:People with severe headaches or other forms of chronic pain may have an increased risk of suicide, a study published Tuesday suggests. The study, of nearly 5,700 U.S. adults, found that those who reported chronic pain other than arthritis were four times more likely to have attempted suicide than adults not suffering from persistent pain.Head pain and pain in multiple areas of the body were particularly linked to suicidal thoughts and behavior, acc... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1955146 Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:55:00 +0100 1955146 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1955147&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F11%2Fpost-washington-assisted-suicide-here.html In my recent First Things article on the passage of I-1000's assisted suicide license, I warned:And with that success, the sails of the ghost ship Euthanasia rippled with the briskly rising breeze, and once again began to plow through the waves toward other shores, far and near. Soon, legislation will be introduced to legalize assisted suicide in state throughout the country--California, Vermont, Arizona, Wisconsin, Hawaii, perhaps Ohio, and others--to make it Oregon-plus-two, -three, -four, and -five.Of course, this was hardly a prognostication of Nostradamus prescience. The game that is afoot is obvious. And it didn't take long for the agitating to begin. Hawaii's Star Bulletin newspaper editorialized in favor of assisted suicide based on the passage in Oregon. From the editorial:Washing... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1955147 Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:18:00 +0100 1955147 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1947013&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F11%2Fassisted-suicide-wind-in-their-sails.html After Washington voters passed I-1000 legalizing Oregon-style assisted suicide, First Things asked me to weigh in with some analysis. I look at the matter from two angles. The first is political. I noted that the assisted suicide movement had been essentially moribund since the passage of Oregon's Measure 16 in 1994, and that advocates had adopted an "Oregon plus one" strategy to restore their momentum, which finally succeeded last Tuesday. From my column: And with that success, the sails of the ghost ship Euthanasia rippled with the briskly rising breeze, and once again began to plow through the waves toward other shores, far and near. Soon, legislation will be introduced to legalize assisted suicide in state throughout the country--California, Vermont, Arizona, Wisconsin, Hawaii, perhaps... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1947013 Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:15:00 +0100 1947013 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1939196&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=35052&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FWomensBioethicsBlog%2F%7E3%2F444913257%2Fobama-election-signals-change-in-stem.html A commentary by friend and colleague Art Caplan in his MSNBC column:'Change' was the horse that Barack Obama's presidential campaign rode to victory. Indeed the 2008 election will be remembered not only for Obama becoming the first African-American president, but also for its impact on core bioethical topics that have long dominated American domestic politics. Divisive issues such as abortion bans failed to gain traction on state ballot initiatives, while newer bioethical concerns that are likely to dominate American politics for years to come, including physician-assisted suicide, emerged.The past eight years of the Bush White House have seen stem cell research and the status of embryos at the center of the moral values debate. Obama's election has brought the fight over embryonic stem ce... Women's Bioethics Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1939196 Fri, 07 Nov 2008 00:26:11 +0100 1939196 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1938874&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F11%2Fresistance-begins-declaring-non.html One of the most important services that medical professionals can offer to the people they serve, I think, is to declare their offices and facilities to be "assisted suicide free zones." Indeed, I hope that medical organizations create plaques and certificates to that doctors and health care facilities can mount on office walls.Some hospitals are already on this bandwagon, declaring that assisted suicides will not be permitted on premises: From the story: While Washington voters made it legal for doctors to help terminally ill residents end their lives, opponents of the assisted suicide measure indicated Wednesday they will continue to resist the practice...Eastern Washington's largest hospital system, Providence Health and Services, will forbid physicians from helping patients die at its ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1938874 Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:13:00 +0100 1938874 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1933011&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F11%2Fdire-straights-assisted-suicide-passes.html The culture of death once again has the wind in its sails after being moribund, at least as to assisted suicide, since 1994. There are many reasons for the loss having to do with the overwhelming financial backing from all around the world in favor of assisted suicide, to a popular former governor as spokesperson, an in-the-tank media that were full cheerleaders for the pro side, to a local campaign in opposition that was, to put it politely, very disappointing in its vision, imagination,and execution.But none of that matters now. Here's what we face: There are very powerful people of the George Soros stripe, with a great deal of money, who are committed to pushing this agenda throughout the nation. And you have determined activists leading the charge, people like Barbara Coombs Lee and Ka... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1933011 Wed, 05 Nov 2008 06:30:00 +0100 1933011 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1933013&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F11%2Fsurprise-surprise-swiss-assisted.html Of course, anyone reading SHS and pondering this matter rationally, would realize that once assisted suicide/euthanasia consciousness becomes widely accepted, the categories of the terminated expand. And now, waddya know, a study of assisted suicide in Switzerland shows that an increasing number of the cases have been of people who are not terminally ill. From the story:Researchers from the University of Zurich and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences said many elderly people who have sought assistance to end their lives in Switzerland suffered from chronic and other non-life-threatening conditions."Being tired of life and in very poor health are becoming more frequent reasons to seek help to commit suicide than in the past," said Susanne Fischer, co-author of the review of assisted s... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1933013 Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:13:00 +0100 1933013 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1933015&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F11%2Flove-not-killing-is-answer.html With Washington about to vote on I-1000, and the legalization of euthanasia/assisted suicide under serious discussion in Canada, Australia, and soon in California, Arizona, Vermont, Wisconsin, and elsewhere, an article by Rene Leiva, a Canadian palliative care physician, is worth pondering. He points out that untreated pain isn't the biggest issue in helping people who are dying live their lives to the fullest--remember dying isn't dead, it is living--but existential agony. And there is an answer. From his column:The most challenging clinical cases usually are the ones where patients are suffering from existential distress, or in other words, loss of purpose in life in the face of suffering. I would also name it "depression of the soul." Fortunately, there are ways to approach these proble... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1933015 Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:28:00 +0100 1933015 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1926357&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F11%2Fmedias-love-affair-with-suicide-outlaws.html The media never tire of fawning stories about people who assist others in self destruction. The latest example of this journalistic groupieism comes out of the Vancouver Sun, in which a reporter goes to the home of an assisted suicide facilitator named Russell Ogden.From the story, byline Douglas Todd:I'm about to leave the New Westminster home of one of the world's foremost experts on assisted suicide when he invites me downstairs. It seems like any other spartan, low-ceilinged basement. But then Kwantlen Polytechnic University sociologist Russel Ogden lifts a curtain under the stairs. He pulls out a steel tank that's a little bigger than a rugby ball. It's pink, cheerfully labelled: "Balloon Time."The tank is full of helium. Ogden then brings out a large, clear plastic bag, with a tube a... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1926357 Sat, 01 Nov 2008 17:06:00 +0100 1926357 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1917855&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F10%2Fmedia-myopia-on-assisted-suicide-its.html Why do media so often describe non-dying people who want assisted suicide as terminally ill? Is it on purpose? Mostly, I don't think so. I think they have accepted a false premise; that assisted suicide is about terminal illness. So when someone who is not dying wants assisted suicide, it's like a reflex, and very soon the suicidal person is described as terminally ill even though they aren't actually dying.The latest is in the Debby Purdy case, which I have written about here previously. Purdy has MS, which is generally not a terminal illness. She has said she wants assisted suicide when her disability increases to the point that she can't take it anymore, not if she is ever diagnosed as dying. And yet, guess how she is described? From the story, byline Nick Allen, in the Telegraph:A term... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1917855 Thu, 30 Oct 2008 03:01:00 +0100 1917855 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1917857&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F10%2Fuk-court-refuses-to-impose-assisted.html Debby Purdy, the UK woman struggling with progressive MS, went to court seeking an order assuring her that should she want to die, that her husband could assist her and face no legal consequences. (This case was similar to that of Diane Pretty a few years ago.) The trial court refused. From the story: Debbie Purdy, 45, had launched a High Court challenge to determine whether her husband would face prosecution if he helped her end her life before her conditioned worsened.Purdy told reporters she was "disappointed and surprised" that the judges refused to interpret the 1961 Suicide Act, which says assisting someone in a suicide is a crime punishable by up to 14 years in prison.Purdy, speaking from a wheelchair beside her husband Omar Puente, said she would appeal. She has said she wants the ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1917857 Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:03:00 +0100 1917857 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1908703&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F10%2Fgynecologist-assists-suicide-for-person.html This is so typical. A Swiss gynecologist death doctor named Alois Geiger admits helping with the suicide people outside his medical specialty. He is a gynecologist. From the column:Should one not be allowed to make use of medical means to release oneself from suffering? The wish to commit suicide is most understandable when it develops over time, rather than overnight. Only a doctor with a medical practice can prescribe strong sleeping medication. For me there is no question about writing such a prescription in a tragic situation, knowing that it cannot help his illness but will help him realise his wish for a self-determined suicide...The other day a patient came to me suffering from a spreading neurological disease that was increasingly paralysing his muscles. He lived alone, had no fami... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1908703 Sun, 26 Oct 2008 20:27:00 +0100 1908703 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1891906&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F10%2Fdaniel-james-case-no-one-can-judge-son.html The grieving parents of the late Daniel James, who became suicidal after becoming paralyzed from an injury sustained playing rugby, and who committed assisted suicide in Switzerland after being taken there by his parents for that purpose, have said that no one can judge their son. From the story:"I hope that one day I will get the chance to speak to this lady and ask if she had a son, daughter, father, mother, who could not walk, had no hand function, was incontinent, and relied upon 24-hour care for every basic need and they had asked her for support, what would she have done?!" Mrs James went on to write "nobody but nobody should judge him"Absolutely. James was lost in the labyrinth of catastrophic despair. He should neither be judged nor condemned.But that does not mean that we may not ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1891906 Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:42:00 +0100 1891906 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1888962&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F10%2Fassisted-suicide-people-with.html This is how the culture of death moves toward cultural hegemony: The first step is to claim that killing (which is descriptive and accurate in that it means "to end life") will be reserved for the very rare case. But as soon as that premise is accepted, the acceptable category of killable people steadily increases.Now in a tragic case in the UK, we see that very process in action. An athlete who became paralyzed and subsequently suicidal, was taken by his parents to Switzerland for an assisted suicide. From the story:From the moment that Daniel James drank the milky liquid and laid his head on the pillow, there was no going back. Within minutes his eyes had closed, his breathing slowed and then he was dead, his once-vigorous body peacefully but lethally shut down by the barbiturate solutio... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1888962 Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:46:00 +0100 1888962 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1886255&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F10%2Fout-of-state-and-ideologues-pushing.html The International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide has studied the millions flowing into WA to legalize assisted suicide. Most of the bounty is from out of state euthanasia groups or rich ideologues like former Governor Booth Gardner. From the report: As of 10/10/08, the "Yes on 1000" committee reported receipts of $3,274,877. This is the fourth highest all time record for money raised in support of any initiative campaign in Washington State. Of that amount, assisted-suicide advocacy groups and spokesperson, former Governor Booth Gardner, his family and his "Legacy Committee" have given cash donations of $2,032,164. That is more than double the total receipts of $874,646 reported over the same time period by the "Coalition against Assisted Suicide." ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1886255 Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:43:00 +0100 1886255 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1870534&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F10%2Fif-montana-anti-assisted-suicide-law-is.html This is all so phony: Compassion and Choices (formerly Hemlock Society) has filed a suit to declare Montana's law prohibiting assisted suicide to be unconstitutional as against Montana's right to privacy. The suit seeks to declare that a terminally ill person has a right to assistance with suicide as a liberty interest, a matter argued in court recently. From the story:The plaintiffs argue that mentally competent, terminally ill Montanans facing a dying process they find intolerable should be allowed to take prescribed medication to help them die peacefully."A mentally competent, terminally ill Montanan should have the right to choose a peaceful death, when confronted by death," said Kathryn Tucker, Compassion and Choices director of legal affairs.But dying isn't dead, it is an aspect of l... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1870534 Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:04:00 +0100 1870534 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1865397&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F10%2Fpro-i-1000-blog-captures-abandoning.html I cannot respond to every blog entry or story about assisted suicide that is filled with deplorable sentiments or outright lies, not to mention anti-religious bigotry. They are just too ubiquitous!But this one requires comment because it applies the "V-word" like a bludgeon in the title to describe human beings, an epithet that like the N-word, is intended to demean, dehumanize, degrade, and isolate. In something called Slog (I think it is associated with an alternative weekly, not sure), someone named Dominic Holden writes in "Catholics Want to Make Your Medical Decisions While You're a V------,"about a friend who died of cystic fibrosis. From his column:It's not that they are anti-choice conservatives. They are pro-choice, it turns out. They want doctors to make all end-of-life choices f... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1865397 Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:27:00 +0100 1865397 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1862646&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F10%2Fquarter-of-oregon-assisted-suicide.html In another study under-reported by the MSM because it cuts against assisted suicide, UK researchers found that about a quarter of assisted suicide requests in Oregon were depressed, and yet received lethal prescriptions. From the story:Now a new study shows one-in-four patients who requested lethal drugs under the Oregon law were depressed. Correspondent Austin Jenkins reports on a study conducted by researchers at Oregon Health and Science University. The study--published in the British Medical Journal --followed 58 patients in Oregon who requested aid in dying. Most were terminally ill with cancer or Lou Gehrig's disease.Of the 58, twenty-six percent were independently diagnosed with depression. Psychiatrist Linda Ganzini is the study's lead author. She says doctors need to do a better j... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1862646 Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:29:00 +0100 1862646 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1852489&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F10%2Frita-marker-tells-duty-to-die-advocate.html Rita Marker, the head of the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide knows more about the politics and facts of the facilitated death agenda than anyone else on earth. In this "open letter" to Baroness Warnock, who SHS readers will recall recently renewed her call for the UK to accept a duty to die once one becomes a burden, Marker adopts a The Screwtape Letters approach, to explaining to us all the euthanasia game that is afoot.Telling Warnock that people can't swallow her callous death agenda whole, Marker advises the Baroness to follow the path blazed by her USA counterparts, that is, to take her time and feed her people the cultural hemlock in smaller, bite size pieces. First, Warnock must toss aside her cold candor in favor of gooey euphemisms for killing. From Mar... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1852489 Sat, 04 Oct 2008 16:34:00 +0100 1852489 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1840880&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F09%2Fwashington-medical-association-brochure.html The Washington State Medical Association has come out against legalizing assisted suicide and passing I 1000. From its brochure:This fall Washington voters must decide whether to support or oppose Initiative 1000. It may help to know that the Washington State Medical Association strongly opposes Initiative 1000. Doctors oppose I-1000 because our training and experience in the practice of medicine directs us to heal and comfort,not to cause death.The WSMA believes physician assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the role of physicians as healers. Patients put their trust in physicians and that bond of trust would be irrevokably harmed by the provisions of this dangerous initiative.Indeed. Add in futile care theory and there would be a perfect storm of mistrust created with the ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1840880 Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:21:00 +0100 1840880 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1840881&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F09%2Fmartin-sheen-ad-against-washingtons-i.html Martin Sheen--known to be a left handed hitter politically--has a radio ad out against the assisted suicide legalization initiative, I-1000. This is important because despite the broad and diverse coalition against legalizing assisted suicide that cuts diagonally across the nation's usual political and cultural divides, the media continue their myopic ways by reporting that conservative pro lifers are the primary opponents to assisted suicide. Here is what Sheen said his reasons were for agreeing to participate in the No on I-1000 campaign:"I try to work when I'm not on the screen to help improve conditions for the most vulnerable people in our country--low wage workers, immigrants, the disabled and the poor," Sheen said. "We have a health care system where the more money you have, the bet... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1840881 Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:47:00 +0100 1840881 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1833086&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F09%2Fcourt-suicide-assisters-can-inherit.html This is definitely bad policy, but it was probably the right decision by the court: A Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled that a relatives who may have assisted a suicide can still inherit from his estate. From the story:The wife and daughter of a Wisconsin man who committed suicide can inherit his estate even if they assisted him in the act, an appeals court ruled Thursday.A Wisconsin law prevents anyone who "intentionally kills" another from inheriting from the person but the District 4 Court of Appeals said that does not extend to those who assist in suicide. "A person who assists another in voluntarily and intentionally taking his or her own life is plainly not depriving the other of life," Judge Margaret Vergeront wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel. "We do not agree that 'killer' is... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1833086 Fri, 26 Sep 2008 21:46:00 +0100 1833086 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1829057&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F09%2Fsuccinct-wisdom-against-court-imposed.html As I reported here at SHS, Compassion and Choices (formerly the Hemlock Society)--the leaders of which are all so supportive of respecting the political process about assisted suicide in Oregon--at the same time are attempting to trash the right of Montana to outlaw assisted suicide via its political processes by seeking a court decree that the law in the Big Sky State is unconstitutional--a tack that has failed previously in Florida and Alaska.I haven't seen all the briefs, but I do have one from the State of Montana, and it makes a cogent point about the debate beyond the court case. The brief notes that promoters of assisted suicide are long on emotion and ideology in their pursuit of state-sanction facilitated suicide, but short on facts. From its Reply Brief (no link, but can supply):... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1829057 Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:59:00 +0100 1829057 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1806153&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F09%2Fnew-attempt-to-impose-assisted-suicide.html Assisted suicide advocates are very directed. Kathryn Tucker, attorney for Compassion and Choices (formerly the Hemlock Society) tried and failed to obtain a U.S Supreme Court ruling creating a constitutional right to assisted suicide. That failed 9-0. Then, she tried in Florida, having a state constitutional right declared in the courts. That failed. Then, she tried in Alaska. That failed. Now, it is Montana with a court case coming next month. From the story: A lawsuit to help terminally ill patients with the right to assisted death will go before a Montana judge next month. The suit was filed in October 2007 on behalf of two terminally ill patients, one from Billings and another from Livingston. Both want the right to die with dignity... The complaint is based on rights guaranteed in t... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1806153 Thu, 18 Sep 2008 19:58:00 +0100 1806153 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1794302&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F09%2Frita-marker-tells-it-like-it-is-about.html Rita Marker is primarily responsible for dragging me kicking and screaming from pursuing Naderite endeavors to fighting against euthanasia and assisted suicide. I have worked with her closely for 15 years and have seen her dedication and intelligence first hand. If any single person can be credited, among the many able people who fight the death culture agenda, in materially slowing the spread of euthanasia/assisted suicide, it is Rita Marker.Rita probably knows more about assisted suicide/euthanasia than any other person on either side of the issue. Her depth of understanding is abundantly displayed in a very good piece in The American Thinker.about the Oregon law in the context of Washington's I-1000--dealing with issues studiously ignored by the MSM. She deals with the story of Oregon o... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1794302 Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:59:00 +0100 1794302 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1782532&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F09%2Fdefeated-australian-assisted-suicide.html An assisted suicide bill sponsored by Greens in Victoria, Australia was defeated handily in the Provincial Parliament. Good. I bring this up because the scope of who would qualify for mercy killing under the proposal was quite broad. From the story: The Medical Treatment (Physician-Assisted Dying) Bill would have enabled Victorians suffering "intolerably from a terminal or advanced incurable illness" to end their lives. An "incurable illness" could encompass many afflictions, whether paraplegia, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, HIV, etc. It could even be construed to apply to mental illness. That's not alarmist. The Swiss Supreme Court, as SHS readers will recall, has declared a constitutional right to assisted suicide for the terminally ill.Assisted suicide/euthanasia is not really about t... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1782532 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:59:00 +0100 1782532 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1749994&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F09%2Fobama-straddle-on-assisted-suicide.html As the election progresses, I will attempt to present the positions of the candidates on issues germane to human exceptionalism, assisted suicide, animal rights, health care rationing, in short, all of the grist we grind here at SHS.This morning, I did a quick search on Obama and assisted suicide and found this interview. It is a complete straddle, which is a disappointment given the import of the issue. In a March newspaper interview he was asked about assisted suicide. His answer from the interview:I am in favor of palliative medicine in circumstances where someone is terminally ill. ... I'm mindful of the legitimate interests of states to prevent a slide from palliative treatments into euthanasia. On the other hand, I think that the people of Oregon did a service for the country in reco... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1749994 Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:27:00 +0100 1749994 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1738956&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F08%2Fharsh-values-of-health-care-rationing.html The Oregonian is trying to defend the Oregon Medicaid rationing scheme and its offer to pay for the assisted suicides of patients for whom it denied life-extending chemotherapy. The idea behind the Oregon scheme was to expand coverage to people who were not the poorest of the poor, but at the cost of restricting treatment to certain patients. Politics came into the system early as late stage AIDS patients--who would have been opted out in the early iteration of the plan--were opted in because of the political clout of their community. But some cancer patients don't have such clout, so they are out of luck.From the editorial: The money Oregon can spend on health care is limited. Currently, 576,000 Oregonians have no health insurance coverage whatsoever. Many are people formerly on the Orego... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1738956 Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:00:00 +0100 1738956 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1729327&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F08%2Fhard-cold-awful-reality-of.html A story just published in the UK's Guardian is a diary account of the euthanasia death of Mieneke Weide-Boelkes, a woman with brain cancer, written by her son Marc Weide, who made it public. As such, and because it is so awful, it seemed to me that frank comment was warranted. I sent it off to First Things, and they put it up on the site.But I want to reproduce my comments here, too. The story of Weide-Boelkes' euthanasia amply demonstrates the abandonment that assisted suicide/euthanasia consciousness generates in society, within medicine, and among families. And it proves clearly that the "protective guidelines" are utterly meaningless. It also demonstrates that once mercy killing is sanctioned, families become almost remote bystanders.To cases: One of the supposed requirements of Dutch ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1729327 Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:59:00 +0100 1729327 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1723360&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F08%2Fi-1000-propganda-clearly-untrue.html Pro assisted suicide advocates are expert spin artists who specialize in ignoring the forest for the trees. But this bit of cow manure is so obviously false that if the media weren't generally totally in the tank, the campaign would become a laughing stock. From "The Oregon Experience" on the Yes on 1-000 Web site:The poor, disabled or minority populations were not adversely impacted in any manner because all of the patients who chose the option had health care coverage.Oh really? Better tell that to Oregon lung cancer patient Barbara Wagner, who was told by Oregon Medicaid that it would not pay for chemotherapy to extend her life, but would pay for her assisted suicide. The same thing happened to Randy Stroup when he wanted chemo for his recurrent prostate cancer.If refusing to pay for tr... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1723360 Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:20:00 +0100 1723360 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1696050&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F08%2Fmarriage-that-might-never-have-happened.html This is the story of a marriage and the strength of human love--the kind of a happy tale that might never happen in a euthanasia culture. From the story:The bride wore an ivory gown, the groom wore a black tux with an ascot to cover the trachea tube that assists his breathing. Joan's son Joel walked her down the aisle; Dickie's son, Bryce, was the best man. Joan's daughter, Sarah, was the bridesmaid. She and the best man lit the unity candles. The rings were put on Joan and Dickie's hands by Joan's six-year-old grandson, Brandon. The recessional was "My Heart Will Go On."The groom has ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease in the USA, motor neurone disease elsewhere)--and has had for 19 years. But disability was no impediment to true love. May the happy couple have many years together.Dickie and his br... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1696050 Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:46:00 +0100 1696050 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1692086&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F08%2Fmsm-finally-discovers.html I think the stories of patients being refused life-extending chemotherapy by Oregon's Medicaid--but offered assisted suicide instead--will materially impact the I-1000 legalization effort in Washington. First, this kind of heartlessness was predicted by opponents. Second, the old myth that Oregon has operated without abuses is now shattered. Third, unlike other Oregon abuses, the MSM is actually reporting the story--like an extended report on ABC News. From the story: The health plan takes "no position" on the physician-assisted suicide law, according to spokesman Jim Sellers. The terminally ill who qualify can receive pain medication, comfort and hospice care, "no matter what the cost," he said. But Sellers acknowledged the letter to Wagner was a public relations blunder and something the... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1692086 Fri, 08 Aug 2008 23:51:00 +0100 1692086 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1676919&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F08%2Fnihilism-of-assisted-suicide-and-i-1000.html Washington State columnist Angie Vogt has written a good piece that pierces the dark heart of assisted suicide advocacy to reveal what lies beneath the paeans to compassion and choice. From her column, "Assisted Suicide is a Dying Movement:" Nihilism: A philosophy that argues that life has no objective meaning or purpose, that no action is any more moral or immoral than another action.Years ago, I participated in a think tank discussion about various philosophies of life. One scholar in my group made the case that the philosophy of life embraced by a society will determine its level of happiness and its ability to prosper, more than any other factor, such as a society's economic system, legal structure, etc.He humorously suggested that the best way to defeat a war enemy is to parachute som... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1676919 Sat, 02 Aug 2008 18:00:00 +0100 1676919 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1674785&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F08%2Fswiss-assisted-suicide-group-apparently.html Once one accepts the premise that suicide is an acceptable answer to the problems of human suffering and ennui, there are no boundaries that will hold for long. Example: EXIT is apparently getting ready to assist the suicides of elderly people who are tired of living--announced by an assisted suicide listserve:'TIRED OF OLD AGE' IS A CONSIDERATION The annual conference and general membership meeting of the highly respected Swiss-German EXIT organisation (50,000members, who all must be residents of Switzerland) at this years meeting in Zurich 26 April 2008, adopted with overwhelming majority a resolution which requires the organisation at its 2009 meeting, to take a vote on whether their statutes shall be amended to add "being tired of old-age" to the prevailing EXIT eligibility criteria fo... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1674785 Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:57:00 +0100 1674785 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1664093&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F07%2Fanother-assisted-suicide-abuse-in.html First, I predicted it in Forced Exit. Then, it happened. And now, it has happened again: An very ill Oregon man has been denied treatment under Medicaid in Oregon to fight his prostate cancer--but has been told that the state will happily pay for his assisted suicide. From the story:Since the spread of his prostate cancer, 53-year-old Randy Stroup of Dexter, Ore., has been in a fight for his life. Uninsured and unable to pay for expensive chemotherapy, he applied to Oregon's state-run health plan for help.Lane Individual Practice Association (LIPA), which administers the Oregon Health Plan in Lane County, responded to Stroup's request with a letter saying the state would not cover Stroup's pricey treatment, but would pay for the cost of physician-assisted suicide. "It dropped my chin to th... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1664093 Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:51:00 +0100 1664093 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1640202&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F07%2Fverbal-gruel-from-ethics-director-of.html Regular readers of SHS will (I hope) recall the comment I made the other day about an article in the Journal of Pediatric Nursing that was so neutral on infanticide, it seemed to me to be greasing the skids toward moving policy toward professional permissability. In that entry, I said in part:Terminal Non Judgmentalism Alert: An important professional journal aimed at pediatric nurses has discussed killing sick and profoundly disabled patients with studied neutrality.This is precisely how the Culture of Death permeates our society. A bioethical practice once almost universally condemned is promoted at the fringes. The initial response is resistance. But soon, the non judgmentalism arrives, usually in professional journals and among "progressive" pundits, asserting that these issues are "co... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1640202 Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:42:00 +0100 1640202 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1639002&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F07%2Fof-course-it-is-true-story-of-assisted.html The purveyors of popular culture never tire of pushing the euthanasia/assisted suicide agenda. We see it in movies, often made from pro-assisted suicide books, e.g., Million Dollar Baby, The Sea Within, One True Thing. Many of the top television dramas have had pro-assisted suicide themes, sometimes more than once, e.g. ER, Law and Order, Star Trek Voyager.Then there was the fawning made-for-TV-movie made from Ruth Klooster's side of the story about the legal contest that ensued with her son Chip when he prevented her from taking her husband Gerald--who had Alzheimer's disease--to Jack Kevorkian. Chip, for whom I was a spokesperson, was rewarded for saving his father's life by being excoriated in press for "kidnapping" his father and for "imposing" his religious beliefs on his family. The ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1639002 Sat, 19 Jul 2008 17:32:00 +0100 1639002 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1630919&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F07%2Fgp-gives-suicidal-patient-drugs-for.html A GP in the UK is accused of prescribing a suicidal elderly patient an overdose knowing that she wanted to die so as to not be a burden on her family. He's in the soup. From the story:Dr Iain Kerr appeared before a General Medical Council (GMC) hearing in Manchester accused of prescribing sodium amytal sleeping tablets to the 87-year-old, known as Patient A, against official guidance. She later died of an overdose of three other drugs, including a dose of temazepam which the hearing was told he also gave her.The woman had talked of taking her own life so as not to be a burden on her family, the GMC heard.I am glad the authorities are pursuing the case, but if we pass assisted suicide legalization bills, I don't see how this very scenario can long be resisted generally. After all, if we hav... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1630919 Wed, 16 Jul 2008 22:09:00 +0100 1630919 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1596263&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F07%2Fmedia-credit-where-it-is-due-ap-calls.html Word engineering has always been intrinsic to the euthanasia movement. Always. Indeed, today mercy killing and euthanasia are synonyms thanks to the euthanasia movement of the late 19th Century. Before that, the term "good death" meant dying peacefully (and naturally) in a state of grace.These days the word engineering by assisted suicide proponents seeks to make it so that terminally ill people can't really commit suicide, at least if the death is caused by an overdose--and besides, the term is soooo judgmental that people might reject the agenda. So, they have spent much effort courting the media to have the term changed in news stories to the gooey euphemism, "aid in dying."But apparently the Associated Press didn't bite. From a media blog in The Olympian: The debate, I'm told, went to ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1596263 Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:57:00 +0100 1596263 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1560614&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F07%2Fassisted-suicide-adcocate-shows-ugly.html Now Germany is surprised at the crassness of assisted suicide advocates. A German official assisted the suicide of an elderly woman--and a la Kevorkian, filmed it and then showed it on television. From the story:As nuanced as that debate may be, though, the death of Bettina S., many are saying on Tuesday, crossed a clear line. The former X-ray technician, who never married and has no children, says in the video that one of her motivations to kill herself was that she was afraid of ending up alone in a nursing home. According to reports on Tuesday, she had also contacted the Swiss assisted suicide organization Dignitas before getting in touch with Kusch.What clear line? There is no clear line! Media continue to refuse to open their eyes! Assisted suicide is not about terminal illness. That'... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1560614 Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:48:00 +0100 1560614 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1518625&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F06%2Fpressuring-media-to-be-assisted-suicide.html Assisted suicide advocates pushing Washington's I 1000 are resorting to coercion to pressure the media into using their advocacy phrases when describing the pro-assisted suicide initiative. From the Eye on Olympia blog :I-1000 proponents have been pressing news organizations not to use the words "assisted suicide" to describe the initiative. (I-1000 would allow mentally-competent, terminally ill people who wanted it to be prescribed lethal medication.) I was told yesterday by a campaign official, for example, that supporters in Oregon--the only state to have such a law so far-- would refuse to speak with me if I included the word "suicide" in my story...The measures proponents say that the word "suicide" is hurtful to relatives and friends. Also, they say, a terminally ill person, by defin... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1518625 Sat, 14 Jun 2008 01:17:00 +0100 1518625 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1502456&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F06%2Fdebbie-purdy-next-assisted-suicide.html I was contacted over the weekend by the BBC. A radio program was dealing with the lawsuit being brought by Debbie Purdy to allow her assisted suicide. Purdy has MS and wants her husband to be able to take her to Switzerland for assisted suicide. But since he is not a citizen, she fears there could be legal ramifications for him after her death. So, she seeks a court order to prevent prosecution.The BBC wanted me to explain the legal ramifications that could befall her husband. I said I could not explain those because I am an American lawyer, not one from the UK. But noting that Purdy has the very disease as my good pal and anti assisted suicide activist Mark Pickup, I suggested they contact him to be part of the program--as somebody who is and has been where Purdy is physically--who could ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1502456 Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:00:00 +0100 1502456 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1494224&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F06%2Fsuicide-problem-in-oregon-ignoring.html When a story about worrying suicide rates in Oregon crossed my computer, I bet myself that the expert being interviewed and the reporter would ignore the obvious: Oregon officially sanctions some suicides and calls them "choice" if the suicidal person has a terminal illness--even if he or she is not experiencing significant symptoms--and moreover, permits doctors to intentionally assist in the self destruction. Needless to say, I was right. From the story: Suicide is one of our more enduring public health problems. Because it accounts for only 1.3 percent of deaths, it still is often looked on as a rare problem. But there were nearly 33,000 suicides in 2005. More people kill themselves than are killed by others.What about in Oregon? Oregon ranks in the top 10 states for rate of suicide, an... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1494224 Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:58:00 +0100 1494224 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1491955&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F06%2Fcovering-cost-of-assisted-suicide-but.html We have been warning for years that this was a possibility in Oregon. Medicaid is rationed, meaning that some treatments are not covered. But assisted suicide is always covered. And now, Barbara Wagner was faced with that very scenario. From the story: Last month, she found out that her lung cancer, which had been in remission for about two years, had come back. After her oncologist prescribed a cancer drug that could slow the cancer growth and extend her life, Wagner was notified that the Oregon Health Plan wouldn't cover the treatment, but that it would cover palliative, or comfort, care, including, if she chose, doctor-assisted suicide.No thanks to the bureaucrats in Oregon--but rather, thanks to an evil drug company--she will receive the treatment after all: Then, on Monday morning, a ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1491955 Tue, 03 Jun 2008 21:46:00 +0100 1491955 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1488068&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F06%2Fwashington-state-initiative-i-1000.html By Alex SchadenbergThe initiative to legalize assisted suicide in Washington State appears to be gaining ground.The Death With Dignity I-1000 campaign to legalize assisted suicide in Washington State has effectively raised one million dollars. They have organizations such as the leading assisted suicide lobby group - Compassion & Choices, working to raise more money on a national basis and they have the former governor of Washington State, Booth Gardner, as a lead campaigner.Every American who opposes assisted suicide, whether they be disability rights activists, palliative care professionals, pro-life supporters or any person in general, needs to join the campaign to oppose I-1000.Initiative I-1000 supporters are currently collecting signatures throughout the State of Washington. Due ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1488068 Mon, 02 Jun 2008 16:12:00 +0100 1488068 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1451704&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F05%2Fpatti-berg-calling-it-as-it-isnt.html For years, California Assemblywoman Patti Berg (D- Mill Valley) has resorted to every conceivable maneuver she could think of to pass an assisted suicide bill through the California Legislature. She failed. So now, she is trying a different approach: Under the guise of requiring doctors to disclose "information" about "options" available to the "terminally ill," with AB 2747, which I wrote about here (before amendments) and here, she is undermining proper understandings of legitimate medical treatments such as palliative sedation, and attempting to turn it into a form of death on demand.She's having trouble with this one too and in response, has now penned an "I'm so courageous and my opponents are just death-denying squeamish nervous Nellies who can't handle the truth," kind of column. Sh... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1451704 Sun, 18 May 2008 22:23:00 +0100 1451704 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1445877&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F05%2Fassisted-suicide-and-corruption-of.html I have a piece up on today's First Things daily about assisted suicide and how it corrupts palliative care. From my column: For the past two decades, euthanasia/assisted-suicide ideologues have worked overtime to conflate palliative care--the medical alleviation of pain and other distressing symptoms of serious illness--with intentionally ending the life of the patient. The movement’s first target was the hospice, a specialized form of care for the dying created forty years ago in the United Kingdom by the late, great medical humanitarian Dame Cicely Saunders. Determined to treat what she called the "total pain" of dying patients, Saunders' great innovation was to bring a multidisciplinary team to the task of ensuring that their physical pain, existential suffering, spiritual needs, and ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1445877 Thu, 15 May 2008 15:19:00 +0100 1445877 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1442694&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F05%2Foregon-guidelines-that-do-not-protect.html We keep hearing that the Oregon law is working without a flaw. The media touts that party line in almost every story about the issue. Of course to do that, contrary information has to be ignored. For example, the Michael Freeland case (reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry) in which a man became psychotic after being prescribed a lethal brew--even though his cancer had probably not reached the terminal stage--but was allowed by his own psychiatrist to keep the prescription "safely at home." Such as the recent study demonstrating that people without serious symptoms of their disease are given lethal prescriptions by doctors anyway.And here's another media-ignored study, published in the Michigan Law Review by two of the most notable physician experts on this issue in the country, p... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1442694 Wed, 14 May 2008 15:21:00 +0100 1442694 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1439452&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F05%2Fugly-face-of-assisted-suicide.html There is a column in The Gurdian that illustrates vividly the ugly reality of assisted suicide. The writer Jon Ronson followed some suicide facilitators around, and found that their "compassion" leaves much to be desired. For example, Susan (a pseudonym), is trained by the euthanasia fanatic George Exoo to assist suicides and travels the world facilitating death. From the column:Susan flew to New Zealand to help a depressed, non-terminally ill woman she had met on the internet commit suicide. The woman had previously asked a mainstream right-to-die group called Dignity NZ to help her, but they had refused."I was of the impression that she needed assistance in living rather than advice on how to end her life," Dignity NZ's founder, Lesley Martin, later explained to me in an email. She added... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1439452 Tue, 13 May 2008 00:22:00 +0100 1439452 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1420355&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F05%2Foregon-assisted-suicide-not-about.html When assisted suicide advocates try to sell the public on assisted suicide, they usually describe an eminently dying patient whose suffering cannot be palliated. But once it passes, we soon see that assisted suicide is used by people who have serious fears and concerns, but not untreatable pain.This is certainly the pattern in Oregon. The Oregon state-published statistics are virtually useless as far as I am concerned, being primarily based on death doctor self reporting, many of whom have a close relationship with the assisted suicide advocacy group Compassion and Choices (formerly Hemlock Society), and the records are destroyed by the state so there can be no independent audit. But I think the reasons cited by patients for wanting a lethal prescription are probably accurate--particularly... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1420355 Mon, 05 May 2008 16:32:00 +0100 1420355 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1385670&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F04%2Fassisted-suicide-ideologues-pour-in-for.html Washington's Initiative 1000 to legalize assisted suicide is rolling in dough, thanks to Booth Gardner and the professional assisted suicide groups, who in turn, get much of their money from the likes of George Soros. Here is a breakdown of about $550,000 in campaign donations based on filed public records:Compassion & Choices Action Network--$50,000Compassion and Choices of Washington--$65,000Death with Dignity National Center--$21,870Euthanasia Research & Guidance Org--$3500Booth Gardner--$200,000Oregon Death with Dignity PAC- $200,000That ain't hay. And Booth Gardner had the temerity to whine about campaign spending worries.HT: Rita Marker (Source: Secondhand Smoke) Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1385670 Sat, 19 Apr 2008 22:46:00 +0100 1385670 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1353868&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F04%2Fhillary-clintonesque-support-of-oregons.html I was speaking in beautiful Eugene, Oregon yesterday--and so was Hillary Clinton. (For some reason she made the front page of the Register Guard instead of me.) During the Q and A session, she was asked about Oregon's assisted suicide law and gave quite the Clintonesque support for transforming suicide into a medical treatment. From the story:Q: What's your attitude toward Oregon's assisted suicide law?A: I believe it's within the province of the states to make that decision. I commend Oregon on this count, as well, because whether I agree with it or not or think it's a good idea or not, the fact that Oregon is breaking new ground and providing valuable information as to what does and doesn't work when it comes to end-of-life questions, I think, is very beneficial.Whether she agrees with i... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1353868 Sun, 06 Apr 2008 16:25:00 +0100 1353868 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1337862&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F03%2Flanguage-enginieering-joel-connelly.html The Seattle PI columnist Joel Connelly is a refreshing exception to much of the media that continue to see assisted suicide as a modernistic "choice" issue rather than one founded in abandonment and inequality. He has a column today (for which I was interviewed) properly critical of the word engineering in which the "Death with Dignity" crowd engages to persuade people that hemlock is really honey. From his column:If you are campaigning for the "right" of people to kill themselves, the first challenge is finding a nonlethal definition: Soft, reassuring terms must be substituted for the off-putting phrase "assisted suicide."...Apparently Gardner and political consultants advising him never met Derek Humphrey, plain-spoken co-founder of the Hemlock Society."As the author of four books on the... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1337862 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:25:00 +0100 1337862 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1320510&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F03%2Fbooth-gardners-disengenuous-fundraising.html Yes, I know that political fund raising letters are well known for hyperbole and stretching the truth. And Booth Gardner's 4-page letter (no link available) to raise money for "I-1000" the assisted suicide initiative, is of a kind. Space doesn't permit a full deconstruction, but here is just a sampling of the manure Gardner shovels: He writes:When we or a loved one are experiencing unbearable suffering--past the point where there is hope for recovery--there is a grace inside our humanity that is capable of saying, "It's time."Well, yes. A time comes to allow nature to take its course. But the idea that assisted suicide is about "unbearable suffering" just isn't true. Even the useless annual report from Oregon makes it very clear that most people asking for a lethal prescription are not in ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1320510 Sat, 22 Mar 2008 02:12:00 +0100 1320510 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1280662&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F03%2Fliberals-righteous-critque-of-assisted.html The media like to portray opponents of assisted suicide as almost all conservative, religious, and pro life on abortion. That has never been true. Medical professional organizations--which are secular and support abortion rights--have always opposed legalization. Disability rights activists are, in my view, the most effective opponents of assisted suicide, and they are overwhelmingly secular in outlook, liberal politically, and not pro life about abortion.The media's myopia about this may explain why Liberalism's Troubled Search for Equality, a recent book authored by Robert P. Jones of the Center for American Progress (People for the American Way)--a proud liberal progressive--did not receive much more attention. Jones castigates assisted suicide as decidedly anti equality. From my review... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1280662 Wed, 05 Mar 2008 18:21:00 +0100 1280662 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1277725&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F03%2Foregon-assisted-suicides-without.html Here are some more important points in the newly released study, which I discussed more extensively here, that I think deserve special note. It turns out doctors have written lethal prescriptions for patients who weren't yet suffering serious symptoms of their disease: No physical symptoms experienced at the time of the request were rated higher than 2 on the 1–5 scale. In most cases, future concerns about physical symptoms were rated as more important than physical symptoms present at the time of the request.Also, I have charged that the Hemlock Society (now called the euphemistic Compassion and Choices) is really in charge of assisted suicide in Oregon, noting for example that it publishes its own statistics. The study authors used the organization to find their interviewees, which con... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1277725 Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:03:00 +0100 1277725 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1277726&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F03%2Fabandonment-of-assisted-suicide.html Assisted suicide advocates, when they are not striving to word engineer through use of the gooey euphemism "physician assisted death (PAD)"--which, alas, has been picked up by some professional journal authors--use scare tactics about unrelievable pain to sell the agenda. Well a new study has come out about what family members of those who died by assisted suicide in Oregon say the reasons were for their loved ones' hastening their deaths. As previous studies have shown, it has very little to do with pain and almost everything to do with fear about future suffering. From the study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine 23(2):154–7 (no link):Family members describe loved ones who pursue PAD as individuals for whom being independent and in control is important, who anticipate the nega... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1277726 Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:08:00 +0100 1277726 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1198647&cid=t_164022_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F02%2Fshock-not-assisted-suicide-for.html The media in Australia and New Zealand are shocked that Philip Nitschke--the Down Under Jack Kevorkian--would help a woman commit suicide who wasn't terminally ill. What amazes me is that they are seemingly surprised. He's done it before in the Nancy Crick case, in which he admitted both that he and Crick knew she wasn't terminally ill when he counseled her to commit suicide and that he and she had lied to the media before the event claiming she was dying in order to gain sympathetic coverage. From the current story: Australian euthanasia advocate Philip Nitschke has been accused of advising a depressed woman who took her own life about smuggling lethal drugs from Mexico. The Sunday Star-Times reported that the 68-year-old woman, who was not terminally ill, killed herself in 2006 with drug... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1198647 Sun, 03 Feb 2008 21:27:00 +0100 1198647 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1146956&cid=t_164022_129_f&fid=36038&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.healthtalk.com%2Fmultiple-sclerosis%2Flife-with-ms%2Fthe-loss-of-a-beloved-pet-makes-me-wish-for-euthanasia-even-more%2F I’ve written about my dear soft coated Irish Wheaten Terrier in these pages more than many might like. I’ve also told bits and bobs about her new sister (by marriage) Stella. There have been stories of our time together in Ireland, on the strand (yes, I did mean to spell it that way, it’s another way to say beach) here in Seattle and in Florida. Pets really do change our lives. It’s been proven that stroking a pet for as little as 15 minutes a day can lower blood pressure. Pet owners have longer lives and any of us with the little furry (or maybe even the scaly variety, I suppose) will surely attest to an improved quality of life. Well, I had to say goodbye to an old fur ball this week and my heart hurts for it. My former wife called me this weekend to tell me that the half Ragdoll... Life with MS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1146956 Fri, 11 Jan 2008 19:37:27 +0100 1146956