Month: October 2017

The WMA and its national member medical associations, which include the Australian Medical Association, have strongly reiterated their long-standing opposition to physician assisted suicide and euthanasia on the basis that they constitute the unethical practice of medicine. The WMA calls on Australia’s Victorian Upper House to reject the Victorian Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill. The Association …

World Medical Association Reiterates Strong Opposition to Physician Assisted Suicide Read More »

The ink is barely dry on Canada’s expansive right to euthanasia and there is already much talk of expanding the killing to new categories–such as children. Now, after more than 600 sick people were put down in Quebec 2016-2017–if we are going to reduce medical ethics to veterinary standards, let’s use the proper lexicon–provincial leaders are talking …

Wesley Smith: Never Enough Euthanasia in Canada Read More »

In response to “New York’s aid-in-dying advocates look to 2018” [Opinion, Sept. 28], as the Court of Appeals noted, New Yorkers already may refuse to be hooked up to life-prolonging machines. Lethal drugs prescribed to cause death are a very different matter. The court also said, “The State pursues a legitimate purpose in guarding against …

State has a proper role in suicide cases Read More »

Physician-assisted suicides remains a topic of discussion for the South Dakota State Medical Association. The organization was asked to review its position on the subject, and with a new leader at the helm, he’s unsure how it will “shake out.” Robert Van Demark Jr., president of the association since June, made a stop in Mitchell …

South Dakota association to review physician-assisted suicide Read More »

Groups fighting to give terminally ill people the right to physician-assisted suicide in Maine are launching a petition drive to force a statewide referendum on the issue. The Bangor Daily News reports that Westport Island resident Valerie Lynn Lovelace is spearheading a push to enact the Maine Death with Dignity Act. The act would allow …

Backers push doctor-assisted suicide measure in Maine Read More »

Three years ago, Brittany Maynard’s viral video launched the issue of medically assisted suicide into the national spotlight. But while advocates have notched a few wins since then, they’ve also run up against some strong, bipartisan resistance. Two states — California and Colorado — have made it legal for doctors to prescribe life-ending medication to …

WashPo: Legalizing Assisted Suicide Has Stalled At Every Level Read More »

Rona’s concerns were well-founded. When they met, with just a few weeks to go before the deadline, she discovered Colin was poorly informed of the assistance available to him, including how something as simple as a mobility scooter might help. “I’m a girl that likes to get about town and a scooter basically gave me …

What’s it like to wake up the day after you planned to die? Read More »

I will never forget it. I answered the phone one June morning in 2009. The voice on the phone said, “If you want to see your mother alive, you will come see her in the next few days.” A doctor was calling from Washington state and explained that my mother, who was in her 60s, was …

7 Years Ago, Doctors Gave Mom Days To Live Read More »

We are lucky to live in the 21st Century. Curing and prevention of disease and prolongation of life are achievable. We look to medicine to save our lives and to live longer. The consequence, however, is that the community expects this, even demands this. And if it is not available they are terrified. What is …

Palliative Care: Breaking the golden thread Read More »

Last month, the New York state Court of Appeals dismissed a case filed by three terminally ill plaintiffs asking the court to declare a constitutional right to “aid in dying,” better known as assisted suicide. The judges wrote, “this Legislature … has concluded that an absolute ban on assisted suicide is the most reliable, effective, …

‘Right to die’ runs the risk of becoming a duty to society Read More »