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Assisted suicide Death and dying Euthanasia

Website opposing Physician-Assisted Suicide

Massachusetts Citizens for Life provide links to a new website with thoughtful commentary on physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia, “Choice” is an Illusion. The site is run by an elder law attorney, and her practical experience in the area shows. Another good website on euthanasia is the Nightingale Alliance and Wesley Smith’s blog, Secondhand Smoke, often […]

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Advance directives Assisted suicide Death and dying Euthanasia

Physicians’ Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatments

For those interested in end-of-life issues and euthanasia, Christian Brugger has an important new post on the Culture of Life blog regarding Physicians’ Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatments. His post is entitled “Legalizing Euthanasia by Omission – And Making It a Doctor’s Order .” Dr. Brugger identifies the primary issue surrounding such documents as: “POLST-type legislation […]

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Assisted suicide Canada Constitutionality Death and dying Euthanasia

Two Canadian Challenges to Assisted Suicide Prohibition

The Farewell Foundation for the Right to Die has filed suit challenging the Registrar of Corporations denial of the organization’s application to incorporate. The Registrar denied the application on the basis that organizing to assist those who seek to commit suicide is not a legally permissible purpose. The petition in the law suit is available […]

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Assisted suicide Australia Chronic pain Court Cases Death and dying Euthanasia Suicide

Prosecutors’ Role in Assisted Suicide

SSRN has posted a new article, Justins v. the Queen: Assisted Suicide, Juries and the Discretion to Prosecute examining an Australian case and arguing that prosecutors should very rarely charge defendants in cases of assisted suicide. The author notes that the British Crown Prosecution Service has developed guidelines for prosecutors regarding such charges. The guidelines […]

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Assisted suicide Death and dying Euthanasia Population Control

Brooks misses the real problem

Thanks to Richard for posting the links to Wesley Smith and Ryan Anderson’s reactions to David Brooks. Independent of Brooks’ endorsement of abandoning our efforts to extend human life (something more easily embraced from an American armchair than, say, an African AIDS hospital), Brooks misses the bigger issue for our budget. Most of our social […]

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Advance directives Assisted suicide Europe Euthanasia

Italy Moves Toward Euthanasia Ban

Michael Cook at Bioedge reports on Italian efforts to ban assisted suicide and euthanasia here. The legislation would also require provision of artificially administered food and hydration when needed.

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Assisted suicide Euthanasia Organ Donation

Wesley Smith on Organ Donation and Suicide

At the First Things blog Wesley Smith comments on a tragic story of a 12-year Indian girl who commited suicide to provide organs for her father and brother.

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Assisted suicide Europe Euthanasia International

“Abandoning the disabled to assisted suicide in the UK”

That is the title of a recent blog post by Wesley Smith. Here is the lead paragraph of the post– “The UK is falling off a vertical moral cliff on the assisted suicide issue.  It remains a crime.  But the Public Prosecutor of England and Wales has stated that if, after a complete investigation, it […]

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Advance directives Assisted suicide Death and dying Hospice Religious views

DNR’s, dementia, and assisted suicide

The Chicago Tribune has an opinion piece today entitled Do not resusictate . . . do not feel remorse. The author describes her mother’s last year of life, struggling with old age and dementia. The mother ultimately dies at home after the family refused to allow a feeding tube. The author also briefly considers how […]

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Assisted suicide Bioethics Euthanasia

Alzheimer’s and assisted suicide

Here is a link to an important story by Dave Andrusko who discusses a recent Time magazine op-ed by two researchers from the Hastings Center who argue that new tests that may make it possible to detect  Alzheimer’s before symptoms of dementia have developed should open up conversations about assisted suicide. Andrusko’s title (“Finding a Justification […]