“Dutch Doctors Use ‘Deep Sedation’ to Hide Assisted Suicides”
Here is a link to a good piece by Dr. Peter Saunders addressing this issue. http://www.lifenews.com/2012/07/11/dutch-doctors-use-deep-sedation-to-hide-assisted-suicides/ The use of “terminal sedation” to advance the euthanasia movement is worth careful attention. The use of “deep sedation” or “terminal sedation” needs to be distinguished from a legitimate technique–the use of sedation for symptom relief (so-called “palliative sedation”). There is a careful treatment of […]
dangerous developments with regard to the Swiss law on assisted suicide
Here is a link to a good post by Wesley Smith noting that the Swiss law allowing assisted suicide is being extended to an increasingly larger number of “target groups.” Here’s the opening of the post: “Once a society accepts the fundamental premises of assisted suicide–e.g., radical individualism and killing as an acceptable answer to suffering–there really are […]
Canadian decision invalidating a ban on assisted suicide
Here is a LifeNews.com story about a decision from the British Columbia Supreme Court holding a ban on assisted suicide unconstitutional. http://www.lifenews.com/2012/06/15/canadas-assisted-suicide-ban-struck-down-in-court/ Here’s critical commentary from Wesley Smith. http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/secondhandsmoke/2012/06/15/bc-judge-creates-right-to-suicide/ Richard M.
Georgia bans assisted suicide
Georgia has now banned assisted suicide. http://www.lifenews.com/2012/05/01/georgia-bans-assisted-suicide-after-final-exit-network-flouted-law/ Georgia’s law banning advertising for assisted suicide had been held unconstitutional by the Georgia Supreme Court on First Amendment grounds. This new law bans the practice of assisted suicide, and according to the Lifenews article, makes Georgia the 39th state with such a criminal prohibition. Richard M.
disability rights group opposes assisted suicide law in Massachusetts
Here is a link to a post by Wesley Smith discussing the efforts of disability rights organizations to oppose the assisted suicide initiative in Massachusetts. Smith notes: “Media like to portray assisted suicide opponents as primarily religious or pro life. But the facts don’t fit that supposed story. Disability rights advocates–who are mostly politically liberal […]
Wesley Smith’s commentary on UK assisted suicide report
Here is a link to Wesley Smith’s insighful commentary on the recently issued report in the UK from the Commission on Assisted Dying. http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/secondhandsmoke/2012/01/04/uk-pro-assisted-suicide-report-pushes-a-pentimento/ Smith concludes that this report is further evidence that England “is undergoing a tragic slow motion moral collapse.” Richard M.
Dutch proposal to expand meaning of “unbearable suffering”
Here is a link to a post on Wesley Smith’s blog about a position paper from the Dutch Physician’s Association seeking to expand the factors to be considered in assessing whether a patient’s suffering is “unbearable,” thus making the patient eligible for assisted suicide. According to the article to which Smith refers–“Until now, factors such as income […]
PAS and the Werther Effect: How one suicide leads to others
Legalized PAS and the Werther Effect Evidence suggests that legalized PAS will result in a greater number of suicides more generally (and not simply amongst the population who opt for legalized PAS). We will have great difficulty, on the one hand, giving our and medicine’s approval to suicide as the solution to complex problems at […]
Assisted Suicide – A New Campaign in Canada
The issue of assisted suicide seemed to have been settled in Canada in 1993 by the Supreme Court decision in the case of Sue Rodriguez. In a five to four decision the Court ruled that the state’s obligation to protect the vulnerable outweighed the rights of individuals to self-determination. Now two new cases, one from British Columbia […]
New student law review article on “Death Tourism”
SSRN has a new student article, Exploring the Potential for American Death Tourism. The author discusses the availability of physician assisted suicide in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg, and the possibility that American citizens will travel to these countries to die. He evaluates the enforcement and efficacy of foreign laws prohibiting travel for purposes […]