The dumbest appeal people make for legalizing assisted suicide is that we put animals down when they are suffering. This constantly comes up in the comments to online articles, and we have also heard it in testimony from people who should know better. Some people do put their pets down out of compassion, but many are euthanized purely for reasons of convenience. As pet … [Read more...] about A Culture of Euthanasia/Assisted Suicide Means Deaths for Convenience, Not Compassion
Choice Becomes "Duty" to Die
To Be Honest, Compassion and Choices Should Remove “Choices” from Its Name
There was good news in Canada this week. A court ruled that a woman with dementia’s acceptance of spoon feeding in a nursing home indicates a current desire for nourishment that overrides her advance directive's statement that such feeding not be provided. This is a victory for the right to change one’s mind, even if disabled. Compassion and Choices, the leading national … [Read more...] about To Be Honest, Compassion and Choices Should Remove “Choices” from Its Name
Our Tax Dollars at Work: Prettifying Suicide and Ignoring the Vulnerable
The Vermont Senate Health and Welfare Committee heard testimony on Wednesday on Act 39. The two questions being examined: “Is Act 39 working?” and “Should the sunset provisions in Act 39 be repealed?” Testimony was heard from a dozen people, nearly all of whom acknowledged that there are problems with the law, including the lack of documentation required, and the scarcity of … [Read more...] about Our Tax Dollars at Work: Prettifying Suicide and Ignoring the Vulnerable
So Now Suicide of the Dying is “a Gift” to Their Families
People Magazine has published an article about a man who writes that his wife's last week was so traumatic to him that he believes Brittany Maynard gave her husband "a gift" by committing suicide. We wouldn't dream of linking to this sick justification of selfishness. The article is clear evidence of how far down the slippery slope our society has already slid, even in the … [Read more...] about So Now Suicide of the Dying is “a Gift” to Their Families
Ezekiel Emanuel’s Latest Rant
Ezekiel Emanuel has spent his life building an impressive resume and now, at age 56, he wants the world to know that by 75 he plans to stop working so hard. In fact, he says that if he is still alive at 75, his master plan is to “stop all medical treatment” with the goal of avoiding such horrors of old age as frailty and forgetfulness. Emanuel told Judy Woodruff on PBS News … [Read more...] about Ezekiel Emanuel’s Latest Rant