Ira Byock, director of palliative care at Dartmouth, has spoken out again against assisted suicide in Massachusetts (http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2012/10/paliiative-care-assisted-suicide#more-23626). In a guest post on CommonHealth, the health blog of Boston radio station WBUR, he writes: We’ll still require terminally ill patients to give up treatment for their disease … [Read more...] about “It will quite literally be easier to get a lethal prescription in Massachusetts than to have hospice care through the end of your life.”
Out of State/General
Doctor: the top three reasons terminally ill patients choose to end their lives are all symptoms of clinical depression that leads to suicide, and all can be treated.
The article below, from the Lynn, Massachusetts newspaper, The Daily Item, is interesting for its reporting on a physician's insight that the top three reasons the Oregon reports say people request assistance in suicide--"loss of control, loss of enjoyment and feeling like a burden to others"--are all symptoms of treatable depression. It is also good to read that minds are … [Read more...] about Doctor: the top three reasons terminally ill patients choose to end their lives are all symptoms of clinical depression that leads to suicide, and all can be treated.
Lahey Clinic Medical Ethics Lecture Series: The Arguments Against Question 2
The remarks below are directed to Question 2, a ballot measure that would legalize assisted suicide in Vermont's neighoring state of Massachusetts and are meant to explain the opposition of the Massachusetts Medical Society to that measure. The Vermont Medical Society and the American Medical association also are on record in opposition to assisted suicide. Dr. Aghababian … [Read more...] about Lahey Clinic Medical Ethics Lecture Series: The Arguments Against Question 2
Jack Kevorkian Comes to Town
Thanks to Linda Ann Wheeler and Patricia Doherty for their Facebook posting about an excellent article opposing assisted suicide by Boston Globe columnist Tom Keane. Originally published in the Globe on Auguest 26, it can be read online at http://articles.boston.com/2012-08-26/opinion/33383823_1_suicide-jack-kevorkian-terminal-illness. The title is appropriate. Though … [Read more...] about Jack Kevorkian Comes to Town
Irony: Washington Governor, Assisted Suicide Supporter, Tries to Force Death Row Inmate to Accept Unwanted Clemency
Wesley Smith wrote in First Things last week about the irony of the governor of Washington’s going to court in an unsuccessful effort to force a convicted murderer on death row to accept his offer of clemency. The governor is a big supporter of Washington’s assisted suicide law … [Read more...] about Irony: Washington Governor, Assisted Suicide Supporter, Tries to Force Death Row Inmate to Accept Unwanted Clemency