Around one in five patients who choose euthanasia in the Netherlands acts under pressure from family members, according to a leading expert on the ethics of assisted dying, as reported last week in Dutch News: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2015/07/pressure-on-patients-is-cause-for-concern-euthanasia-expert/ According to the report, Professor Theo Boer, who teaches … [Read more...] about From the Netherlands to Vermont: Patients Under Pressure to Die
Personal Stories
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 and “Should the sunset provisions in Act 39 be repealed?”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
Thirty-Two Year Old Terminally Ill Cancer Patient, Once Suicidal Himself, Dedicates His Last Days to Suicide Prevention
On the heels of seemingly relentless media hype over a propaganda piece circulating from the pro-assisted-suicide group Compassion and Choices (formerly the Hemlock Society), USA Today has published a story about the rise in suicides in the United States and the appalling lack of a unified effort to stop it. We objected strongly to the exploitation by Compassion and Choices … [Read more...] about Thirty-Two Year Old Terminally Ill Cancer Patient, Once Suicidal Himself, Dedicates His Last Days to Suicide Prevention
Hospice Does Not Equal Good Pain Relief (And Other Thoughts)
On Friday, January 11, 2013, the New York Times ran a wonderful story about a nurse who spent the last weeks of her life teaching student nurses about dying, answering their questions and letting them both observe and care for her until nine days before she died of pancreatic cancer. The article, which can be read at … [Read more...] about Hospice Does Not Equal Good Pain Relief (And Other Thoughts)
Legal Assisted Suicide Threatens Pharmacists as well as Physicians
A pharmacist friend of ours tells us that he once filled a prescription that was used to commit suicide, though it was prescribed for another purpose. He says he continues to be haunted by the fact that he provided the means for another person's death. This story illustrates two facts. The first is that it isn't very hard to commit suicide using commonly prescribed … [Read more...] about Legal Assisted Suicide Threatens Pharmacists as well as Physicians