Category Archives: News

Lord Falconer of Thornton yesterday published his latest draft Bill to have assisted suicide legalised in the UK.   He told the Times yesterday: “The position of the British Medical Association [on assisted suicide] was now neutral rather than opposed.”  The … Continue reading →

Canada’s top medical journal reignited the euthanasia debate this week with an editorial urging a national “therapeutic homicide” discussion in Canada. Doctors “who feel less adept at, and are less exposed to, care for the dying” are more likely to … Continue reading →

NHS hospitals are using end-of-life care to help elderly patients to die because they are difficult to look after and take up valuable beds, a top doctor has warned.  Professor Patrick Pullicino has claimed that doctors are using the Liverpool … Continue reading →

The survey, by the Office of National Statistics, found that half of families said hospital nurses did not always treat their dying family member with respect. It is the first time such a survey has been conducted and responses were … Continue reading →

A Texas man, 47-year-old Mark Kelly, is facing charges after the death of a woman who, investigators say, killed herself.  Kelly and his wife, Susan Dixon, were facing financial problems.  The couple bought  helium tanks at a party store.  Kelly … Continue reading →

Members of the Final Exit Network have been booked and released from custody in connection with the 2007 death of 57-year-old Doreen Dunn of Apple Valley, MN. Dunn had “intractable pain” after complications of a medical procedure in 1996. However, … Continue reading →

Let’s look at two of the biggest challenges to aspects of the law: 1) Suits brought by dozens of Catholic dioceses, schools and organizations that assert the health care law’s provision on contraception violates their religious freedom. 2) The legal … Continue reading →

First amendment: The bizarre ObamaCare decision leaves unresolved the separate issue of whether government can define what a church is and what it can do. Will the courts also redefine the “free exercise” of religion? So if the Supreme Court … Continue reading →

Professor Patrick Pullicino said doctors had turned the use of a controversial “death pathway” into the equivalent of euthanasia of the elderly.  NHS doctors are prematurely ending the lives of thousands of elderly hospital patients because they are difficult to … Continue reading →

Chief Justice Roberts wrote that Congress had the authority to adopt the mandate under its taxing power, but not under its commerce clause authority. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli cited the taxing power in the administration’s third backup argument.  The first … Continue reading →

Outside the U.S. Supreme Court building this morning, some of the circus atmosphere returned from the days in March when the Affordable Care Act cases were argued. ABA Journal “SCOTUS Notebook: A Minute-by-Minute Account from Inside the Courtroom” June 28, … Continue reading →

One person’s right can become another person’s obligation. When patients have the right to choose euthanasia, this sends an implicit message that some lives aren’t worth living. Frail elderly, handicapped, and cancer patients can easily perceive that society doesn’t want … Continue reading →

An issue that will likely come up in the U.S. health care reform debate has already raised its ugly head in our neighbors to the north. Advocates of this approach argue that medically assisted death is a patient’s right. It … Continue reading →

Final Exit Network (FEN) “medical director” Dr. Larry Egbert acknowledges he has authorized suicide assistance for individuals he had never met. CNN Video regarding Final Exit Network and interview with Dr. Larry Egbert June 23, 2012 View  

This campaign, led by lobby groups such as Dignity in Dying, has become so powerful that it has even elevated assisted suicide into a basic human right….Full legalisation of assisted suicide would open the way to a dark new world … Continue reading →

Doctors have reiterated their opposition to to assisted dying at the British Medical Association’s conference today. Campaigners wanted delegates to agree to take a neutral stance on the issue, but members of the BMA voted against this proposal….BMA outgoing chairman, … Continue reading →

The justices rejected two of the administration’s three arguments in support of the insurance requirement. But the court said the mandate can be construed as a tax. “Because the Constitution permits such a tax, it is not our role to … Continue reading →

The justices said that while Congress did overreach in part with the individual mandate — the requirement that most Americans buy health insurance or pay a fine — the provision is held constitutional as a tax. USA Today “Supreme Court … Continue reading →

During the recently adjourned legislative session, the Vermont Alliance for Ethical Healthcare played a very active role in the defeat of S. 103….We are committed to the enhancement of the already fine hospice and palliative care throughout the state; believing … Continue reading →

Removing the legal barrier to ending another’s life may ensure the self-dignity of those who wish to die, but may distress and remove the self-dignity of more people who wish to live. “Choosing when and how to die: Are we … Continue reading →

On June 17, 2012, the Swiss canton of Vaud voted in favour of a proposal obliging nursing homes and hospitals to accept the practice of assisted suicide in their facilities. “Vaud to get first Swiss assisted suicide law” Swiss News … Continue reading →

Regardless of one’s personal beliefs, it is incumbent on medical educators to consider the consequences of teaching euthanasia — of teaching an act intended to hasten death…. Whatever the views in this regard, it is nonetheless plausible that proponents of … Continue reading →

In the text of the healthcare law, it states that while the law prohibits “any recommendations to ration health care,” it does not prohibit slashing payments to physicians and other medical providers. Even supporters of the law agree that the … Continue reading →

Geoffrey Fieger is probably best known for defending assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian throughout the 1990s and for his own occasional forays into politics, including a run for governor as the Democratic nominee in 1998. Detroit News “Ex-law partner claims … Continue reading →

“I’m Albert Miley and I’m from Warminster, Pa. I want you to contact my attorney Geoffrey Fieger.” Columbus Dispatch “Death with dignity not an option for quarterback” June 6, 2012 View