MercatorNet | Euthanasia and Alzheimer's: Canada takes a step in the wrong direction MercatorNet The euthanasia machine has once again become activated, following the compassionate murder of a woman with advanced stage Alzheimer's. Although the details are not yet known, it appears that her exhausted spouse may have cracked. The despair ... |
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Euthanasia and Alzheimer's: Canada takes a step in the wrong direction - MercatorNet
Choice is an Illusion President Margaret Dore States Hawaii Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia Act Must Be Rejected
HONOLULU, Feb. 27, 2017 -- Attorney Margaret Dore, president of Choice is an Illusion, which is fighting assisted suicide and euthanasia legalization efforts throughout the United States, made the following statement in connection with an assisted suicide/euthanasia bill set for hearing tomorrow in the Hawaii State Senate Committee on Judiciary and Labor. The bill is SB 1129 S.D. 1.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/58967841-09da-4273-934a-f638de752bac
The bill seeks to pass a proposed act legalizing assisted suicide and allowing euthanasia, said Dore. If enacted, the act will apply to people with years or decades to live. The act is a recipe for elder abuse, especially for people with money, meaning the middle class and above in the inheritance situation.
Dore said, "The proposed act allows the patient's heir, who will financially benefit from the patient's death, to actively participate in requesting the lethal dose. After that, no doctor, not even a witness, is required to be present at the death. Even if the patient struggled, who would know?"
"But, it gets worse," said Dore, "the death certificate is required to list a terminal disease as the cause of death, which prevents prosecution." Dore explained, "The official cause of death is a terminal disease (not murder) as a matter of law. For inheritance perpetrators, the death certificate is a 'stay out of jail free card.'
Dore stated, If enacted, the proposed act will legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia for people who are 'terminal,' which is defined as a doctor's prediction of less than six months to live. In real life, such persons may have years or decades to live."
"Doctors can be wrong about life expectancy, sometimes way wrong," said Dore. "This is due to mistakes and the fact that predicting life expectancy is not an exact science. A few years ago, I was met at the airport by a man who at age 18 or 19 had been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and given 3 to 5 years to live, at which time he would die by paralysis. His diagnosis had been confirmed by the Mayo Clinic. When he met me at the airport, he was 74 years old. The disease progression had stopped on its own."
Dore stated, The proposed act is based on a similar law in Oregon. In Oregon, a young adult with insulin dependent diabetes is terminal because the six months to live is determined without treatment. A typical insulin dependent adult will live less than a month without insulin. Such persons are therefore terminal for the purpose of assisted suicide.
Dore added, By contrast, with insulin, such persons may have decades to years or decades to live.
Dore concluded, The proposed act will create the perfect crime and encourage people with years or decades to live to throw away their lives. The act must be rejected.
For more information, see Dore Memo Opposing SB 1129 SD1, which can be viewed at these links: memoand appendix.
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Choice is an Illusion President Margaret Dore States Hawaii ... - EconoTimes
An Italian DJ who was left blind and tetraplegic following a car crash, has died by assisted suicide in Switzerland, as politicians in Rome delayed talks on a living will law for a third time.
Thirty-nine-year-old Fabiano Antoniani sustained the injuries in 2014.
Right-to-die activist and former MEP Marco Cappato accompanied him to the Swiss clinic.
He tweeted: Fabo died at 11.40. He chose to go by the rules of a country that is not his.
In a later statement, Cappato told the press: On Monday morning (February 27), after a second medical examination, he confirmed his wish to die. He then used his mouth one of the few movements he was able to perform by himself to activate the substance that would send him to sleep within minutes then, without suffering, he died.
Cappato could face five to 12 years in prison if found guilty of helping Antoniani to commit suicide.
In Italy, euthanasia is illegal. However, patients do have the right to refuse care, which has led to several contradicting cases.
Antoniani, known as DJ Fabo, had appealed to President Sergio Mattarella for the right to die and, shortly before his death, criticised Italy for failing to pass laws on end-of-life issues.
Excerpt from:
Italy: tetraplegic DJ stirs up euthanasia debate by assisted suicide in Switzerland - euronews
The lives of elderly and severely ill persons and people with disabilities would be threatened under a proposal to legalize assisted suicide introduced in the Minnesota Senate today. Because of the broad dangers of assisted suicide, the bill is strongly opposed by Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL), the states oldest and largest pro-life organization.
S.F. 1572 would overturn the states longstanding prohibition against assisted suicide. A similar bill was introduced in 2015 and never received a vote.
Our law against assisted suicide has protected vulnerable people for many years, said MCCL Legislative Associate Andrea Rau. Minnesotans recognize that persons seeking help to kill themselves need immediate care, including medical and mental health carenot assisted suicide.
By legalizing assisted suicide, this bill would open the door to new kinds of pressure and coercion. In Oregon, which pioneered legal assisted suicide, 40 percent of assisted suicide victims have expressed concern about being a burden on family and friends, according to the Oregon Public Health Division. S.F. 1572 does not require the prescribing physician to even be present when the lethal dose is administered, and no witnesses to the death are required. No one would know if the person died against his or her will.
Keep up with the latest pro-life news and information on Twitter.
If assisted suicide is legalized, it becomes the least expensive treatment. Public and private insurers may have a financial incentive to steer patients toward assisted suicide rather than life-extending treatment. This has already happened to some patients in Oregon, where some patients have been denied life-extending treatment by health care providers, and instead offered coverage of life-ending medication.
The Senate bill relies on a terminal diagnosis, but such diagnoses are sometimes wrong. Legalizing assisted suicide encourages patients who would live for weeks, months, years or even decades to throw their lives away.
The broad dangers of legalizing assisted suicide must not be ignored, Rau added. The bill introduced today poses serious risks for Minnesotans. MCCL urges legislators to oppose this measure.
LifeNews.com Note: Bill Poehler is the communications director for Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life.
Read more here:
Minnesota Euthanasia Advocates Introduce Legislation to Legalize ... - LifeNews.com
Take a walk through pretty much any city in Bulgaria and you will spot at least one homeless animal wandering the streets in search of food. Plovdiv is one city that stands out for its large stray animal population. Dogs and cats flood the streets of this city and while most citizens turn a blind eye to the suffering and hardships of these animals, there is one woman who does not.
Desislava Stoyanova has spent the last 12 years rescuing animals from the streets of Plovdiv, her hometown. Through adoption and fostering, Desislava has given hundreds of animals a second chance at life.
Desislavas love for animals extends far beyond just talk.Desislava shares, My story with animals, started a long time ago. I live in a rough part of the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria and the cruelty for animals there was daily. I cried a lot, but then realized that I needed to act too! She continues, I remember, I was about 19 years old, at Uni, and had just met my boyfriend (now husband). None of us had lots of money, but we gave them all for dogs and cats food and for visits to the vets. And we did not regret this even for a second! We grew up together, surrounded by the love of the beautiful babies we picked up from the streets, and we couldnt have had it any other way! Now, we have a beautiful baby boy and he will grow up knowing how to cherish all animals and help those in need, animals, and humans!
She takes in animals that many others have deemed unsavable and done her absolute best to ensure that even the most tragic cases get the care they deserve. Oftentimes, she fits the veterinary bills for the animals recovery all on her own because, to her, giving up on a life is simply not an option.
To help care for the hundreds of animals who have entered her life, Desislava set up theSave Me Facebook pagewhere she calls on followers for either donations or help finding a good home for some of her charges. Through her page and the support she has received from it, Desislava has managed to rent a foster home in a nearby village to house some of the cats and dogs that need help.
Currently, 24 dogs and 20 cats are residing there but tragically, this could all change due to a complaint from her neighbors. According to Desislava, the local council has given until the end of April 2017 for her to remove all the animals from the property. If she fails to do so, the animals will be confiscated and likely euthanized.
As dire as this situation is, Desislava has no time to sit around moping. In fact, shes already sprung into action by purchasing an old run down building in a nearby village for the sake of housing the 40 animals in need of a new home. The trouble is, the building is in need of major renovations. Fencing, furniture, and building materials are all needed to make this building suitable for the soon-to-be homeless animals. However, in order to make these modifications to the building, Desislava is desperate need of funds.
However, in order to make these modifications to the building, Desislava is desperate need of funds.So far, she estimates that the total cost of renovation will come out to $8,000, but in this new space, she will be able to provide a safe home for many more animals than she currently has in her care.
In addition to making appeals on the Save Me Facebook page, Desislava has launched a GoFundMe campaign. Together, we can help give a new home to the nearly 50 animals in her care and ensure that many more will also get the winning chance they deserve.
As they say, it takes nothing away from a person to be kind to an animal, and in the case of this amazing woman many, many animals are lucky enough to receive that kindness.
Click here to read more about Desislavas project and make a donation.
All image source: Desislava Stoyanova
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Quebec is about to embark upon a debate on the involuntary euthanasia of demented elderly after a 55-year-old man in Montreal allegedly smothered his Alzheimers stricken wife and posted what he had done on Facebook. Michel Cadotte was charged with second-degree murder after his 60-year-old wife died in an assisted care facility.
He said on Facebook that he had "cracked" and "consented to her demands to help her die." Although the facts are not clear yet, the media has reported that the woman requested medical aid in dying but was refused.
Under Quebecs 2015 law, euthanasia for the demented is specifically excluded. A person who makes a request for medical assistance in dying must be capable of consent, Jean-Pierre Mnard, a Montreal medical lawyer, told the Montreal Gazette. This means the patient must understand their state of health and can express their will. A patient with advanced Alzheimers no longer has the capacity to consent, no longer has the cognitive capacity to understand.
The Gazette reports that Quebec parliamentarians now want to open a public debate on legalizing euthanasia for persons unable to give informed consent. This debate about extending eligibility for euthanasia is happening just a bit more than a year after the law came into effect.
The Quebec Alzheimers Society contends that demented patients need to be protected. "It's very difficult with the complexity of dementia to know for sure what a person with dementia would want today," April Hayward, of the Society told CTV News. "They may have expressed a wish ten years ago and do we know for certain that's what they would want today?"
Excerpt from:
BioEdge: Should Quebec's Alzheimer's patients be eligible for ... - BioEdge
PIKE COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT) - The Pike County Animal Shelter has been able to reduce their euthanasia rates to eight percent.
"It took a lot of burden off the people that have to do the bad thing. And now we don't have to hardly do it anymore," Jason Burke, animal control officer, said.
The Appalachian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and the Pike County Fiscal Court are covering each animal's expenses.
"That means that you'll get an animal that's spayed and neutered, vaccine, I mean, de-wormed, and everything," Burke said.
92 percent of animals that come to the shelter are released to adoption and rescues.
James and Whitney Whaley adopted their puppy, Dobby, on Valentine's Day.
"When you adopt from a shelter, it's kind of good you already have a dog that's established and you get to take them out of a bad situation and put them in a better situation," Whitney Whaley, owner of an adopted dog, said.
For the Whaley's, adopting their dog was one of the best decisions they made.
"It's now the three of us, while he's still definitely a dog, I mean, he's still kind of a part of the family," Whitney Whaley said.
Officials at the shelter, shared about 10 to 12 animals are adopted each and every day.
See the article here:
Pike County animal shelter reduces euthanasia rates - WYMT News (press release)
Early in December 2016, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Board of Trustees passed an historic Position Statement that originated in the Assembly and was unanimously supported by the APA Ethics Committee:
The APA, in concert with the American Medical Associations position on Medical Euthanasia, holds that a psychiatrist should not prescribe or administer any intervention to a non-terminally ill person for the purpose of causing death.
This position is now one of the strongest of any medical organization in the world regarding the practice of physician-assisted suicide by prescription medication or euthanasia by lethal injection (PAS/E) for those with non- terminal conditions. This is not just a theoretical possibility that might occur along a slippery slope following legalization of PAS/E for terminal illnesses. People with non-terminal illnesses have been legally euthanized at their own request in several countries for nearly 15 years. This has included certain eligible patients who have only psychiatric disorders.
In 2002, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg removed any distinctions between terminal and non-terminal conditions, and between physical suffering and mental suffering, for legally permitted PAS/E. That was when patients with psychiatric disorders became eligible for this right in these countries. Independent consultants have to declare their condition untreatable, and the patient needs to declare it to be insufferable.
In the Netherlands, for example, for psychiatric-only cases, at least 1 consultant is required, but 3 are suggested. At least one should be a psychiatrist but does not have to be.
However, the patient can weigh in regarding the untreatable criterion as well. It is not based solely on what physicians have to offer, but on what the patient wishes to accept. For example, though potentially effective treatments may be offered, such as ECT, MAOIs, residential treatment, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and vagus nerve stimulation, competent patients may refuse these offers. That choice could make their case untreatable. So patients can rule on both the untreatable and insufferable axes; physicians can only opine on the former.
In the Netherlands, lethal injections are the most commonly used method to fulfill an approved patients death wish. This is often administered by the patients treating psychiatrist at home, in the office, or in specialized Levenseinde Klinieks (End of Life Clinics). Between 2008 and 2014, more than 200 psychiatric patients were euthanized by their own request in the Netherlands (1% of all euthanasia in that country): 52% had a diagnosis of personality disorder, 56% refused one or more offered treatments, and 20% had never even had an inpatient stay (one indication of previous treatment intensity). When asked the primary reason for seeking PAS/E, 66% cited social isolation and loneliness. Despite the legal requirement for agreement between outside consultants, for 24% of psychiatric patients euthanized, at least one outside consultant disagreed.
Some remarkable stories have been profiled in the Dutch media. For example, a woman was granted euthanasia for chronic PTSD due to childhood sexual abuse. The arguments based on personal autonomy to justify such access to PAS/E are being pushed even further in the Netherlands. Ministers of Health and Justice have proposed to their Parliament that criteria not be limited to medical conditions, but be extended to average citizens who feel they have lived completed lives.
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Click on Once Euthanasia Voluntary, Itll Become Irresistible, Ask the Dutch link to read more.
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Our neighbor to the north demonstrates vividly how the logic of euthanasia consciousness spreads like a virus.
Once a society generally accepts killing as an acceptable response to human suffering, the killable categories expand exponentiallyclearly seen in the Netherlands and Belgium where psychiatrists kill the mentally ill, sometimes coupled with organ harvesting.
Abuses? What abuses?
Canada is driving that same road with the pedal to the metal. Quebec is now actively considering expanding euthanasia to include the mentally incompetent if they asked to be killed in an advance directive. From the Montreal Gazette story:
A consensus is emerging among Quebec parliamentarians to launch a public debate on the appropriateness of legalizing medically assisted suicide for persons unable to give informed consent, such as patients suffering from Alzheimers disease.
My mother died of Alzheimers, so I know what this disease is like.
I also know that it would have been wrong to allow herworst fears about what her life was going to belike when the illness beganto bite, to allow her to order herself poisoned to death when she lost capacity.
Even in my mothers very difficult final days, there were good moments in which she was able to receive and give love.
To say she would have been killable because she was so ill would have been to say that her loss of capacities rendered less than human. Not on my watch.
And that brings up an ironic point: At the same time in whichconcerted efforts are being undertaken to reduce the categories of animals killed by euthanasiaa worthy causesimilar efforts are underway where euthanasia is widely accepted to expand the number of people so killed.
That path leads to extreme moral peril.
The same progression we have seen in Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and now Canada, will happen here if assisted suicide ever becomes widely accepted. Its only logical.
And heres the worst part: When that happens, people wont care because societys adherence to the equality/sanctity of human lifewill have been fundamentally subverted.
Continue reading here:
Quebec Moves Toward Euthanasia for Alzheimer's | National Review - National Review
Lessons from indigenous wisdom in the euthanasia debate MercatorNet George's words came to mind as wise advice for those of us engaging in the legalization of euthanasia debate currently raging in Australia. They struck me as especially apropos in light of the fact that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island and First ... |
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Lessons from indigenous wisdom in the euthanasia debate - MercatorNet
A man suffering from terminal cancer gathered his family and friends together for one final celebration of his life before taking the medication that would kill him.
TJ Mutchler was living in constant pain as his pancreatic cancer worsened, and doctors gave him just weeks to live.
"If you can think of the worst flu youve ever had and you get the cold sweats and then have someone stab a hot poker in your insides and just twist it around," Mutchler said in a video by euthanasia advocacy group Compassion and Choices.
"Looking at it, man, I am going to die. I dont want to."
Knowing he was on the verge of death, Mutchler's friends and family threw him two "going away" parties in his hometown of Billings, Montana.
Hundreds of people came to the first party in November, with his mother Leslie saying everybody "got together and laughed".
"His friends are all young people and its hard to wrap yourself around death at that age," she told People.
"Some people felt a little awkward, saying, I dont know what to do. Ive never done this before and it was like, Well, I want you guys to come and see him while you can.
"It was, Lets not get together for his funeral. Lets get together to celebrate his life while hes still alive.'"
By last week, Mutchler's condition had deteriorated so much that he was in constant pain and was frequently vomiting.
He weighed just 57kg towards the end, devastatingly thin for a 195cm-tall man.
He set the date of his death as February 19, and gathered his family together.
"My mother, his dad, his brother, me, his best friend and Keri, his girlfriend, were all with him at the end," his mother said.
"We all gave him a hug and said goodbye and he administered his medication.
"He fell asleep within 10minutes of taking the medication and three hours later he was gone."
Euthanasia is legal in Montana thanks to a successful lawsuit filed by his own grandfather Bob Baxter.
Suffering from terminal lymphoma, Baxter died hours after a district court ruled in his favour in 2008.
Montana's Supreme Court upheld the decision.
But the day after Mutchler's death, Republican state legislator Brad Tschida introduced a bill that would make doctors who prescribe euthanasia drugs liable to be charged with homicide.
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Dying man gathers his family together for final hours before ... - 9Honey
Posted February 24, 2017 09:56:22
Colin Barnett and Mark McGowan have clashed over voluntary euthanasia and the Safe Schools program during a public question and answer session organised by the Australian Christian Lobby in the lead-up to the state election.
More than 500 people attended the event in Wangara on Thursday night to hear the WA Premier and Opposition Leader's stance on issues ranging from Aboriginal youth suicide and prostitution reform to babies surviving abortions.
Unlike Wednesday night's televised leaders' debate that focused on debt, deficit and unemployment, neither leader took aim at the other's credibility instead focusing on the social issues facing WA and drawing from personal experiences and anecdotes to help sell their case.
Two of the questions that raised a vocal reaction from the crowd were centred on euthanasia and the Safe Schools program.
Mr Barnett said while he had sympathy for people who had "painful and long deaths", he did not support euthanasia.
"I think it is an issue that is left to the family at the time and to the doctors," he told the crowd.
"I think palliative care and relying on professional moral ethics and religious standards and ethics is the way to go."
He was at odds with his opponent Mr McGowan, who used his personal experience of the death of a relative to explain why he backed assisted dying.
"He should have been able to make his own decision in those circumstances on the time of his passing," he said.
"Voluntary euthanasia, with appropriate safeguards, is something I personally support.
"My party has a position whereby it's a conscience vote, so every member of my caucus gets to vote according to their own point of view if a bill came before the Parliament."
Mr Barnett and Mr McGowan were also left at odds after being questioned about Safe Schools, a federally funded anti-bullying program designed to help educate students about sexual and gender diversity.
"Will your party commit to removing this highly controversial and sexualised program from all Western Australian schools?" a church leader asked.
Mr McGowan backed Safe Schools.
"A lot of young people who identify as gay are very likely to commit suicide. There are also problems with young people identifying as gay with being bullied at school," he said.
"My understanding of the program is that it provides advice to teachers and assistance to teachers in dealing with children or young people who might identify as gay.
"A public high school in Western Australia that wants to access that program on the advice of their school board and school community, I think is reasonable, and they should be able to access that program."
However, Mr Barnett disagreed.
"From my knowledge of it and I've never read the material but I've heard fellow members of Parliament describing it to me it encourages experimentation, promiscuity, to very young children," Mr Barnett said.
"I don't think that is any way what should happen in our school, and I don't think you should have situations where boys' could think ... they've got the right to use the girls' toilets.
"My view, and it's not a directive, but my view to schools [is] I do not want to see that program in our schools."
Mr Barnett said he believed fewer than 30 WA schools had incorporated the program into the curriculum.
Topics: elections, religion-and-beliefs, government-and-politics, schools, euthanasia, wa
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TOM HUNT
Last updated14:05, February 23 2017
FAIRFAX NZ
Wellington City area commander Chris Bensemann told staff not to release information as it would lead to more questions.
Police withheld information about a controversial operationbecause it would only open them up to further questions, emails reveal.
But the stance outlined in internal emails has been defended by police, because which say revealing too much information could jeopardiseongoing inquiries or future court cases.
In late2016 Police ran Operation Painter, which saw officers visiting peoplewho had considered euthanasia.
David Mariuz
Head of Exit International Philip Nitschke says the emails show a police culture of secerecy.
It later turned out police collected the names and addresses of many of the people, largely older women, by setting up a breath-testing roadblock down the road from a HuttValley euthanasia meeting.
READ MORE: *Police admit using checkpoint to target euthanasia meeting attendees *We know where you've been, police tell 76-year-old who attended euthanasia meeting *Police seize voluntary euthanasia advocate's helium balloon kit *Police door-knock elderly women who attended euthanasia meeting
Now, an Official Information Act request shows Wellington's top police officer, Wellington City area commanderChrisBensemann,emailed his media team telling them to withhold information requested by Stuff about the operation.
Questions emailed to police in the days beforeincluded a request for comment about claims police had set up an operation, codenamed Painter, and weretargeting Exit members.
The police media team emailed Bensemannin October, asking him if he wanted to add any comment more than confirmation one woman had been charged with importing aeuthanasiadrug.
Bensemannresponded: "I don't see any merit in providing further comment at this point in time as it will only open us up to further questions, ie, each response would just create a whole new set of questions".
He asked to be informed if "anything comes up that you see as a risk that we may be forced to [respond] to".
Some details of the woman facing charges were withheld due to suppression orders, police said.
A police spokeswomanon Thursday said media had an important role in informing the public and ensuring transparency.
"Equally, however, Police have a duty to investigate thoroughly and carefully, and so are at times not in a position to answer specific questions while investigations and operations are ongoing, even if that information may be considered to be speculative, as further comment may jeopardise Police's ongoing inquiries or potential future judicial proceedings.
"These considerations therefore dictate how we respond to each request we receive. "
Later that month Bensemann confirmed that police had used the breath-testing checkpoint to target people who had attended an Exit International euthanasia meeting.
Police referred themselves to the Independent Police Conduct Authority, which is still investigating the operation.
Exit International director PhilipNitschke said the email trailshowed New Zealand police were "actively trying to dampen down public interest in their behaviour following their illegal fake road block".
Bensemann's instructions to provide no further comment was"particularly disappointing" and revealed "a culture of secrecy" within police, Nitschke said.
On Friday, Exit Wellington co-ordinatorSusanDaleAusten, 65, is due to appear in Wellington District Court facingone charge of importing the narcotic sedative pentobarbitone known as Nembutal between March 2012 and October 2016, and one of importing on September 30.
When she last appeared in court in October she was remanded without plea.
-Stuff
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Police stance was to not answer questions over details of euthanasia checkpoint - Stuff.co.nz
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Adoption center works to reduce euthanasia - The Dominion Post
Oregon is considering a bill that could allow the intentional taking of lives, if those lives fit into a particular category.
"Its intent," Gayle Atteberry of Oregon Right to Life tells OneNewsNow, "is to allow Alzheimers, mentally ill, and dementia patients who are conscious and are able to eat and swallow, to be starved and dehydrated to death. It's a horrifying bill. I've never seen one like it before."
Alex Schadenberg with the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition makes similar arguments in a recent piece written for LifeNews.com.
According to Atteberry, individuals with those types of medical conditions aren't capable of authorizing the withholding of their own care. Concerned that passage of Senate Bill 494 would legalize what society has considered murder, Atteberry contends insurance companies are behind the measure.
"... We can only imagine the amount of money that is saved if Alzheimers patients who are not terminal die [sooner]," she says. She is convinced it's money behind the movement to legalize euthanasia.
Doctor-assisted suicide, legalized in Oregon 20 years ago, provides the means for a person to take his or her own life. For example, patients in Oregon have been refused expensive treatments for cancer but offered less expensive pills to kill themselves.
Atteberry contends the bill now being considered is one more step down the road to euthanasia of disabled and ailing patients the actual killing of innocent persons.
Her group maintains that the bill eliminates clear legal definitions that judges need when deciding a court case. "Ambiguity, which this bill creates in numerous ways, gives everyone involved in life-and-death matters clear reign to interpret situations as they want," says the pro-life group.
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Oregon's euthanasia bill awash with 'ambiguity' - OneNewsNow
By Margaret Somerville
Margaret Somerville
Advocates of legalizing euthanasia reject slippery slope arguments as unfounded fear-mongering and claim that its use will always be restricted to rare cases of dying people with unrelievable, unbearable suffering. But, as the Netherlands and Belgium demonstrate, thats not what results, in practice.
The logical and practical slippery slopes are unavoidable and inevitable, because those consequences are built into the act of legalization through its justification of inflicting death. Once we cross the clear line that we must not intentionally kill another person, theres no logical stopping point.
Let me explain.
When euthanasia is first legalized, the usual necessary and sufficient justification for breaching that line is a conjunctive justification comprised of respect for individual autonomy and the relief of suffering. But as people and physicians become accustomed to euthanasia, they ask, Why not just relief of suffering or respect for autonomy alone?, and these become alternative justifications.
As a lone justification, relief of suffering allows euthanasia of those unable to consent for themselves. Pro-euthanasia advocates argue that allowing euthanasia is to do good to suffering, mentally competent people. Consequently, denying it to mentally incompetent suffering people unable to consent is wrong; its discrimination on the basis of mental handicap. So suffering people with dementia or disabled newborn babies or children should be given access to euthanasia, as we have just seen legally allowed in Belgium.
And if one owns ones own life and no one else has the right to interfere with ones decisions in that regard, as pro-euthanasia advocates also claim, then respect for the persons autonomy is a sufficient justification for euthanasia. That is, the person need not be suffering to have access, hence the proposal in the Netherlands that euthanasia should be available to those over 70 and tired of life.
And once the initial justification for euthanasia is expanded, why not allow some other justifications, for instance, saving on healthcare costs, especially with an aging population? Until very recently, this was an unaskable question.
Now, its being raised in relation to euthanasia. Its anecdotal, but a final year medical student in a class I was teaching became very angry because I rejected his insistent claim that legalizing euthanasia was essential to save the healthcare costs of an aging population.
The practical slippery slope is unavoidable because familiarity with inflicting death causes us to lose a sense of the awesomeness of what euthanasia involveskilling another human being. The same is true in making euthanasia a medical act.
In summary, familiarity with inflicting death and making euthanasia a medical act makes both its logical extension and its abuse, in practice, much more likely, indeed, I believe inevitable. That means we need to stay firmly behind the clear line that establishes that we do not intentionally kill each other by rejecting the legalization of euthanasia.
Editors note. Margaret Somerville is the founding director of the Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law at McGill University. This appeared at http://www.euthanasiestop.be.
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Why euthanasia slippery slopes are inevitable - National Right to Life News
On New Years Eve, Nikki Mael of Washougal, Wash., fed her four pugs Evangers Hunk of Beef Au Jus canned dog food. Within 15 minutes the dogs began acting drunk, she said. They staggeredaround, having difficulty keeping their balance.
Mael rushed them to an emergency animal hospital. One pug, Talula, died. The other dogs survived, but one of them suffered from seizures.
A necroposy performed on Talula found large amounts of pentobarbital, a sedative used to euthanize animals and execute humans, in her stomach. Pentobarbital was also found in the dog food.
Earlier this month, Evangers Dog & Cat Food Co. announced a voluntary recall of one lot of Hunk of Beef Au Jus out of what it called an abundance of caution. The company said it sources all of its raw materials from USDA-inspected facilities.
We feel that we have been let down by our supplier, and in reference to the possible presence of pentobarbital, we have let down our customers, it stated on its website. Despite having a relationship for 40 years with the supplier of this specific beef, who also services many other pet food companies, we have terminated our relationship with them.
A week later, another dog food company, Against the Grain, also announced a voluntary recall of one lot of its Pulled Beef with Gravy Dinner for Dogs, distributed two years ago, because it could also contain pentobarbital. According to Food Safety News, both Evangers and Against the Grain may be owned by members of the same family.
Trace Amounts of Pentobarbital Not Uncommon in Dry Dog Food
How did a euthanasia drug end up in dog food? Believe it or not, trace amounts are not exactly uncommon in pet food, based on a 2001 FDA report. Tests conducted at the time discovered pentobarbital in samples of dry dog food from familiar brands like Nutro, Gravy Train, Kibbles n Bits and OlRoy (sold by Walmart).
We were unaware of the problem of pentobarbital in the pet food industry because it is most pervasive in dry foods that source most of their ingredients from rendering plants, unlike Evangers, which mainly manufactures canned foods that would not have any rendered materials in its supply chain, the company stated on its website.
In response to criticism of Evangers on social media, corporate secretary Brett Sher and his twin sister Chelsea appeared in a video posted on the companys website. In it they say that pentobarbital can be found in dry pet foods made with meat from cows that have been euthanized, and there are currently no regulations that require veterinarians to tag the meat.
The Sher siblings said the death of Talula and the sickening of the other dogs has inspired them to advocate for more oversight and regulation of how slaughtered animals enterthe animal-food stream. Evangerspaid the veterinary bills for Maels five pugs and made a donation to a local shelter in Talulas memory.
Watch What Your Dog Eats
According to TruthAboutPetFood.com, Evangers Dog & Cat Food Co.manufactures food for other pet food companies. The company uses a unique semi-circle shape instead of a straight line for the lot code stamps on cans, which makes it easy for dog owners to determine if a particular brand was manufactured by Evangers.
When its ingested, pentobarbital can cause symptoms including drowsiness, dizziness, excitement and loss of balance. If your dog shows any of these signs after eating, rush your pet to your veterinarian or closest emergency animal hospital right away.
Photo credit: Thinkstock
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
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Fog In August (Nebel im August) is the first feature film to address the Nazis euthanasia programme.
Based on Robert Domes 2008 novel of the same name, the film tells the story of 13-year-old Ernst Lossa, who was committed to a mental hospital in 1942 because of his Roma origins.
The hospitals staunch Nazi chief physician Werner Veithausen is played by German actor Sebastian Koch, who shot to fame after starring in the 2007 Oscar-winning The Lives of Others.
He explains how he got into character: For me as an actor, the challenge was to play a character whose alienated logic makes sense. Thats why there are no devilish smiles. Veithausen gets up in the morning and sees himself in the mirror and thinks he is doing a really important job for the German people and he believes in his mission, he is convinced of what he is doing. And thats whats fascinating with this role: the man whom we see today as a murderer was doing no harm as far as he was concerned.
The film marks a return for director Kai Wessel to dark periods in German history, after his award-winning TV series Klemperer based on the diaries of a Jewish literature professor during the Third Reich, and the TV drama Die Flucht, set in the winter of 1945, which was shown in more than 50 countries.
For him, casting the main character was key to the films success. We saw a lot of actors it was a huge casting process, he says. But very early, there was no question that Ivo [Pietzcker] was a hot candidate. We did a lot of improvisation because we wanted to be 100 percent sure he was the right choice and, in the end, we knew he was.
Young Ernst soon discovers the truth behind the hospitals facade and tries to sabotage its euthanasia programme to help his new friends. Ernst is played by young Berliner Ivo Pietzcker, who was the lead character in Edward Bergers 2014 award-winning movie Jack.
I am very interested in history and I read a lot of books, history books, so, yes, I knew about euthanasia, I wasnt clueless about that, says the young actor.
One way to kill the patients was to lace raspberry juice with poison. Another, invented by Dr Faltlhauser, whose real name was changed to Veithausen in the movie, was to feed the patients with vegetable soup that had cooked so long it no longer had any nutritional value.
I am convinced that Dr Veithausen never considered himself as a criminal, rather he saw himself as part of a scientific avant-garde on a mission that he believed in, says Koch.
To invent food without any nutritional substance, where the patient believes he is eating but hes actually dying of malnutrition, is a relatively humane way to die, I mean, of course, seen from the perspective of Dr Veithausen. He was proud of his invention and he was praised by the Nazis. He had the power to decide, when the euthanasia programme ended, who would die and who would live, and he could solve that issue in a very way humane way with typical German efficiency. Such perfidy is unbelievable.
The real-life Dr Faltlhlauser was sentenced to three years in jail after the war and was pardoned by the Bavarian secretary of justice in 1954. He died in 1961.
Conservative estimates suggest that at least 5,000 German children perished as a result of the Nazis child euthanasia programme.
Fog In August was released in Germany in October.
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New German film addresses Nazi child 'euthanasia' - euronews
Ajax-Pickering MP Chris Alexander, right, debates as ReginaQuAppelle MP and former House Speaker Andrew Scheer, left, and former Ontario MP Pierre Lemieux, centre, listen at the Conservative Party leadership debate in Langley on Sunday.
image credit: Katya Slepian/Black Press
by Katya Slepian Black Press
More than 500 people packed the hall at Darvonda Nurseries Saturday afternoon to hear a dozen candidates fight to lead the Conservative Party of Canada.
The Langley debate, the only one in the Fraser Valley, might have failed to bring in Kevin OLeary orDeepak Obhrai, but the 12 candidates there didnt shy away from the hard issues.
The three-hour debate was moderated by Conservative senator Yonah Martin.
Following a round of opening statements, the 12 candidates were broken up into four groups of three to debate one policy question each before answering audience questions.
The emphasis for the entire three hours was on the return to Conservative values, something the party feels is lacking both in Canadian society and Parliament.
Justin Trudeaus plan to legalize marijuana didnt go over well with the first trio.
We dont need to legalize marijuana, said Brad Trost, MP for Saskatoon-University. In a rare bit of criticism for past Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Trost admitted that the Conservatives should have done more to educate Canadians on the dangers of the drug.
Safe injection sites were also unpopular with both Milton MP Lisa Raitt and Trost.
We need to take legislative action to stop these things from spreading, Trost said.
One candidate broke from the crowd.
"I favour the safe injection sites, having lived in Vancouver and done volunteer work with First Nations youth and others in the Downtown Eastside and having listened to people on the ground, said Rick Peterson. Peterson, a Vancouver-based venture capitalist, was the only one on the stage with no political experience.
Smimcoe-Grey MP Kellie Leith vowed to interview every single person who crossed the Canadian border and send those who are there illegally back.
"We have laws about this. These individuals should be detained. We should talk to them about whether they really are refugees and if they arent they should be sent home, she said.
Leitch drew on her experience as a former surgeon when questioning the federal governments euthanasia legislation.
Wellington-Halton Hills MP Michael Chong appealed to social conservatives.
I believe in freedom of conscience, Chong said.
Former North Vancouver MP Andrew Saxton reminded the audience that he had voted against assisted dying.
I was concerned that people at their most vulnerable time would be making decisions that were irreversible, he said.
Trudeaus carbon tax was met with derision across the board.
Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. Carbon dioxide exists naturally in the atmosphere, said ReginaQuAppelle MP and former House Speaker Andrew Scheer.
Scheer, former Ontario MP Pierre Lemieux, and Ajax-Pickering MP Chris Alexander all spoke out against the Liberals carbon tax, vowing to remove it if they took the top spot.
Beauce MP Maxime Bernier, Durham MP Erin OToole, andLvisBellechasse MP Steven Blaney all said they would reverse the Liberal deficit.
Cutting taxes was the popular choice across the board while some, like Peterson, advocated for getting rid of corporate taxes entirely.
Trost had one other idea.
"Let me offer a helpful suggestion where we can find $1 billion. Get rid of the CBC privatize it, he said. The Conservatives have tried to make cuts to CBC before the latest round launched the Save the CBC campaign in 2015.
Increased military spending, and particularly more ships for the Navy, received universal approval.
As a founding country in NATO, we should all be embarrassed that in the last generation, we have not made the two per cent commitment we pledged, said OToole. Alliance member nations pledge to spend two per cent of their GDP on defence funding.
And now we see [U.S.] President Donald Trump questioning NATO because of all the free riding countries like us."
Lemieux spoke out against the untouchability of Supreme Court decisions.
The Supreme Court is almost sacrosanct. Youre not allowed to breathe a sigh of concern about the Supreme Court of Canada and thats wrong, said Lemieux.
The most controversial issues of our day abortion, euthanasia, prostitution they havent been decided by parliamentarians, they havent been decided by Canadians. Theyve been decided with the Supreme Court.
Lemieux believes that all of those issues should be up for debate. That includes abortion, which Harper did not touch during his time in office.
Trost and Blaney joined in on the debate, both saying that they were willing to use the notwithstanding clause which allows Parliament to override portions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The Conservative Party will choose a new leader on May 27 in Toronto.
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Conservative leaders argued drugs, euthanasia, and fiscal policy in Langley - Langley Advance