Monthly Archives: February 2024

Lauren Hoeve in bed with her cat Bagel. (Credit: Lauren Hoeve / Twitter)

Update: Lauren's parents posted an update to Lauren's blog confirming her death. They wrote: "Lauren passed away peacefully at 1.55 pm in the presence of her parents Leonie and Peter and her best friend Lau. We would like to thank you for your compassion and support. Leonie, Peter and Lau."

A young woman in the Netherlands with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) has shared an emotional post announcing that she will be euthanised on Saturday 27 January.

Lauren Hoeve, 28, started documenting her application for euthanasia in 2022 on her blog. She was diagnosed with ME in 2019, and also has autism, anxiety, and ADHD. ME is often referred to as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, however, Hoeve prefers not to use that term as she believes it doesn't encompass the severity of her exhaustion.

Assisted dying has been legal in the Netherlands since 2002. According to the Dignity in Dying campaign group, there are on average around 3,500 cases of assisted dying or voluntary euthanasia a year in the country.

In Hoeve's blog, she recounts that when she first told her GP about wanting to be voluntarily euthanised, he told her he respected her wishes but could not do it himself as her case was complex due to her psychological conditions.

She was placed on the waiting list to be seen by euthanasia specialists, but the wait was longer than usual because of the pandemic. Since then, Hoeve has seen several doctors who assessed her and found in April 2023 that she was mentally competent signing off on her wish to be euthanised.

Hoeve has been posting on X (formerly known as Twitter) about her health, and gained a following that saw people sending messages of encouragement, support and also cat content, as Hoeve is a self-described 'stay at home cat parent'.

On Wednesday, Hoeve posted on her blog, thanking people for their support and announcing that her euthanasia will take place sometime on Saturday between 1:30 pm and 2:30 pm. She wrote: If we have known each other long and well or only a little, it doesn't matter. Through you all, I have felt less alone, and I am very grateful for that.

Story continues

She added: "Please don't wish me a good trip, I wish I was going on a trip (a beach holiday would be nice)..."

She has asked those who wish to pay tribute online to wait until after she has passed.

Hoeve's mother, who also lost her son, has also written a blog post about the planned euthanasia, saying: "What is it like for me, as a mother, to now lose my second child? It's very sad and surreal. My mother's heart bleeds... Please know that we have done everything realistically possible to find a way out. She still wanted to get so much out of life, but she doesn't want to live to be 30 years old like this, let alone 60 or 80 years old."

She added: "The only thing I see as a bright spot is that I no longer have to fear losing my children. I know where they are."

Myalgic encephalomyelitis is a serious long-term condition with a wide range of symptoms. It is more common in women, and tends to develop between the mid-20s and mid-40s. According to the NHS, severity of symptoms can vary from day to day, or even within a day.

While documenting her experiences, Hoeve has encouraged followers to support organisations doing clinical research and trying to find a cure for the condition.

In November, a local Dutch ambulance charity booked out an entire cinema so that Hoeve, a huge Taylor Swift fan, could watch her idol with family and friends.

Read more

In the Netherlands, anyone can make an application for euthanasia, but there are several rounds of assessments that must be done, especially if there are extenuating circumstances beyond someone's physical health.

There were 8,720 reported instances of euthanasia in the Netherlands in 2022, the highest number to date. A majority of the cases were of people with cancer, while there was an increase in the cases that cited dementia.

Five people under the age of 30 were also euthanised, which has led to criticism from some doctors. Dutch professor Irene Tuffrey-Wijne told AP: Theres no doubt in my mind these people were suffering, but is society really OK with sending this message, that theres no other way to help them and its just better to be dead?

Last year, the Dutch government lowered the age for assisted dying to children as young as one year old. However, in order for a child to be eligible, there are strict criteria they to meet, predominantly that they must be terminally ill to the point that palliative care wouldnt provide any relief.

This came after the highly publicised case of four-year-old Luuk, who died two years after being diagnosed with Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease, a degenerative condition that affects the central nervous system.

It is illegal in England, Wales and Northern Ireland with a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. There is no specific crime in Scotland. In 2015, a bill to legalise assisted dying in the UK was defeated.

However, it continues to be a source of debate. Most recently, this has been led by presenter Dame Esther Rantzen, who revealed last month she is considering the option of assisted dying if her lung cancer treatment does not improve her condition.

The 83-year-old Childline founder and broadcaster has joined Dignitas, an assisted dying clinic in Switzerland. Her family could be prosecuted if they were to travel with her.

In an interview with the BBCs The Today Podcast in December, she called for a free vote in Parliament on assisted dying as she feels it is important that the law catches up with what the country wants.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has backed calls for a change in the law, saying last month I personally do think there are grounds for changing it. The Health and Social Care Committee is due to publish its report into assisted dying and assisted suicide in England and Wales, having launched an inquiry in December 2022 to examine different perspectives in the debate.

If you are affected by the issues raised in this article, you can contact The Samaritans for confidential emotional support at any time by calling 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org.

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'My last day will be on Saturday': 28-year-old with ME shares final post before being euthanised - Yahoo News UK

In response to public safety concerns, the Austin Animal Center will soon begin evaluating its dogs' bite histories on a new scale and allowing more dangerous animals to be killed without being released back into the community.

The specifics

Following a recent audit that detailed a series of operational failures at the city animal center, several changes aimed at improving services and animals' quality of life have been underway. One, recommended by a city consultant and approved by City Council on Feb. 1, will shift how the facility handles dogs with bite histories.

Even if a dog's bite history is known to animal center staff, Austin's current rules require that the animal be made available for public adoption or transfer before euthanasia can be considered. Additionally, outside rescue groups that might receive dogs from the animal center aren't required to report known bite histories to potential adopters.

The update approved this month lays out a standardized grading system for dog bites and allows staff to euthanize animals with the most severe bite histories without publicly releasing them.

Dogs will be evaluated on the Dunbar bite scale, which features six levels of severity. City staff would be allowed to more quickly euthanize dogs with a documented Level 4 bite or higher.

The Dunbar scale's Level 4 applies to incidents involving multiple skin punctures from a single dog bite, at least one of which is as deep as half the dog's canine teeth. The most severe incidents, Level 6, involve a dog killing a victim.

What it does is it says, hey, if its bad enough of a bite, and if the staff looks at all of the circumstances around it and says, Its the best decision for public safety to not have this dog be rescued by a group or to be taken out and be put back in the public, then theyll have the right to euthanize that dog and make sure it doesnt do that kind of damage again," Deven Desai, the city's independent consultant assessing the animal center, told Community Impact.

While the change was approved Feb. 1, the practice will not officially roll out at the Austin Animal Center until August.

Desai said animal center staff will use the coming six months to pilot the process. And once the changes are in effect, records of all euthanasia decisions will be publicly available to review.

Separately, another policy adjustment was made Feb. 1 to clarify that the center's no-kill goalwhich it must meet at least 95% of the timeonly applies for domestic pets and not wildlife that are sometimes taken in but illegal to adopt.

By the numbers

The new city policy comes after a spike in serious dog bites in Austin recorded over recent years. From 2018 to 2023, the number of serious biting incidents in the city jumped nearly 200%.

"It was just alarming to the staff to see that the increase was happening at such a rapid pace, and obviously far outpacing the citys population growth during that time," Desai said.

What's next

Another key update referenced by city officials is the potential expansion of animal center services to additional places outside the existing facility in East Austin.

While the city doesn't have funding reserved to launch new animal center, Desai and council members expressed interest in finding a way to offer animal intake in other parts of town. Real estate staff are currently looking into that issue, and more discussion may take place during future city budget cycles.

Desai said the animal center's longtime overcrowding challenges, which in the past had partially been addressed by using substandard crates, could be eased with more square footage around Austin.

We do have a need; its not just because the state has told us [using pop-up crates] is against the law, but its also not the right thing for the animal to be living its life in a cage," he said. "Thats really ... one of the impetuses why we need to get a secondary site. In addition to the fact that, frankly, our citys grown so much. Going all the way out to Levander Loop, for example, from Northwest Austin is kind of a trek."

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Austin Animal Center to follow new euthanasia rules for dogs with severe bite histories - Community Impact

The National Election Office (NVB) has rejected the joint referendum initiative of the opposition party Momentum and Dniel Karsai on end-of-life decisions, reports Index and Magyar Nemzet.

Dniel Karsai himself was not allowed to participate in the vote on the first two questions after Tams Fazekas, a politician of the Prbeszd party and member of the NVB, declared bias on his part. Due to health problems, Karsai was unable to participate in the vote in person.

His brother Pter Karsai relayed that he believes Hungarian voters want to express their opinion on the euthanasia issue, saying

Rbert Sasvri, president of the NVB, refused to certify the questions proposed for the referendum, because in his opinion, they are really about the legal status of assisted suicide. The suggestions basically concern the legislative process and would violate the constitution.

Dniel Karsai. Photo: Facebook

The proposed referendum on euthanasia would have included the following questions:

Karsai, who is currently suffering from other health problems in addition to his underlying illness, thanked Momentum for its support on his social media page on Wednesday, the day before the vote.

Via Index and Magyar Nemzet; Featured Image:Pixabay

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Decision Made with Regard to a Proposed Referendum on Euthanasia - Hungary Today

On Thursday, January 25th, an inmate named Kenneth Smith was executed in Alabama using a new execution method: death by nitrogen hypoxia. And a notable euthanasia advocate has condemned it, but only because he claims the execution method is bad publicity for the assisted death movement.

Smith had previously undergone an attempted execution in November of 2022, but the attempts at lethal injection failed. Smiths legal team claimed that attempting to execute him for a second time would equal cruel and unusual punishment, but the day before the execution, the Supreme Court refused to intervene, denying an appeal. Three of the Supreme Court justices dissented, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor writing, Having failed to kill Smith on its first attempt, Alabama has selected him as its guinea pig to test a method of execution never attempted before. The world is watching.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ravina Shamdasani, wrote ahead of the execution that it should be halted, as using a novel and untested method would equal torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment under international human rights law.

Its not that nitrogen gas wont kill you, Dr. Joel Zivot, an associate professor of anesthesiology and surgery at Emory University, told CNN. But will it kill you in a way that would comport with the constitutional requirement that it not be cruel and it not be torture?

Now that Smiths execution has been committed, it appears that his death was, in fact, torturous. Witnesses present for the execution reported a horrific scene: Smith was fitted with a full face mask, and though the nitrogen was said to cause unconsciousness within seconds, Smith remained conscious for several minutes, with the execution overall taking 22 minutes. Smiths convulsions were reportedly so violent that the entire gurney was shaking, while Smiths spiritual advisor Rev. Jeff Hood told the Guardian that even the prison officials were visibly surprised at how bad this thing went.

Marty Roney, a reporter for the Montgomery Advertiser, wrote:

7:57 p.m.

A prisons staff member inside the death chamber approached Smith and checked the seal of the mask. The nitrogen apparently began flowing.

7:57 to 8:01 p.m.

Smith writhed and convulsed on the gurney. He appeared to be fully conscious when the gas began to flow. He took deep breaths, his body shaking violently with his eyes rolling in the back of his head. Hood, standing about 15 feet away, made the sign of the cross several times. Smith clenched his fists, his legs shook under the tightly tucked-in white sheet that covered him from his neck down. He seemed to be gasping for air. The gurney shook several times during this time. Hood removed his eyeglasses and wiped away tears.

8:02 p.m.

Smith appeared to lose consciousness. His chest remained still for about 20 seconds then he took several large gasps for air. There appeared to be saliva or tears on the inside of the facemask. A female witness for Smith sobbed.

8:06 p.m.

Smiths gasping appeared to slow down.

8:07 p.m.

Smith appeared to take his last breath.

8:15 p.m.

The curtains to the witness room were closed.

Though the curtains had been closed, Smith had not yet been pronounced dead, which happened ten minutes later.

Another reporter, Lee Hedgepeth, witnessed the execution firsthand, and said he was shocked at how violent it was. Ive been to four previous executions and Ive never seen a condemned inmate thrash in the way that Kenneth Smith reacted to the nitrogen gas, he told BBCs Newsday. Kenny just began to gasp for air repeatedly and the execution took about 25 minutes total.

Yet Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Q. Hamm downplayed what happened, saying nothing was out of the ordinary from what we were expecting. Hamm also tried to claim the violent convulsions were due to Smith struggling against his restraints. The state of Alabama had claimed that death by nitrogen hypoxia would be painless and quick yet Smiths execution casts serious doubt on that claim.

And its for that exact reason that Philip Nitschke, a notorious euthanasia advocate, is angry.

Nitrogen hypoxia kills a person by depriving their body of the oxygen necessary to live, causing asphyxiation and death; the person is essentially suffocated. Its an assisted death method frequently championed by Nitschke which is why he was so adamantly opposed to Smiths execution; it would show the world firsthand what death by euthanasia is actually like.

In a statement, Nitschke complained that Smiths execution will set the right to die movement back 20 years.

READ: Cancer treatment backlog leads Canadian man to request euthanasia which he got in two days

Nitrogen hypoxia has been advocated for over 15 years by the right to die movement as an effective way to obtain a quick, peaceful and reliable Do It Yourself (DIY) death, he said. Elderly people around the world are now asking whether they should reconsider their plan to use this method and asking where the truth lies. They want to know why the Alabama experiment has prompted such negative reaction? What has been missed in the discussion is that there is a huge difference between when a person immerses him/herself in an oxygen-free environment using an open Exit bag because they want to die, and the planned closed system of the facemask that Alabama wants to use. In the Alabama experiment, the condemned prisoner has a mask forcibly strapped to their face and is then expected to cooperate in their own death!

So for Nitschke, it is only the use of a bag that makes a difference completely ignoring the fact that the person is still being suffocated until they die, regardless of how the nitrogen hypoxia is carried out. Nevertheless, Nitschkes statement insists that nitrogen hypoxia is a highly effective, peaceful and reliable method of elective death.

Many of the drugs used in assisted suicide and euthanasia are the same as the drugs used in executions, and they are much more violent than they seem; the patient is given a paralytic first, so they cannot respond as they die, giving the appearance of a peaceful death. Yet in actuality, the drugs often cause pulmonary edema, in which the patient essentially drowns in their own bodily fluids. With nitrogen hypoxia, the person is suffocated. Despite the quick and painless narrative, these methods of dying are far more gruesome than is let on.

The DOJ put a pro-life grandmother in jail this Christmas for protesting the killing of preborn children. Please take 30-seconds to TELL CONGRESS: STOP THE DOJ FROM TARGETING PRO-LIFE AMERICANS.

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Execution method used on Alabama inmate has pro-euthanasia activists worried - Live Action

Archbishop J. Michael Miller welcomed the federal governments decision to pause the introduction of assisted dying for individuals suffering from mental illness, but expressed dismay that it still intends to expand access in the future.

The Archbishop was reacting to an announcement by federal Health Minister Mark Holland that the government would extend the deadline for making euthanasia available for individuals whose sole medical condition is mental illness.

Holland said on Jan. 29 that more time is needed to prepare for the move but told media the implementation is only being delayed. Earlier in the day, Parliaments Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying recommended delaying the expansion of euthanasia for mental disorders for a year.

The committee said Canada is unprepared for the measure and recommended postponing it until it can be safely and adequately provided.

On Feb. 1, the government introduced legislation to delay the expansion of MAiD for mental illness by three years, freeing the Liberal government from having to deal with the issue before the next federal election.

Archbishop Miller welcomed the Jan., 29 decision to delay the expansion but was disappointed by the ministers indication that he plans to proceed. He said the government had already delayed the measure last year to allow more time to prepare for it.

Now, its admitting there still hasnt been enough preparation, the Archbishop said. There will never be enough preparation for taking the lives of individuals suffering from mental illness, and Canadians have repeatedly said they want to see improved mental health care for mental illness, not death.

Echoing the Archbishops observation was Rebecca Vachon of think tank Cardus, who, although pleased that both the joint committee and the health minister were aligned on delaying the expansion of MAiD, said an indefinite pause is needed.

As Cardus indicated in its own brief to the committee, not only are there inherent problems with reporting and oversight in the current provision of euthanasia, further expansion would be irresponsible given the existing barriers and gaps in mental health care, she said.

A fall 2023 poll by the Angus Reid Institute and Cardus found only 28 per cent of Canadian supported the expansion, while 82 said any expansion should be conditional on improved mental health care.

Vachon said the government has to address current issues with euthanasia. The governments priority should be measures that help Canadians live with dignity, including ensuring universally available, high-quality palliative care, as well as addressing needs like housing and support for those with physical disabilities and mental disorders.

Phil Horgan, lawyer and special counsel to the Catholic Civil Rights League, questioned the governments language in announcing the delay.

The joint committee and the minister commented on the system not being ready for the proposed expansion. We hope that after 57,000 deaths in seven years this legislation be recognized as an unbearable and grisly expansion. The system has gone far beyond anything contemplated by our Supreme Court. Perhaps some humility is in order.

Groups battling the federal governments expansion of assisted suicide to the mentally ill say the delay announced Jan. 29 is no cause to claim victory, and a top health law expert warns grimly its the unelected Senate that might force Canadians to accept medical killing of the mentally ill.

Trudo Lemmens, a professor in health law at the University of Toronto and one of the legal experts invited to present to Parliaments special joint committee on MAiD, cautioned that zealous individual senators could act even if the Trudeau government loses its political appetite for the fight over MAiD expansion.

We will have to see how the Senate reacts since some senators have shown a remarkably zealous commitment to expansion, and may try to block at the Senate level a law implementing the (joint committees) recommendations, said Lemmens.

An advocate for Indigenous people opposed to pushing MAiD further emphasizes the fight is far from won just because of a pause in the legislative action.

Its not like a win or anything, Neil Belanger, director of the British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society (BCANDS), said. If its shut down for two years, youll have those pro-MAID groups working for two years.

Belanger warned that advocates for doctor-delivered death can be counted on to unleash a full-court public relations press aimed at pressuring Ottawa to proceed with the now-paused legal expansion.

These guys will take whatever time they get, and theyll be planning a better strategy, he predicted. Theyll do their PR work, and theyll hope that its out of sight, out of mind for people. And largely it will be.

Hundreds of briefs submitted to the committee reveal strong arguments for a permanent pause to the inclusion of mental illness as grounds for MAiD.

Lemmens, along with two other legal experts, noted in their brief that there is no positive right to MAiD pursuant to permissive federal criminal law. The National Association of Catholic Nurses Canada wrote that no attempts at readiness can overcome basic problems with the concept.

A new Toronto Star investigation says Canada is outpacing every other country in the world in the speed at which euthanasia is growing. In the past two years, more people have died through Canadas MAiD regime than in any other nation in the world, the Toronto Star research found.

With files from Anna Farrow, Canadian Catholic News

By Quinton Amundson

Christian lawyer Lia Milousis hopes a votable resolution she and colleague Kerri Froc have submitted to the Canadian Bar Association will deliver an influential signal that further expansion of MAiD should be abandoned entirely.

Milousis and Frocs motion calls on the bar association, which represents over 38,000 lawyers, judges, notaries, law teachers and students, to execute three actions: withdraw prior statements supporting MAiD for those whose only underlying medical condition is a psychiatric condition; urge the federal government not to proceed with MAiD for people solely living with a mental illness unless and until there is a reliable method to determine if such conditions are irremediable; and implore federal, provincial and territorial organizations to prioritize advancing, developing and funding mental health support.

Milousis said the motion, to be presented at the bar associations annual general meeting on Feb. 8, would essentially correct a misinterpretation of a position adopted at the 2016 annual general meeting in the aftermath of theSupreme Court decision that shaped Canadas original MAiD law Bill C-14.At that time, members agreed that a person who otherwise qualified for euthanasia having a grievous, irremediable medical condition and reasonable foreseeability of natural death should not be barred from MAiD because they also had a psychiatric condition.

I struggle to think that members who voted in 2016 were voting with individuals whose only underlying medical condition was mental illness in mind, said Milousis. Really, this was about saying if you have terminal cancer and you would otherwise qualify for medical assistance in dying and you also happen to have an anxiety order or depression, that depression should not prevent you from proceeding with this decision...

Milousis said the way the resolution has since been interpreted has been a source of deep concern for me and many of my colleagues.

She said MAiD advocates in the bar association have increasingly made submissions in support of including mental illness to qualify for euthanasia. Some of my colleagues and I both believe this is contrary to the Carter decision and outside the scope of the resolution.

The Carter decision is the 2015 Supreme Court of Canada judgment that Criminal Code prohibitions against physician-assisted suicide were unconstitutional.

The authors of the 2024 resolution support their position by citing a 2018 Council of Canadian Academies report that found there is no medical consensus regarding the irremediability of psychiatric conditions.

Another finding in the Council of Canadian Academies document cited by Milousis and Froc is that marginalized populations, including women, Indigenous communities, LGBT individuals, and youth, experience or are at risk of experiencing mental disorders at disproportionate rates.

They argue, permitting medical assistance in dying for those whose sole underlying medical condition is a psychiatric condition would have a disproportionate, gendered impact and risks violating section 15 of the (Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom). Section 15 of the Charter declares, Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.

The solution that these (marginalized) communities have repeatedly asked for are increased mental health supports and additional funding to help these individuals, Milousis said, but in the midst of that cry and desire, the government is saying, well, we dont have those supports available, but we will allow you to access medical assistance in dying.

I find that deeply concerning and disrespectful of what folks in these communities have asked for.

Milousis and Froc are on the CBAs Constitutional and Human Rights Sections executive team, which already voted to endorse the resolution.

The CBA has gone too far in their advocacy, and we need to rein things back in on this issue and focus on what the Supreme Court said in (the Carter decision), Milousis said.

Canadian Catholic News

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MAiD for mental illness must be stopped, not paused, Catholic and legal experts say - The B.C. Catholic

(Bigstock)

Figures released by the South Australian Government yesterday revealed 110 terminally ill patients accessed voluntary euthanasia in the schemes first 12 months. Source: InDaily.

The voluntary assisted dying (VAD) legislation came into effect on January 31, 2023. In the year since, 195 terminally ill people have been issued with a VAD permit, and 110 have died after administration of a VAD substance. A further 30 people died without taking up the option.

According to government statistics released yesterday, 75 per cent of those who applied for VAD in South Australia were aged 65 years and over, and 77 per cent were receiving palliative care.

Sixty-eight per cent were from metropolitan Adelaide and 32 per cent from regional SA.

South Australian Health Minister Chris Picton said the Malinauskas Government has no plans to expand the eligibility criteria for euthanasia services.

Currently, VAD can only be accessed by patients with an incurable, advanced and progressive disease expected to cause death within six months, or 12 months for a neurodegenerative condition.

Mr Picton said the state government is also pushing the Albanese Government to address a Federal Court ruling that effectively criminalises doctors for doing telehealth consultations about VAD.

The November 2023 ruling found that the definition of VAD is the same as suicide under the Commonwealths criminal code meaning doctors who consult about VAD over the phone or email risk criminal prosecution.

FULL STORY

Were really grateful: Familys thanks for South Australias VAD laws(By Thomas Kelsall, InDaily)

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South Australian figures show 110 people used euthanasia to end their lives - CathNews