In the News
Oncologists say Cancer Patients Experience Mental Distress. Assisted Suicide is not the answer.
Cancer Patients are Suffering From Mental Distress According to Healthline, research shows more than 80% of oncologists say they frequently see mental health distress in their patients; more than 90% of oncologists agree or strongly agree that mental health has a significant impact on cancer outcomes; approximately 93% of oncologists surveyed say they’ve
Suicide Contagion is REAL and Assisted Suicide is part of the problem
The Devastating Reality of Suicide Contagion The New York Times investigative team talks about a disturbing discovery on an episode of The Daily podcast titled “Kids Are Dying How Are These Sites Still Allowed?” and a companion article called “Where the Despairing Log On, and Learn Ways to Die” The podcast is about websites that exist online where

3D Printers and Suicide Contagion
Dr. Philip Nitschke of Exit International, whose mission is to normalize and regularize suicide, has created the Sarco Suicide Pod. The pod floods with nitrogen and reduces oxygen, activated by the person laying inside, killing in minutes. The Sarco pod advertises a pain and drug-free method of suicide. The Sarco pod is making headlines because
Same day Suicides and California’s loosened “safeguards”
Yesterday’s “safeguards”, which proponents use to get laws passed in the first place, become today’s obstacles. In January 2020, Oregon adjusted the safeguard requiring a 15-day waiting period between the formal request for lethal drugs and receiving the prescription. Starting in January 2022, California’s waiting period will be reduced from 15 days to a meager
Assisted Suicide and the “Burden” on Doctors
Patients from around the world travel to Switzerland to end their lives at euthanasia clinics inside the country’s border. Erika Preisig, President at a Swiss assisted suicide clinic, and proponent of the practice calls the burden on doctors to choose which patients live and which die difficult, but justifies it with a quality of life
First approved assisted suicide in Italy is for a man with disabilities
The first assisted suicide approved in Italy is a man with disabilities who was involved in a car accident ten years ago. What kind of precedent does this set for Italians with disabilities? In the 2019 report by The National Council on Disability, it is clear that assisted suicide laws are rife with dangers to
Hospice and Palliative Care Month: Neither Hastens Nor Prevents
Hospice and palliative care neither hasten nor prevent death, as founded by Dame Cicely Saunders. The vast majority of those who work in hospice and palliative care practice according to this philosophy. Assisted suicide proponents, however, are trying to co-opt this medical speciality and make killing patients part of relieving their pain. The top five

Assisted Suicide Proponent Files Lawsuit to Remove Residency Requirement in Oregon
Dr. Nick Gideonse and Compassion and Choices filed a lawsuit challenging the residency requirement in Oregon, a “safeguard” in the law that requires patients seeking assisted suicide to live in the state. This lawsuit, if successful, will end in Swiss-style suicide tourism for people with life-threatening disabilities. By seeking to ban residency requirements, this case
Doctor Writes “End of life bill would be a disaster”
October 20, 2021. Dr. Mark Rollo of Fitchburg, MA, wrote a letter to the editors of the Sentinel and Enterprise and the Lowell Sun that was published on October 9, 2021 about proposed assisted suicide bill “An Act Relative to End of Life Options” [H2381/S1384]. Dr. Rollo calls out the tragic irony that the Massachusetts
Doctors Submit Letter to the Boston Globe: Debate over assisted suicide renewed in Mass.
October, 20th 2021. A letter to the editor of the Boston Globe was published on October 17 from Dr. Ronald W. Pies of Lexington, Dr. Mark Rollo of Fitchburg, and Dr. Thomas Sullivan of Beverly, who weigh in on the assisted suicide debate in Massachusetts. The letter maintains that there is no need or ethical

Essay: “Euthanasia and assisted dying: the illusion of autonomy”
Dr. Ole Hartling, physician of over 30 years, doctor of medical sciences at the University of Copenhagen, professor of health promotion at the University of Roskilde, and an author and co-author of several books and scientific articles, wrote an essay titled Euthanasia and assisted dying: the illusion of autonomy published in The BMJ on
Boston Globe: Legalizing assisted suicide would send a devastating message
Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby published an opinion piece Legalizing assisted suicide would send a devastating message on October 10th, 2021. The article summarizes the problems with assisted suicide legislation following the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Public Health’s hearing on October 1, 2021. The Committee heard testimony on bills H2381 and S1384. These bills

Boston Globe: Legalizing assisted suicide would send a devastating message
Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby published an opinion piece Legalizing assisted suicide would send a devastating message on October 10th, 2021. The article summarizes the problems with assisted suicide legislation following the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Public Health’s hearing on October 1, 2021. The Committee heard testimony on bills H2381 and S1384. These bills would

Not Dead Yet: Nat’l Council on Independent Living’s Policy Director Testifies Against Massachusetts Bill
Posted: 05 Oct 2021 11:17 AM PDT Joint Committee on Public Health Public Hearing: End of Life Options – Submitted by Lindsay Baran October 1, 2021 I would like to thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Lindsay Baran, and I work as the Policy Director for the National Council on

Not Dead Yet: John Kelly’s Testimony covers medical mistakes, class and race/ethnic divide and more
John Kelly’s Testimony covers medical mistakes, class and race/ethnic divide and more by Diane Coleman, Not Dead Yet by Diane Coleman “Massachusetts Public Health Committee hearing on the state’s assisted suicide bill: “Thank you. Everyone knows that doctors make mistakes, and studies show that 12 to 15 percent of people outlive the six-month hospice
New York Times Reports Marilyn Golden, Effective Voice for the Disabled, Dies at 67
Original Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/28/us/marilyn-golden-dead.html
Marilyn Golden 1954 – 2021
Tribute written by the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF): https://dredf.org/2021/09/22/in-memory-of-marilyn-golden/ Marilyn Golden 1954 – 2021 “One hopes that the changes in law and policy we worked on at DREDF will be something the disability community can build on.” Marilyn Golden, answering the question, “What would you like your legacy to be?” in a
MedPage Today: Study Sheds Light on Physician-Assisted Suicide in Lung Cancer Patients
Patients diagnosed with lung cancer who opted for “medical assistance in dying” often proceeded without consultation with their radiation oncologist or medical oncologist, a researcher said. In a Canadian study of 45 individuals diagnosed with lung cancer who used medical assistance in dying (also known as physician-assisted suicide), about 20% did not have a radiation
Massachusetts LULAC Stands Opposed to Assisted Suicide
Nation’s Largest Volunteer-Based Organization for Latino Civil Rights Pushes Back Against Assisted Suicide Boston, MA. September 7, 2021 – Today, the Massachusetts chapter of LULAC, the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization for Latinos, issued the following statement asking members of the Massachusetts legislature to join them in strong opposition to assisted
Boston Globe: Push for assisted suicide raises questions over disability rights
In response to an essay on the Victorian fantasy of a peaceful death, two letter writers (“Beyond the fantasy of a gentle death,” Aug. 29) called on the state Legislature to pass the proposed assisted suicide bill. Paula Bacon and Molly DeHaas Walsh describe the circumstances of difficult deaths and believe that assisted suicide would bring