In the News
No, assisted suicide should not be another option for end-of-life care.
Anyone dying in discomfort may legally today, in all 50 states, receive palliative sedation. The patient would be sedated and discomfort relieved while the dying process takes place. This is a legal practice that accomplishes the supposed goal of assisted suicide laws without all the baggage. But proponents of assisted suicide laws are trying to
Assisted Suicide is BAD Legislation
The Washington Post published a piece on the debate happening in Delaware around assisted suicide bill HB 140. In the article, they summarize some of the stipulations in the bill: “The bill states that any provision in a contract, will, or other agreement that would affect whether an individual could make or rescind a request
Inmate Seeks Assisted Suicide Despite being Treatable
Larry Smith, an inmate with throat cancer in Maine is enlisting the help of Maine’s so-called “Death With Dignity” law to end his life through assisted suicide. Smith has Stage 2 throat cancer. A Stage 2 diagnosis is early and likely treatable. Smith is currently receiving treatment for his cancer while incarcerated. But in
Underserved Communities, Hospice, and Healthcare Inequity
The Black Wall Street Times reports that a hospice organization in Tennessee is filling the gap in inequitable end-of-life care by catering specifically to the Black families in their community. The article reports that in Tennessee, just 19% of hospice patients are Black, despite Black families making up 27% of the population in the state.
Choosing death over Interdependence
HBO Max’s “A Thousand Fangs” director Jaime Osorio Márquez died by assisted suicide in Colombia on December 23, 2021, after a years-long fight with kidney cancer. He was 46 years old. His producing partner and friend, Federico Duran, reportedly communicated that Osorio was compelled to end his life before he became a burden on his
Austria allows “right” to assisted suicide
Starting in 2022, Austrians who are “chronically, seriously ill or have no prospect of recovery will be able to state their will to die” and be given suicide assistance. The article published by the Associated Press calls this allowance to die by assisted suicide “tightly limited”. These “tightly limited” allowances enable people with disabilities to
Proponents Work Tirelessly To Strip Safeguards Away After Assisted Suicide is Legalized
Assisted suicide is legal in California. Earlier this year, California adjusted one of its “safeguards” on the waiting period between the first request for lethal drugs and the second formal request. The original law maintained that the patient must wait 15 days between the first request and the second. California shortened that “safeguard” to a
The Real Debate on Assisted Suicide
Recently, The New York Times wrote about the assisted suicide debate being inflamed by Philip Nitschke’s suicide pod. Besides the disquieting thought of a personalized gas chamber invented by the man who wants to make suicide available to everyone without barriers, the Sarco pod does not actually ignite the debate on assisted suicide. The device
Some patients get suicide prevention while others get suicide assistance.
Assisted suicide is dangerous and discriminatory. One example of this is that some medical professionals decide which patients to give suicide prevention to and which patients to assist. “Interviews with hospice staff in Washington in the US, where a form of medically assisted dying is available, found that they encountered different types of suicide, and
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