In the News
Assisted suicide goes against our values
House Bill 1659 effectively gives physicians permission to prescribe drugs that result in patient suicide. We have serious concerns about the potential impact on New Hampshire’s at-risk population if this bill passes. It normalizes suicide as medical care and corrupts the doctor/patient relationship. New Hampshire suicide rates are up nearly 50% over the past 10
New York doctors urge legislators to reject assisted suicide law
Doctors, nurses and other medical professionals are urging state lawmakers to oppose the [assisted suicide law] this session, and instead, promote palliative care and hospice care for terminal patients. Both the Medical Society of the State of New York and the American Medical Association oppose “physician-assisted suicide.” …Kristen Hanson, a community relations advocate for the
Assisted suicide would put our most vulnerable patients at risk
With the newly elected Virginia state legislature taking power in 2020, the debate over assisted suicide has returned to the General Assembly with a name change to disguise the real meaning. The bill [Health Care Decision Making, HB 1649] introduced by Del. Kaye Kory, D–Fairfax, also intends to expand assisted suicide authority to nurse
Doctors Say “Kill the Pain, Not the Patient”
Dozens of doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals from across the state are at the State Capitol today to make the medical case against legalizing physician-assisted suicide. “Today we will meet with our elected representatives to explain the adverse impacts that a policy of doctor-assisted suicide would have on our patients, and on the medical
Bill to Allow Physician-Assisted Suicide Sparks Discourse
Opponents of assisted suicide held a press conference Wednesday to reject legislation allowing patients with terminal conditions to request a life-ending substance from a physician… “Suicide is incredibly sad,” said Dr. Mary Lopez during the press event held at the Pocahontas Building. “As a nation, we do not want to see our people killing
The Extreme Ableism of Assisted Suicide
The real reasons that people want to commit assisted suicide, proponents admit, are about being dependent on other people for personal care. We disability rights activists have been pointing this out all along. Barbara Coombs Lee, who as an insurance company executive wrote Oregon’s assisted suicide law, brought up the case of the woman
Edmonton woman makes national appeal for people with disabilities
Dr. Heidi Janz makes regular trips from her southside condo, past the lot where she grew up, and then onto Gateway Boulevard, turning west to enter the Edmonton International Airport. As a playwright and award-winning filmmaker, her travel resume is not only impressive, but forms the basis for entertaining and, more significantly, often profoundly
Control over timing, manner of death is not, nor should it be, goal of medicine
As a palliative care physician helping patients and families face the end of life on a daily basis, I know that physician-assisted suicide will not help the majority who are fighting against all odds, to live “as well as they can for as long as they can.” …Much of the public is fearful of
Assisted Suicide is Not Palliative Care
Due to ongoing confusion amongst the general public regarding Hospice Palliative Care (HPC) and Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA) and the Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians (CSPCP) would like to clarify the relationship of hospice palliative care and MAiD. Healthcare articles and the general media continue to
Belgium euthanasia: Three doctors accused in unprecedented trial
In an unprecedented case, three Belgian doctors are going on trial in Ghent accused of unlawfully poisoning a patient whose life they helped to end. Tine Nys, 38, died surrounded by her family on 27 April 2010. Her sisters argue that her death should never have been allowed under Belgium’s euthanasia law, and that
Group plans to appeal Mass. judge’s decision that rejected a right to assisted suicide
An advocacy group pushing to legalize medically-assisted suicide in Massachusetts said Monday that it will appeal a recent court decision, which said patients do not have a right to end their lives with the help of their doctors… Second Thoughts Massachusetts, a group that opposes medical aid in dying, praised the judge’s decision. That
Massachusetts Court Dismisses Bulk of Lawsuit that Argues Assisted Suicide is Not Manslaughter
Kligler, a retired internist who has terminal prostate cancer, and Steinbach, who treats terminally ill patients, are plaintiffs in the case filed in 2016 against state Attorney General Maura Healey and Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe. They sought to have Suffolk Superior Court in Boston declare that physician-assisted suicide is not manslaughter.
Medicare Advantage Plans Offering Palliative Care Quadrupled for 2020 but Hard to Find Sufficient Number of Providers
A rising number of Medicare Advantage plans are offering home-based palliative care as a supplemental benefit. This year, 61 plans offer a palliative care benefit compared to 15 during 2019, a new Duke University report indicates. Hospices provide about 50% of home-based palliative care in the United States according to the Center to Advance
Palliative Care Reduces ICU Use by 10%
A recent study published in JAMA showed that palliative care services at hospitals was associated with a 10% reduction in ICU use for patients who died during hospitalization. The researchers noted that over half of the hospitals sampled in the study reported that they never had a palliative care program. Ask your state legislator
Elder Financial Exploitation
Financial exploitation is a fast-growing form of abuse of seniors and adults with disabilities. Situations of financial exploitation commonly involve trusted persons in the life of the vulnerable adult, such as: Caretakers Family members Neighbors Friends and acquaintances Attorneys Bank employees Pastor Doctors or nurses APS programs report that the number and complexity
Against physician-assisted suicide: A new law would feed a throwaway culture
There will be a renewed push to legalize physician-assisted suicide (PAS) in New York State in 2020. Some think of this as a debate between religious and secular activists, the former in favor of traditional morals and rules and the latter in favor of individual freedom and autonomy. But the debate is actually much more
Assisted Suicide Laws May Harm People with Disabilities
Photo Credit: Not Dead Yet Massachusetts Compassionate medical care and end of life considerations are some of the most complex and difficult issues facing families, and society in general. It is a reality that may only intensify against a backdrop of an aging population. In the United States, the number of older individuals outpaces
‘Bike Man’ Is A Different Kind Of Community Superhero Changes His Mind About Assisted Suicide
Bob Charland has a passion for building bikes. He just doesn’t know how much longer he can do it. “I want to help people,” said Bob. “I want to know that my time here meant something and that I was able to make a difference in this world.” Bob used to work as an
Let doctors focus on healing patients, not helping them commit suicide
Lewis Cohen argues for passage of the End of Life Option Act which has been defeated in the Maryland General Assembly for the past five years, but actually illustrates one of the many dangers of this terrible bill (“Deathly ill Marylanders should have a choice on how and when they die,”Dec. 4). Every year,
State should not legalize physician-assisted suicide
Legalization of physician-prescribed lethal medication for terminal patients, even on request, is bad medicine. This is eliminating the sufferer, not the suffering. It is both unnecessary and dangerous. Twenty years’ experience in Oregon shows that “Inadequate pain control or concern about it” is a distant sixth most-cited reason for patients to choose lethal medication,