Elder Abuse in Victorian Nursing Homes by Paul Russell: Anyone who cannot see that coercion and abuse of the elderly and infirmed confirms that assisted suicide and euthanasia can never be made safe from abuse really isn't paying attention. Continue reading

by Paul Russell: A medical friend of mine told me once that in over many years of attending and taking aprt in medical conferences, whenever the 'E' word was mentioned there was always someone in the room that piped up about euthanasia creating savings in the public health purse.I had previously always thought that cost-savings associated with euthanasia and assisted suicide were the 'elephant in the room'; always there, rarely acknowledged and rarely spoken about. Continue reading

by Paul Russell: An expert panel has recently been formed in Victoria at the request of the Premier, Daniel Andrews, tasked with creating 'safe' assisted suicide laws.Even though the earlier Parliamentary Committee on end-of-life issues never actually made a reasoned case for euthanasia and assisted suicide, they still recommended that the government look to create such a law and the Premier accepted their recommendation last December. Continue reading

Disabled activist, comedian and actor Liz Carr talks about her show 'Assisted Suicide: The Musical'  Assisted Suicide: The Musical is set for a season in Melbourne in March 2017 (follow links below for details and to book your tickets.)By Alice Saville first published at the Timeout websitePosted: Tuesday January 17 2017 Continue reading

Case not made and legislation 'unworkable' says Labor MP By Paul Russell: Victorian Parliamentary Secretary for Treasury and Finance, Daniel Mulino (pictured), has hit back at suggestions that assisted suicide and euthanasia can ever be made safe in an article in The Australian today. Continue reading

By Paul Russell: It is perhaps a statement of the obvious that those who oppose euthanasia and assisted suicide are never happy about the passage of such laws. Paradoxically, those that propose them and those that support them are never really satisfied either.There are a number of ways we can look at this reality. The most obvious angle is that, no matter how the laws are framed, there will always be a developing tension over time created by and on behalf of people who don't qualify. Such is the case at the moment in Canada where, in an act of appeasement to get their law through the Ottawa Parliament last year, a promise was made to look further into euthanasia and assisted suicide for minors, for mental health reasons and via advance directives. Studies are now underway to advance these causes. Continue reading

There is little or no substantive protection against coercion and abuse (Republished from the Not Dead Yet USA website.)One of the most frequently repeated claims by proponents of assisted suicide laws is that there is "no evidence or data" to support any claim that these laws are subject to abuse, and that there has not been "a single documented case of abuse or misuse" in the 18 reported years. These claims are demonstrably false. Continue reading

No, it's not a typo and April 1 is a long ways off! UK Actress, Comedian, Broadcaster, star of the BBC's Silent Witness program and disability activist, Liz Carr has combined her considerable talents to create a thought-provoking and rollicking musical about assisted suicide. This article first appeared in CNA Daily News under the title: In new musical, disability rights activist tackles assisted suicide. London, England, Nov 27, 2016 / 03:48 pm (CNA).- Physician-assisted suicide has been a subject of controversy for several years, but Liz Carr is taking the issue somewhere it has never been before: the musical theatre.Carr, a disabilities activist, comedian and actress, created a production entitled Assisted Suicide: the Musical, which has been staged at various English theatres this month. The musical is aimed at drawing critical attention to the downfalls of physician-assisted suicide, particularly its effect on marginalizing the disabled."I wanted to use musical theatre to look at this difficult subject with the lightness and the kind of heightened realism of musical theatre," she said in a video interview with Unlimited, an initiative for disabled artists. Continue reading

Alex Schadenberg International Chair - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition The Supreme Court of South Africa rejected euthanasia and assisted suicide by overturning the lower court decision that approved death of Robin Stransham-Ford, of Cape Town, by euthanasia or assisted suicide by Judge Hans Fabricius on April 30, 2015.Judge Fabricius legislated from the Bench when he ruled that: Continue reading

Melbourne 8th December - Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews MP announced today that he is committing to introducing euthanasia and assisted suicide legislation into the Parliament midway through next year. The announcement comes at the close of the six-month deadline for the government to respond to the Legal and Social Issues Committee's Inquiry into end of life choices tabled in July. Recommendation 49 of that report suggested that the parliament move towards framing a new law.Mr Andrews' media release says that his government will create a 'Ministerial Advisory Panel made up of clinical, legal, consumer, health administrator and palliative care experts' to create the framework for the new law. The release further advises that a discussion paper will be released early in 2017 for public comment. The legislation is expected to be introduced into the parliament from July 2017. Continue reading