Alex Schadenberg Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition The assisted suicide lobby in California announced that there were at least 504 assisted suicide requests in the first year of the assisted suicide law. The assisted suicide law came into effect on June 9, 2016 in California. Fierce Health reported:In an announcement, Compassion & Choices said the law is working as intended and that 504 people had received prescriptions based on inquiries to its consultation program. The group said the total number of prescriptions statewide will be significantly higher since not every patient would have contacted the advocacy group. Continue reading

by Paul Russell: I wrote recently about a play that ran in Melbourne called 'The Magnolia Tree' and how the notion of being a burden and the genuine fears of anyone approaching decisions about like-changing events like entering a nursing home and the 'elephant-in-the-room' of money and the cost of care can make our elders feel like they are a burden and may put them at risk of Elder Abuse.Putting aside the issue of euthanasia and assisted suicide and the spectre of Elder Abuse for a moment, I am genuinely concerned about the treatment of our elders in Australia and most if not all of the Western World. Aging and the effects of aging make our elders, generally speaking, passive recipients of social policy as well as of the negative tropes that seem to me to be increasing in our media. Once in Australia we had a political movement called 'Grey Power' that gave voice to this increasingly large but otherwise almost voiceless demographic; but Grey Power is no more. Continue reading

by Xavier Symons. Article first published at Mercatornet's Bioedge Blog The debate over euthanasia is often framed in terms of unbearable pain. Yet a new review of assisted dying cases in Toronto suggests that patients are primarily concerned about a "loss of control" over their lives, rather than refractory pain symptoms.The study, published in the current edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, reviewed data on assisted dying cases from the University Hospital Network (UNH), an Ontario healthcare and medical research organisation that operates four major hospitals in the Toronto area. Continue reading

by Paul Russell: Last Wednesday (24th May 2017) the Tasmanian Parliament debated the latest assisted suicide and euthanasia bill to come before an Australian Parliament.The final vote saw the bill, euphemistically entitled the 'Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2016', defeated by a vote of two to one (16 votes to 8) in the Legislative Assembly. Continue reading

Euphemisms have consequences. The Victorian Ministerial Advisory Panel charged by Premier Daniel Andrews with the task of developing a safe way to kill people and to help them to suicide, released its interim report yesterday.Set up in December last year the 'expert panel' has conducted state-wide hearings and accepted submissions on precisely how to make a safe law. Continue reading

  By Paul Russell: Anyone looking at the experience in Canada since euthanasia and assisted suicide laws came into force last year, should be struck by the moves to extend the law so soon after they had been passed. After all, when you look to Belgium and Holland and even Oregon USA, the moves to expand their laws and/or the application of their laws has taken some time to develop. Continue reading

By Paul Russell: I wrote recently about the suicide death of 27 year old Canadian Adam Maier-Clayton. Maier-Clayton had significant psychological difficulties and was pushing for the inclusion of psychological complaints within the ambit of Canada's death laws.He was unsuccessful. His condition has recently been described as a somatoform disorder which, in some circumstances 'the patient's psychological problems may be much more complex and their physical symptoms become severe, disabling and long-lasting'. He died a suicide death earlier in April. Continue reading

by Paul Russell: British Actress, Comedian, broadcaster, Liz Carr, known internationally for her work opposing assisted suicide as a disability campaigner as well as her role in the BBC forensics drama, Silent Witness, has been in Melbourne, Australia for the last few weeks with her show: Assisted Suicide: The Musical.Part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Liz's show is incredibly funny as it is poignant. Simply put; it is a great night out designed to make people think about the issue of assisted suicide. Pegged by Liz as a 'Ted Talk with show tunes' the show is a rollicking feast of songs in the great tradition of show tunes interspersed with Liz talking to the audience about her experiences and concerns about assisted suicide. Continue reading