This is a great article on why Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide should never be legal from a disabilities perspective. First published in the  :New York Times Continue reading

Some people have the ability to get the tone of a letter to an editor just right and they seem, always, to get published (though I'm sure this isn't always the case). The following letters again focused on the Massachusetts Ballot Question 2 and appeared recently in New England newspapers:Dear Editor: (Boston Herald)  Continue reading

Staff Editor at the Boston Phoenix, S.I. Rosenbaum opposes Ballot Question 2 from personal experience and sound reasoning:  K Continue reading

  Former rocker and now TV presenter and interviewer on Australian television, Richard Wilkins talks about his son, Adam.Many people (including yours truly) speak similarly about their children with Down Syndrome. Continue reading

This post is cross-posted from 'Seeds of Hope' â�� the blog of Disability commentator and activist, Daniel Pask Few crimes are more wicked than those committed against people with disabilities.  We are less likely than others to report being abused or mistreated, for fear of abandonment by people who care for us.  Crimes against us wound our sense of trust particularly deeply, especially if perpetrators are people on whom we have relied not just for help, but survival.  It takes a tremendous effort and genuine courage for a person whose disability affects their communication skills to speak out about what has been done to them.It is, sadly, not surprising in the least to hear allegations that a large number of rape and sexual assault crimes against people with disability have not been investigated in the State of South Australia.  In a recent trial in that State, some charges had to be dropped because the alleged victims were unable to give evidence.  Fresh charges of sexual crimes against other victims have since been laid. Continue reading

Erik Leipoldt, Adjunct Lecturer from the Centre for Research into Disability and Society at WA's Curtin University has provided what I would call, "expert testimony" on the relationship between euthanasia and disability. Described by MercatorNet as, "One of the most eloquent voices on euthanasia in Australia". Dr Leipoldt is also a quadriplegic. His paper Euthanasia in Australia: Raising a disability voice is a 'must read' for all politicians as well as those involved in public policy.The Australian euthanasia debate is inviting us to conclude that lives lived with disability are often not worth living, while actual disability experience points to a contrary reality.  Disability voices and perspective are seldom heard but are essential ingredients of a fully informed debate.  Their experience shows that there is a social context within which requests for euthanasia arise, which calls for the best possible care and support.  Set in that context, it is not possible to build any effective safeguards against euthanasia. Continue reading