BY JOHN PRING ON AUGUST 7, 2015 published on the UK Disability News Service An "explosion" of cases in which greedy relatives commit fraud by targeting members of their own family provides further evidence of why assisted suicide should not be legalised, say disabled activists.One of the strongest arguments for opposing legalisation is the risk that it will lead to some family members pressurising terminally-ill relatives to end their lives early in order to benefit from an inheritance. Continue reading

THE RIGHT TO QUESTION AND AN OBLIGATION TO JUDGEPOSTED BY LIVESWORTHLIVING ON NOV 1, 2014 In the last few weeks a slew of articles, mainly from the UK Daily Mail stable, have emerged featuring parents advocating the abortion or euthanasia of their children with disabilities.At opposite ends we have a story from an elderly mother who says that she wished that she aborted Stephen, her 47 year-old son with Downs Syndrome, and at the other tragic end we have the recent story of a younger mother who succeeded in getting a Court to agree to the Ormond Street Hospital in the United Kingdom withholding hydration from her 12 year old daughter who was born blind with hydrocephalus, meningitis and septicaemia. Continue reading

by Nic Steenhout first posted on the Canadian Living with Dignity website: We mourn the death of Yvan Tremblay, a man with disabilities who committed suicide rather than be forced out of his apartment on September 14. Isabelle Maréchal describes the situation well: "He decided to end his life because he could no longer deal with an inhuman system."For 10 years, he lived in adapted housing. The managers of the building where he was staying expelled him because of new safety regulations imposed by the government. Apparently, he could not stay there because it would be impossible to evacuate him in case of fire. If he did not leave by himself, Mr. Tremblay would have been placed in a much smaller home, without even a kitchen. No space for his things. His options were drastically reduced. Continue reading

A recent report from the state of Victoria (Australia) about the incidence of abuse of the elderly and disabled people in state-run facilities paints a disturbing picture of neglect and a lack of respect for people in care. The Age article says that 'reports of abuse inside residential facilities and hospitals for the diabled and mentally ill surged 37% to 287 last financial year.'The organisation known as 'Community Visitors' who look at such facilities on behalf of the Public Advocate cited physical attacks such as punching in the head and a broken leg amongst a litany of other concerns. Continue reading