Mercy killing? Never. I'll always fight like a lioness for my darling boy

Victoria Moore from the UK's Daily Mail wrote an article about Elisabeth Shepherd who has been caring for her 36 year-old son James since he was 8 years old.

Shepherd contacted the Daily Mail after they published articles supporting Kay Gilderdale, who was acquitted of attempted murder in the death of her daughter Lynn.

Shepherd stated to the Daily Mail:

"Your admiration for the mother of Lynn Gilderdale frightens me. Across the hall from me is a young man. His name is James and he is my son. Quadriplegic since the age of eight, he has no controlled use of any limbs, nor even a finger tip. If his nose itches, he has to holler for help.

Like Lynn Gilderdale, he envies those who roll over in bed with ease. Sadly, we've had the "who will ever love me?" talk more than once, and when my dear daughter gave birth to her first child there were tears of sadness for James's lost opportunities mixed in with those of joy at new life."

The article explains the concerns that Shepherd has for the life of her son. The article states:

Her account of the ups and downs of life with James was immensely moving. But there was something else, too: an impassioned desire to provide a balancing voice against those whom she felt may -- following coverage of the Gilderdale case and the impassioned support that a number of personalities have shown for assisted suicide, such as actress Brenda Fricker who revealed in an interview this month that she was one of the 29 Irish people who have signed up to end their lives at Swiss clinic Dignitas -- be viewing this matter too lightly.

Shepherd then explained why she is concerned for her son. She said:

'been at the place where I've considered helping James and myself to die. It's this close involvement in his care that convinces me that we must maintain the protection of the courts for people like my son, even from me, his mother'. ... 'My fear, ' she says, 'is that if people begin to think of assisted suicide as an option then the balance will change. As a society, we will shift towards a different mindset. A mindset in which people like James begin to appear expendable.

'I also fear it may mean that people like James begin to feel that being such a burden on a carer, who is very often a close relative, is a choice they are actively making by not committing suicide. That guilt may be enough to tip the balance into them taking their life.'

The article explained that:

James was an ordinary, healthy boy until November 29, 1981, when he went out with his father and older brother, Paul, to buy some sweets. He was standing at a crossing when a driver leaned across to the passenger seat of her car to add an item to her shopping list, mounted the pavement and hit James.

To care or not to care:

Doctors warned Elisabeth that the chances of her son ever regaining enough consciousness to recognise her were virtually zero.

They kept trying to tell me how severely handicapped he was. They told me he would never speak again.

They advised me to put him into ward care where they thought he would last about a year. All I knew was, all of a sudden, I had really become a mother. I was a bit like a lioness. I couldn't leave my young. He was warm and pink and I could touch him. He still felt like my child.

AND three-and-a-half months after the accident, a miracle occurred: Elisabeth noticed James moving his head and then, when a disbelieving doctor came to examine him, James reached up with an arm, pulled the man towards him, and gave him a kiss.

Elisabeth's marriage broke down

'James's father left not because he didn't love him, but because he did, and he was in so much pain'. Family life, of sorts, slowly recommenced and two-and-a- half years after the accident, on a visit to a safari park ('we used to prop James up in the back of the car between sandbags and the other children') he uttered his first word: 'zebra'.

Today James and Elisabeth share a home. She works parttime as a ceramics restorer ('I do not claim income support') and is his principal carer.

James lives an active life:

But it's clear Elisabeth ensures he has as active a life as is possible. Despite his restricted movement, he recently swam a length to raise money for charity.

She takes him bowling, to archery, for rides on a specially designed bike. In his room there are Harry Potter books, shelves of ceramics he has made using a mouth-stick, a photograph of him sitting proudly beside the vivid mauves, cerises and pinks of a shock of sweet pea plants he exhibited in a local flower show.

They're much healthier than any I've ever managed to grow. 'Did you use tomato feed?' I ask, as he watches from his wheelchair, proudly wearing a red Liverpool FC shirt. 'My grandma always says that's the secret.'

He animates immediately. 'I used tomato feed,' he confirms haltingly and then, bringing us back to the point, 'I had an accident when I was eight.'

What does it mean to be human?

Elisabeth worries that in the debate about assisted suicides we are in danger of corrupting our idea of what it means to be human. 'I do believe in a God, but my instinct that life is precious is not just grounded in that. It's partly from watching doctors fight so hard to preserve the least glimmer of life.

'It's also because I feel we're sold an ideal and people feel that if they don't have it they're not enough. But if we become a tickbox society, where we say no because someone can't have sex or cannot feed themself, where will that leave us?

'What is a human being? Is my son any less of a human being? Am I, because having done a law degree I didn't pursue my legal career and became a carer?

'Does that make me, or James, any less of a contributor to society? We all want something. But my aspirations and James's are different. Others might long to be an air hostess; we just want to see him flex a finger.'

Attitudes toward people with disabilities.

Elisabeth once had to call an ambulance out to resuscitate James and was horrified when the woman on the phone said to her: 'You do know he's a DNR? [Do Not Resuscitate]' 'Do you know you're speaking to his mother,' was Elisabeth's retort, who had, in fact, not known. The DNR instruction has now been removed, but the incident makes a powerful point.

James's life has value:

Elisabeth is adamant that her son's life does have value -- not only to him, but also to the rest of the family and to those who meet him and come up to her to say: 'Your lad's all right, he is.'

Yet for all this maternal ferocity, Elisabeth still feels her son -- and those like him -- needs protecting from her, his mother and primary carer.

This is partly because of what she calls the months and years of 'insanity' and 'mental chaos', in the aftermath of the accident, in which state she says it would be close to impossible to make a fair decision on whether you should help your child to end their life. It is also because Elisabeth fears the breaking points you encounter on such a hard journey can make an unreliable carer of even the most devoted parent.

Shepherd has also felt overwhelmed:

Her toughest point came four years ago when she was rundown, ill and emotionally exhausted, and James wet the bed. 'I got him up and put him in the wheelchair, lifted his mattress and the mess went all over me.

'And I hit him. I was just so exhausted. I tapped him across the shoulders with my fingertips and in that moment I crossed a line. I felt I became untrustworthy. The shame was utterly overwhelming.'

SHE told her GP, and the social services. She also, for the first time, began to feel that if James asked her, it might be better to help him end his life, and hers, too.

'This violence is a dark secret. We need to be more open about it, because we need to get more help for carers -- not just physical support, but a way to rebuild mental confidence in yourself.'

James is not a burden, his life has value.

'Sometimes I see my son watching me out of the corner of his eye. How easy might it be for people like James to begin to feel they were a burden, and to want to give up?'

Like Kay Gilderdale, Elisabeth says she would like those who are seriously ill to have access to a panel of experts who could provide a more balanced support system, and a more open, rounded debate than any carer could be expected to give, should the person express a wish to kill themselves.

Most of all, though, she wants to give voice to all those whose lives are no longer what they intended them to be.

'I have my son and I can put my arms round him, and he's still pink and warm and I'm still grateful.' This is not only about a mother's love, though -- it's about James, too.

Elisabeth wants those like him to realise their lives have worth. 'My son is like a celebration. I'm so very proud of him.'

There are over 160,000 carers in Ireland, but of these only 27 per cent are in receipt of some level of carer's allowance.

Link to the article in the Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1251777/Mercy-killing-Never-Ill-fight-like-lioness-darling-boy-.html

Choosing to die with dignity

A letter in the Ottawa Citizen that argues in favour of legalizing euthanasia also offers the reasons why it should not be legalized.

N Ann Smith states with reference to the story of Kay Carter who went to Switzerland to the Dignitas Suicide clinic that:

Over the last two decades Canada has taken tentative steps toward legalizing assisted suicide and euthanasia, only to be halted and deflected by groups such as the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition and individuals such as Dr. Margaret Somerville, who present strong cases of their own.

When, in 15 or 20 years' time, our already overburdened health-care system will be staggering under the economic and social weight of a disproportionately aged population, these and many others will perhaps remember Kay Carter's wonderful confident smile and her certain readiness to die.

I promise them that there will be many of us, and not necessarily terminally ill, who will be ready to follow her example.

I agree that the Canadian health-care system is facing greater demands as the population ages, but is euthanasia an answer to health care costs or will it create the duty to die that many people with disabilities predict will eventually become the reality?

Further to that, Smith comments that many people who are not terminally ill will be ready to follow the example of Kay Carter. The fact is that when Canadians are asked about whether or not they support the legalization of euthanasia, it is always assumed that it is only for the terminally ill. But Smith's comments are actually the same as the reality concerning Bill C-384, meaning the bill will allow euthanasia for people with chronic physical or mental pain, (ie depression).

Remember the concept of choice is an illusion when speaking about legalizing euthanasia because the person who actually carries out the act is usually a physician. This is not about people commiting self-suicide, it is about giving physicians the right to directly and intentionally take your life. The only question is under what circumstance, but even that is subjective.

Association of Quebec Medical Specialists say they support euthanasia, but remain confused about what it really is.

The Quebec National Assembly established a committee that began its consultation into the issues of euthanasia and assisted suicide on February 15th.

Before reading this article you need to know that - Euthanasia is when one person (usually a physician) directly and intentionally causes the death of another person (often their patient) to eliminate suffering. It is dealt with under section 222 (homicide) of the criminal code of Canada.

The first presentations were made by Gaétan Barrette, Yves Lamontagne and Yves Robert from the Quebec College of Physicians and the Federation of Quebec Medical Specialists.

The presentations by the Quebec physician groups was not surprising. I continue to wonder if they are either deliberately misleading the public concerning euthanasia or they just don't understand the issue?

For instance, the Quebec Physicians groups continue to compare the use of analgesics, such as morphine, for the control of pain or management of symptoms as euthanasia. This is not true.

The abuse of the use of analgesics may be euthanasia, but the proper use of analgesics is never euthanasia.

They are also arguing that the use of sedation techniques is the same as euthanasia. This is not true.

The use of sedation is rarely necessary, but when properly used it is not euthanasia. Sedation can be abused and used as a form of euthanasia, but it is never necessary and it is wrong.

Another false and misleading statement was made at the commission hearings. Yves Robert, secretary of the College, told the committee that:
"Quebec is the only jurisdiction in Canada where patients can refuse medical treatment, which can lead to death.

"It doesn't exist elsewhere in Canada," Robert said. "We are ahead. Can we go farther?"
This is an outright lie. All Canadians have the right to refuse medical treatment. To refuse medical treatment is not euthanasia, but rather it results in a natural death. It is interesting that Robert is oblivious to the fact that the practise of medicine in Quebec is almost identical to the practise of medicine in the rest of Canada.

We must not confuse the right to refuse medical treatment with the act of euthanasia.

It is interesting that But Barrette and Yves Lamontagne of the Quebec College of Physicians told the committee that doctors do not want to perform assisted suicides.

"We are not there to execute people, Euthanasia, the decision to end life when death is imminent and inevitable, is extremely complex and emotionally charged," Lamontagne added.

When I read this comment I wonder, what do the Quebec physicians actually want. They say that they favour euthanasia but they do not want to perform assisted suicides. Are they saying that they want to have the right to lethally inject their patients but they don't want to have the right to prescribe lethal overdoses or are they saying that they want to withdraw treatment and use large doses of analgesics and sedatives but they don't want to lethally inject their patients? More information is necessary before I can answer this question.

Link to the article in the Montreal Gazette:http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Doctors+back+right/2568891/story.html

Link to a previous article concerning the position of the Quebec Physicians: http://alexschadenberg.blogspot.com/search/label/Quebec

Assisted suicide petition gets 40,000 names

An article that was published in the dutchnews.nl stated that a lobby group got 40,000 signatures in one week demanding that the Dutch government allow euthanasia and assisted suicide for people who are over the age of 70 for any and all reasons "tired of living".

The Dutch euthanasia lobby has been pushing for euthanasia for those who are "tired of living" as their "final solution" for many years. When I attended the World Federation of Right to Die Societies Conference in Toronto in September 2006, the leader of the NVVE - Dutch euthanasia society, stated that he was concerned that activism on the part of the euthanasia lobby should be discouraged because it would prevent them from achieving their final goal - euthanasia for those who are "tired of living." At the same conference Philip Nitschke asked the question, why should we not have euthanasia available to those who are "tired of living."

First of all, my mom turns 70 this year. She is a great dutch woman and she has always put others first in her life. Women like her should never be told that they are "better off dead".

Secondly, I am not alone in this fact, but my father passed away many years ago. When you visit a retirement home you will notice that women live longer than men. Very few men live in retirement homes because men die on average 6 years earlier than women.

When one considers the dynamic that exists within society, we find that many elderly people live alone, they feel abandoned, and they have financial resources that some of their children are quietly thinking are "wasted by the elderly" that could be passed to the next generation through death.

The reality is that society is experiencing an incredible growth in elder abuse and now we will tell the elderly, mainly our mothers, - Oh by the way, you could access your "freedom", your "choice" by through euthanasia - hint, hint, nudge, nudge.

What about the person who resents their mother because she has significant needs. It doesn't matter that mom changed their dirty diapers and fed and cared for her children and often delayed a career in order to care for her children, now that she needs care it is perceived as terrible that she expects so much of us.

Often our mothers continue to want the best for us, even after we have grown up. Would it not be easy to convince them that death is preferable than living with needs. These women will feel that by agreeing to euthanasia they are doing "what is best for her children". Choice, what a joke.

The 40,000 people who signed the petition urging the government to allow "doctors" to lethally inject or provide lethal doses to our elderly mothers should be ashamed of themselves. They represent the most uncaring, self-centred, group of people that have ever lived.

Oh by the way - It would be a free choice for these elderly women. Bull - this is the prime example of how choice is a lie and assisted suicide and euthanasia are a "recipe for elder abuse."

This whole concept is based on a few academics who philosophically believe that death is the ultimate freedom. They really don't care that their philosophy threatens the lives of the many so the few white wealthy academics can say - "I am free".

It is bad enough that they allow euthanasia in general, but to simply say - "Oh by the way I am tired of living, give me the Kool-Aid" is ridiculous at best.

The article stated:

A lobby group hoping to win support for assisted suicide for the over 70s has raised the necessary 40,000 signatures to force a parliamentary debate on the issue.

The organisation, which is supported by tv personalities and academics, says thousands of elderly people have had enough of life and would like professional help to commit suicide. The campaign was launched last week.

Under Dutch law, euthanasia can only be practised if the patient is suffering 'unbearable pain'. The doctor must be convinced the patient is making an informed choice and a second doctor must also give his or her opinion.

Link to the article: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2010/02/assisted_suicide_petition_gets.php

Previous blog comment on this story:
http://alexschadenberg.blogspot.com/2010/02/dutch-euthanasia-society-promoting.html

When a Living Will becomes a Killing Will

Recently we received three Power of Attorney/Living Will legal documents that appear to be designed as Killing Will documents.

A Power of Attorney for Personal Care is a legal document whereby you assign a person to make medical and care decisions on your behalf when you are unable to do so for yourself. These are important legal documents because the wording of the document can either protect your life or cause your death.

My concern is that many people have their lawyer draw up a Will and Power of Attorney document without understanding how the language in the Power of Attorney document may be neutral, may protect their life, or may actually hasten their death.

Last week a supporter contacted us to read his Power of Attorney for Personal Care document. He was shocked that he had signed a document that instructed the physician to dehydrate him to death if he were terminally ill or living with a chronic condition.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition distributes the Life-Protecting Power of Attorney for Personal Care to protect you from being abandoned, when you need care. We only charge $25 for this document. Order the document here: Link.

Recently, a supporter sent me their Power of Attorney document that is the worst one. It stated:

If and when it becomes clear beyond any reasonable doubt that I am afflicted with or suffering from an irreversible injury, disease, illness or condition that is terminal, then:(a) I direct that I be allowed to die, and that I not be kept alive by artificial means or invasive measures of any kind. Measures of prolonging life that are to be avoided, withheld, withdrawn or discontinued include:(i) electrical or mechanical resuscitation of my heart;(ii) nasogastric tube feedings, gastric tube feedings or parentral nutrition;(iii) artificial mechanical respiration when my brain can no longer sustain my own breathing;(iv) radiation treatment and chemotherapy, unless used strictly as palliative measures;(v) any treatment for any other illness or disease (such as pneumonia) which I contract when already afflicted with a terminal disease, illness or condition (such as Alzheimer's Dementia); and(vi) dialysis when my kidneys fail.(b) I request that a "Do Not Resuscitate" ("DNR") notification be kept with me at all times - whether I am at home, living with family or friends, or in a hospital or other health care facility.(c) I desire that medication be mercifully administered to alleviate pain and suffering, even though the result may be to hasten the moment of my death.(d) If I am under the care of a physician whose moral, religious or personal professional beliefs are not in sympathy with the directives set out herein, I direct my attorney for personal care to ask that physician to withdraw from my care and to arrange for me to be cared for by another physician whose beliefs and views accord more closely with my directives, and, if necessary, to transfer me to a different hospital or health care facility to better ensure that my wishes as expressed herein are respected.

The problem I have with this document is that it not only orders the physician to not provide any medical treatment, other than palliative care, but it also orders the physician to dehydrate the person to death, even if they are not in the dying phase. Read section (a), subsection (ii).

Further to that, the person who sent me this document was a suppoorter of our work and this was the document that his lawyer was suggesting that he sign.

The fact is that many unsuspecting people have obtained, legally signed, and put-in-place, similar power of attorney for personal care documents without knowing how the document will be interpreted.

Further to that: Power of Attorney for Personal Care documents are only legally binding when the person is incapable of making legal decisions for themselves. At that point the document can't be amended.

The Life-Protecting Power of Attorney for Personal Care will protect you from being killed. We charge $25 for this document. The information for ordering the document is at: link.

Poll: Sharp divisions on euthanasia

Joel Connelly from the Seattle PI online news wrote this article concerning an Angus Reid poll that shows once again that Americans are divided on allowing physicians to directly and intentionally cause the death of a person. What is important is that a majority (52%) agreed that legalizing induced death would leave vulnerable people without sufficient legal protection.

I am convinced that when the issue is presented based on people with disabilities expressing that legalizing assisted suicide makes them feeling threatened, or based on the reality of elder abuse, that we win the on the issue.

The article:

A new Angus Reid poll find that 42 percent of American adults are in favor of making euthanasia legal in the United States, although 52 percent feel legalizing induced death would leave vulnerable people without sufficient legal protection.

The survey steered clear using such deliberately non-threatening terms as "Death With Dignity" favored by supporters of assisted suicide. In the 2008 election, by a 58 percent to 42 percent vote, Washington became the second U.S. state to legalize physician-assisted suicide.

In its poll of 1,001 American adults, taken Feb. 4 and 5, Reid asked:
"Generally speaking, do you support or oppose legalizing euthanasia in the United States?"

The results: 14 percent answered "Strongly Support," 28 percent "Moderately Support", 14 percent "Moderately Oppose," and 23 percent "Strongly Oppose." A total of 22 percent were not sure.

A near-majority of Democrats (47 percent) support euthanasia, while a bare majority of Republicans (51 percent) oppose it. A total of 47 percent of Independents backed legalized euthanasia.

Still, the public has reservations about induced and assisted death.

The poll asked if people felt that legalizing euthanasia "would leave vulnerable people without sufficient protection." Fifty-two percent agreed, 32 percent disagreed, 15 percent were unsure.

As well, Reid asked if legalizing euthanasia "would send the message that the lives of the sick or disabled are of less valued. The poll's respondents split down the middle, 44 percent in agreement, 44 percent disagreeing, with 12 percent unsure.

A contrasting opinion came when the pollster asked if legalizing euthanasia "would give people who are suffering an opportunity to ease their pain." Seventy percent agreed, only 19 percent disagreed.

The public seemed compassionate toward those making life-or-death choices.

"Do you think people who help a person to commit suicide should be prosecuted?" Reid asked.

Thirty-seven percent said "Yes," 34 percent answered "No," with 28 percent "Not Sure." Independent voters were strongest in saying those who assist suicide should not be prosecuted.

The poll put a related question more bluntly:

"If a parent is found guilty of assisting a terminally ill son or daughter to die, what do you think should be the appropriate punishment."

Just 6 percent opted for life imprisonment, and only 21 percent for any prison sentence, with 12 percent favoring a fine. Thirty-five percent opted for "No Penalty at All", while 26 percent were unsure.

Advocates of Washington's assisted suicide measure, led by former Gov. Booth Gardner, spent $4.8 million on their successful 2008 campaign.

The Washington vote gave momentum to a movement stalled for more than a decade after Oregon became the first state to legalize physician-assisted suicide.

Link to the article: http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/archives/194204.asp

Government of Canada Working to Protect Seniors from Elder Abuse

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition congratulates the Canadian government for its commitment to eliminate elder abuse in Canada.

We urge every member of parliament to oppose Bill C-384, the bill by Francine Lalonde to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada, based on the fact that it is a recipe for elder abuse.

Bill C-384 does not require the person to be lucid, there are no witnesses at the time of death to ensure the person's consent and the Coroner oversight is all but illusory.

The government press release follows:
By: Marketwire .
Feb. 11, 2010

CALGARY, ALBERTA - (Marketwire) - 02/11/10 - To raise awareness of the abuse of older adults in Canada, the Government of Canada has approved funding for 16 projects through the Elder Abuse Awareness component of its New Horizons for Seniors Program.

The Honourable Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State (Seniors), made the announcement today in Calgary on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.

"Our government is protecting seniors by fighting elder abuse in all its forms, from physical abuse to financial and emotional abuse," said Minister of State Ablonczy. "These projects will support programs and activities across Canada that increase awareness of elder abuse while improving quality of life, as well as safety and security, for seniors."

Today's announcement represents an investment of more than $1.5 million to prevent abuse against older adults across the country.

"Our government takes the fight against elder abuse very seriously," said Minister of State Ablonczy. "We want everyone to know that it cannot and will not be tolerated, and that help is available. Seniors deserve to live with dignity and respect, and we as a government are committed to help ensure that their quality of life is not diminished by abuse of any kind."

The announcement was made at the office of the Calgary Chinese Elderly Citizens' Association, which received funding for its project called Hidden in the Cultural Fabric - Elder Abuse and Neglect in Ethno-cultural Communities in Alberta. This project will help older ethno-cultural Albertans increase their knowledge and understanding of elder abuse and neglect to develop their own solutions to the issues that impact them the most.

"In Alberta, there has been very little study on elder abuse in ethno-cultural communities," said Dr. Daniel W. L. Lai, Professor and Associate Dean (Research and Partnerships), Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary. "This project will be the first study undertaken which specifically explores and encompasses the needs of ethno-cultural older adults related to elder abuse and neglect."

The projects announced today fall under the Elder Abuse Awareness component of the New Horizons for Seniors Program, which supports national and regional projects. With the two other components of the New Horizons for Seniors Program-Community Participation and Leadership and Capital Assistance-the overall budget of the Program is now $35 million per year.

Since its beginning, the New Horizons for Seniors Program has funded over 5,500 projects across Canada, helping seniors to use their leadership, energy and skills to benefit our communities. For more information about the Program, please visit www.hrsdc.gc.ca/seniors.

This news release is available in alternative formats upon request.

BACKGROUNDER

New Horizons for Seniors Program

Across Canada, the New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP) helps to ensure that seniors are able to actively contribute to and benefit from the quality of life in their communities. The total budget for the NHSP is $35 million per year.

The Program offers three types of funding to organizations:

1. Community Participation and Leadership funding (up to $25,000 in funding): this funding supports community-based projects across Canada. The projects encourage seniors to continue to play an important role in their communities by helping those in need, providing leadership, and sharing their knowledge and skills with others.

2. Capital Assistance funding (up to $25,000 in funding): this funding helps non-profit organizations that need to upgrade facilities or equipment used for existing seniors' programs and activities. It enables seniors to continue to lead active lives by participating in existing programs and activities in their communities.

3. Elder Abuse Awareness funding (up to $250,000 in funding annually over a maximum of three years): this funding helps non-profit organizations and coalitions raise awareness of the abuse of older adults on a national or regional level. Through this funding, new educational and awareness resources about elder abuse will be available to improve quality of life, safety and security for seniors.

Contacts:
Office of Minister Finley
Michelle Bakos Press Secretary
819-994-2482

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
Media Relations Office at: 819-994-5559

Link to the media release: http://in.sys-con.com/node/1282269

Peter Saunders asks: DPP guidelines due out soon - will they just be a licence for legalisation of assisted suicide by stealth?

This is a reprint of the blog comment made by Peter Saunders, the director of the Care NOT Killing Alliance in the UK concerning the assisted suicide guidelines that will be released by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

I am on record as asking the question: Is the Director of Public Prosecutions attempting to legalize assisted suicide by stealth?

Read Peter Saunders comment:
Attempts in the House of Lords both in 2006 (Joffe) and 2009 (Falconer) failed to legalise assisted suicide in this country. The medical profession (BMA and Royal Colleges), faith groups and disability groups also remain firmly opposed to a change in the law.

However we are now seeing fresh attempts to change the law in Scotland with Margo MacDonald’s End of Life Assistance (Scotland) Bill and we expect new attempts from Westminster after the election in May.

The greater immediate danger however is legalisation by stealth through the legal system.

The pro-euthanasia lobby have tried to make a case for ‘clarification’ of the law through the Debbie Purdy case. This led to a Supreme Court Judgement last summer requiring the Director of Public Prosecutions to produce prosecution guidance for assisted suicide. His draft guidance was published on 23 September 2009 and a consultation on it closed on 16 December. The definitive guidance is due any day now.

This guidance is expected to make it less likely that assisters who are ‘motivated wholly by compassion’ or are ‘loved ones’ will be prosecuted. In addition it is less likely that cases involving ‘victims’ who are terminally or chronically ill or disabled will end up in court.

If so this whole process will amount to euthanasia by stealth. The general pattern (seen most clearly in the cases that have gone to the Dignitas clinic) involves police not investigating, the CPS not prosecuting, juries delivering perverse verdicts and judges giving light sentences.

All this has been fuelled by a toxic cocktail of emotive hard cases, media hype, celebrity endorsement and ill-informed public opinion.

This is exactly the same pattern that we saw in the Netherlands with judges initially either not prosecuting or bringing light sentences (eg the Postma case), a set of guidelines which if followed meant doctors could effectively escape prosecution, and a later law change giving statutory force to this earlier legal sanction.

The rates of assisted suicide and euthanasia (both voluntary and involuntary) were thereby already high in the Netherlands long before the law was eventually changed.

There is a real danger that we will see exactly the same process operating in the UK.

Atlantic Monthly publishes an in-depth article concerning Ludwig Minelli and the Dignitas Suicide Clinic

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

The March 2010 edition of the Atlantic monthly magazine has published an in-depth article written by Bruce Falconer about Ludwig Minelli and the Dignitas Suicide Clinic that he founded in Switzerland.

The article, that is generally fair except that Falconer didn’t interview Soraya Wernli, the former Dignitas employee who has accused Minelli of ethical and financial improprieties and a lack of concern for vulnerable people.

The article centers on the opening of the new “death house” that Dignitas has called the Blue Oasis. In the past, dignitas operated out of an apartment but Dignitas was evicted after the residents of the building complained about body bags in the elevator. After being evicted from their apartment, Dignitas rented space next to a brothel and facilitated suicides in cars that were parked in empty lots.

Soraya Wernli

The article explained that their were four assisted suicide groups in Switzerland with Dignitas being the only group that assisted the suicides for foreign suicide tourists.

The Blue Oasis is a two-story blue house situated next to a machine factory in the industrial area east of Zurich. The yard featured flowering trees, tall grass, and a round pond with lily pads and goldfish. The inside is decorated with paintings of rural Swiss landscapes. The front hallway has an interesting framed cartoon of a man concealing a vial of poison behind his back and waving off people approaching him with a wheelchair and a box of diapers.

Dignitas was founded by Minelli twelve years ago after resigning from the board of one of the other assisted suicide groups, a group that he had joined in 1992 as its legal advisor, based on the squabbling of its board members.

Interviews with the workers:
The article features interviews with several of the Dignitas employees.

Silvan Luley, a 39 year old law student, said that most of the employees came in through friends or family. His mother had been one of Minelli’s first employees. Some employees had contacted Minelli for assisted suicide, but wound up working for him instead.

Another Dignitas employee referred to as “Arnold”, a chain-smoking man who had swept back greasy hair, grey stuble, a blue polyester shirt and dirty shorts, started working for them in 2004. Arnold estimated that he had assisted the suicides of at least 200 people. The first person was a former British military officer who was suffering the pains of old age. After the death, Arnold stated that “I could not go to sleep, I could only go out and dance.” He said responded the same way after each of the first few deaths.

“Arnold” was featured in the documentary about Dignitas that featured an American man with motor neuron disease (ALS). After viewing the documentary, his landlord changed the locks on his apartment to evict him.

History:
The article explained that assisted suicide in Switzerland was technically legalized in 1942.

In the modern era, the concept of euthanasia was first popularized by an English schoolteacher named Samuel D. Williams. The first attempt to legalize euthanasia was in the state of Ohio where two bills were introduced in 1906 that would have legalized euthanasia for terminally ill adults and “hideously deformed and idiotic children.”

In the 1920's German scientists established numerous academic centers devoted to eugenics. These centers promoted euthanasia as a means of eliminating physical and mental imperfections from the gene pool. They believed promoted the idea that there was human life - unworthy of life and their ideas were adopted by the Nazi’s leading to the T4 euthanasia program and the Holocaust in general.

Interview with Minelli:
Minelli, who is 77 years old, said he was an committed atheist, but as a child he dreamt of becoming a priest.

Ludwig Minelli

Minelli began his career as a journalist but in 1977 he changed direction after reporting on the impending ratification of the European Convention on Human Rights. He entered law school and became a human-rights lawyer.

Minelli considers “the right to die” to be the last human right. Last year a BBC article quoted him as saying assisted suicide was: “a marvelous possibility given to a human being.”

Minelli does not personally attend the suicide deaths. He stated: 

“In case something happens on the lower level which is not in accordance with the law, it would not be easy for authorities to open an action against me.”

Last year Minelli promoted four assisted suicides that were done by helium. Minelli promoted this technique to prove to authorities that he didn’t need the approval of physicians

Falconer was surprised that Minelli referred him to Hebert Mataré, a 97 year-old German physicist who was planning to die at the Dignitas clinic. Mataré, a strong supporter of Minelli, is experiencing symptoms related to his age, but he is not terminally or even chronically ill. Mataré has become a eugenics researcher who believes that certain populations must stop having children because they are polluting the gene pool and impeding human progress.

Mataré considers Minelli to be a natural ally to his philosophy. He said:

 “It jibes with the solution to overpopulation, because it is the right of everyone, a human right, to say, ‘Stop, I don’t want to live anymore.”

Mataré also stated: 

“Life is not sacred, not at all, when you’re no longer useful you have to go.”

Mataré expressed a concern that Minelli pressured him to end his life. He stated that he had traveled to the Dignitas clinic twice already and each time he changed his mind. He said that the staff found this humorous but Minelli asked to be compensated for the wasted effort.

Richard & Jenny Geary:
Falconer met with Richard & Jenny Geary from the UK who were preparing for Jenny to die by assisted suicide at the Dignitas clinic. Jenny (61) had a similar condition to Parkinson’s disease.

Richard explained that he had made the arrangements that included a series of payments of more than $10,000 to Dignitas. The Geary’s children grudgingly agreed to support them in their decision to go to Dignitas.

Richard explained: 

“You wouldn’t leave your dog on the kitchen floor when it can’t walk, can’t eat, and can’t go outside to the toilet. Transform one life form to another, and you’ve got Jenny in six months.”

When Falconer asked Jenny why she didn’t - ride out the illness and make the best of her remaining time? Richard responded: 

“The weakest of any herd gets killed by a lion or a tiger. Some animals will kill the weakest of the young. But somehow, because of our intelligence, we go against that, ... I just feel that, with all our scientific advancements, there has to be a better way of controlling death.” Jenny nodded in agreement. She then said “I’m apprehensive, I’m scared the drink won’t be strong enough.”

Dignitas:
Dignitas claims to have 6000 members world-wide. Membership is paid on a yearly basis and gives the member the right to die by assisted suicide at Dignitas.

Dignitas is different from the other three assisted suicide groups in Switzerland because they require an office. The other groups assist suicides in the persons home.

Falconer states that there is no proof concerning the rumors that Minelli has his employees remove watches, jewelry, cell phones, etc from their “clients.” with Minelli then selling those items to pawn shops.

Minelli confirmed that one rumor was true. Minelli said he stores the urns until he has enough of them to load into his car. He then drives, usually at night, to a quiet spot on Lake Zurich, and tosses the remains into the water. Minelli insists that these burials are harmless but last year he was warned by Zurich’s water authority after they received complaints of human bone fragments washing up on shore.

What’s Next:

Minelli continues to use the case of Betty Coumbias, the Canadian woman who had asked to die at the Dignitas clinic with her chronically ill husband. Coumbias was healthy at the time (since then she died in Canada) therefore the Dignitas doctor refused to prescribe a lethal dose for her. Minelli is pressuring Zurich medical authorities to grant permission to prescribe a lethal dose to virtually anyone who asks to die.

Meanwhile politicians in Switzerland are viewing Dignitas as a national embarrassment and are considering ways to eliminate suicide tourism in Switzerland.

Link to the article: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/201003/dignitas-assisted-suicide/2

Dutch Euthanasia Society promoting euthanasia for people who are “tired of life”

Eugéne Sutorius, a leader of NVVE, a euthanasia lobby group in the Netherlands, is leading a new group of academics who are demanding the legalization of euthanasia for people who are not suffering or terminally ill but “tired of life.”

The group has launched a petition campaign whereby the hope to gather 40,000 signatures which is enough to have the issue debated in the Dutch parliament based on their citizens initiative legislation.

Euthanasia in the Netherlands is legal when the person is suffering physical or mental pain, is supposed freely consenting and two physicians have agreed.

The petition is asking the Dutch legislature to approve euthanasia for people who are over the age of 70 and “tired of life.”

As reported in DutchNews.nl former minister and feminist Hédy d’Ancona said the right to choose one’s time of death is a natural extension of her lifelong battle for emancipation.

Dick Swaab, a neurologist said death should be straightforward. In the animal kingdom, individuals are simply replaced, not patched up endlessly.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition recognizes that the ultimate end for the euthanasia lobby is to give physicians the right to directly and intentional cause a person's death for any reason. Legalizing euthanasia for people who are “tired of living” is also being promoted by Philip Nitschke, the leader of Exit International in Australia.

If Sutorius and his colleagues achieve their goal, euthanasia will clearly become the ultimate form of elder abuse.

Link to the article: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2010/02/tired_of_life_group_calls_for.php

Scottish euthanasia bill would encourage suicide tourism to Scotland

A leader of Dignity in Dying, the leading euthanasia lobby group in the UK, has warned that the bill that was introduced by Margo MacDonald to legalise euthanasia and assisted suicide in Scotland would also encourage suicide tourism to Scotland.

Edward Turner, the treasurer for the Dignity in Dying group, was reported in an article written by Charlene Sweeney for The Times in the UK, as saying:

Margo MacDonald's assisted suicide Bill is "morally ambiguous" and would encourage suicide tourism to Scotland if it became law.

Turner also explained his concerns related to the fact that the bill focuses on legalising euthanasia for people with disabilities. He stated:

Ms MacDonald's inclusion of people who had been physically incapacitated raised troubling questions about the value of the lives of the disabled.

"When you talk about that (people with disabilities), it's morally ambiguous. I'm not saying it is immoral, I am not saying it is right or wrong, but people have a range of views. There is an issue about the protection of disabled people's lives. Some disabled people are very threatened the idea that able-bodied society as a whole, which has no experience of disability and no experience of the discrimination which disabled people face, would suddenly say, "Ah, that's the answer to disability - give people the option of assisted death.'"

The article also stated that:

Mr Turner said that he and Ms. MacDonald had spoken about their differences and "agreed to disagree", but he suggested that the inclusion of disabled people would be one of the parts of the "End of Life Assistance (Scotland) Bill" to fall.

Turner suggested that even though the bill states that the person must be registered with a Scottish physician for 18 months that people with "money, wherewithal, nous and forward planning" would find a way to bend the rules. He stated:

"If they get diagnosed with something unpleasant, as a little kind of insurance policy they'd try and register with a Scottish GP, and you might even find people moving there."

Alison Davis, the leader of the disability rights group, no less human, who lives with spina bifida, emphysema and osteoporosis, opposes the Scottish bill based on her experience as a person with disabilities. Seventeen years ago, she decided she too wanted to die. The pain she still suffers is constant. "When the pain is at its worst I cannot think or speak, and this can go on for hours, with no prospect of relief. Taking morphine often makes me feel sick, and severe nausea is an added burden," she declares. She tried cutting her wrists and taking overdoses of painkillers. Had euthanasia or assisted suicide been legal she would now be dead. But then she changed her mind. A visit to a disabled children's project in India, where she saw the suffering of dozens of uncared-for youngsters convinced her to set up a charity helping them.

Allison Davis states that:

"Euthanasia would have robbed me of the last 17 years of my life, and it would have robbed my Indian children of the chance in life they now have,"

As much as I like the honesty of Edward Turner, the fact is that he is only discussing a difference in strategy. Essentially Turner is saying that MacDonald's bill is likely to fail because it is ambiguous and is perceived as a threat to the lives of people with disabilities. Turner supports a "go slow" approach that would, in the end, give us all the same provisions of MacDonald's Bill but do so through time.

Link to the article from The Times: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article7019800.ece

Madison County mission: Stop elder abuse before it happens

A short article in the Suburban Journals written by Ken West, explains how a Madison County coroner is working to prevent elder abuse. The rate of elder abuse is growing and the number of vulnerable elderly people is also increasing.

The point of my comment is that if assisted suicide were legal it could be the perfect cover-up for elder abuse.

The article states:

As a county Sheriff's Department detective and coroner, Stephen P. Nonn has seen some pretty gruesome crimes over his 30-year career. Now, Nonn is trying to stop crimes before they happen among one especially vulnerable slice of the population: the elderly.

"They're easy targets. Someone has to be there to speak for them. By the time my office gets involved, it's too late," said Nonn, the Madison County coroner since 2000.

Nonn and a group of health care, law enforcement and social service professionals have formed the Elder Abuse-Fatality Review Team, a kind of oversight panel to make sure the county's 26,000 elderly aren't being abused. They met for the first time last month.

The goal is to recognize abuse before someone is killed or injured and, in the event a death happens, to see how it could have been prevented. The effort will train health care workers and others to look for signs of abuse. Additionally, every funeral home in the county has a volunteer deputy coroner trained to spot for problems.

"They are my eyes and ears out there," he said.

Link to the article: http://suburbanjournals.stltoday.com/articles/2010/02/07/madison/news/0207cvj-elderly000.txt

Study shows some people diagnosed as PVS can communicate

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine entitled: Willful Modulation of Brain Activity in Disorders of Consciousness showed that 5 people who were diagnosed as persistent vegetative state (PVS) after traumatic brain injury, were capable of communicating while being tested with a MRI brain imaging scanner.

The study used brain scanning called functional MRI on 23 people diagnosed as PVS and 31 people diagnosed as minimally conscious.

The people were asked to imagine two situations. The first was standing on a tennis court, hitting a ball to an instructor with second being walking from room to room in their home. Since the two tasks produced different brain responses, the researchers were able to discover whether the person responded to the question and in one case they were able to communicate with the person by telling the person to image one situation if the answer to a question was yes and imagine the other situation if the answer to the question is no.

In reference to the person that the researchers were able to establish a Yes/No communication with, Dr. Martin Monti, one of the researchers, told the Associated Press:

“We were stunned when this happened. I find it literally amazing. This was a patient who was believed to be vegetative for five years.”

“It just says how much we can learn from looking directly at somebody’s brain.”

Dr. Adrian Owen, a co-author of the report told the Telegraph paper in the UK that the findings have enormous philosophical and ethical implications. He said:

“Not only did these scans tell us that the patient was not in a vegetative state but, more importantly, for the first time in five years it provided the patient with a way of communicating his thoughts to the outside world.”

“We can be pretty confident that he is entirely conscious. He had to understand the instructions, comprehend speech, and then make a decision. Obviously this fits into the issue of when patients to be allowed to die.”

The issue of PVS patients being dehydrated to death became a reality in 1993 when the British Courts approved the withholding of fluids and nutrition from Tony Bland, a man who had suffered a traumatic brain injury. Since that time families and medical teams in the UK have been deciding when it is or is not appropriate to dehydrate a PVS person to death.

Nicolas Schiff, a neurologist from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, was quoted as saying to Reuters that the findings were a: "game changer" that could "have a profound impact across medicine."

If it can be proven that the person was misdiagnosed as being in PVS then it would be less likely that a decision would be made to allow the person to die by dehydration.

Allan Ropper of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston stated to Reuters that:

brain activation was detected in very few patients and only those with a traumatic injury, not in cases where the whole brain had been damaged by oxygen starvation.

In 2005, Terri Schiavo died by dehydration after her husband Michael petitioned the court to withhold all fluids and nutrition from her. She died in 13 days from dehydration in a case that divided many Americans.

Since Terri Schiavo was not otherwise dying, the act of directly and intentionally dehydrating her to death is considered by many, including myself, to be euthanasia by dehydration.

What this study proves is that we need to learn a lot more about people who are diagnosed with PVS. This study should also confirm that it is not our place to judge the quality of life of others, but rather to accept people with all types of disabilities.

Link to the Globe and Mail article:http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/vegetative-brains-show-signs-of-awareness-study/article1455750/

Link to the Telegraph article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7150119/Patients-in-vegetative-state-can-think-and-communicate.html

Link to the article in the National Post:
http://www.nationalpost.com/life/health/story.html?id=2522519

‘Stop dehydration deaths,’ says Terri Schiavo’s brother in response to new brain scan

This is a reprint of a CNS article from yesterday that was about the recent research that proved that some unresponsive people have respond to questions.

The article:

Reacting to news of a breakthrough in brain scanning technology, Terri Schiavo's brother Bobby Schindler is calling for a halt to removing hydration from brain-damaged patients who are thought to be in a persistent vegetative state.

An “unscientific, inaccurate” diagnosis of unresponsive patients is being used as “a criterion to kill,” Schindler charged.

Schindler was responding to news that researchers from the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the University of Liège have used a technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to map a patient’s brain activity while he was asked to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions.

One patient, a 29-year-old man who suffered a severe traumatic brain injury in a traffic accident, was able to communicate by willfully changing his brain activity, a press release from the MRC reports. He correctly answered questions such as “Is your father’s name Alexander?”

Dr. Adrian Owen and his team at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge, England were the developers of the technique.

“We were astonished when we saw the results of the patient’s scan and that he was able to correctly answer the questions that were asked by simply changing his thoughts,” Dr. Owen commented. “Not only did these scans tell us that the patient was not in a vegetative state but, more importantly, for the first time in five years, it provided the patient with a way of communicating his thoughts to the outside world.”

Dr. Steven Laureys of the University of Liège, a co-author of the study, said the scans were the only viable method for the patient to communicate since his accident.

“It’s early days, but in the future we hope to develop this technique to allow some patients to express their feelings and thoughts, control their environment and increase their quality of life.”

The three-year study conducted fMRI scans on 23 patients diagnosed as being in a vegetative state. The technology detected signs of awareness in four of the cases, 17 percent of the participants.

The fMRI technique can decipher the brain’s answers to questions in healthy participants with 100 percent accuracy but has previously not been used for a patient who cannot move or speak.

Dr. Martin Monti, another MRC co-author of the study, said the advance could help with clinical questions and would allow patients to say if they are feeling any pain.

The new study is published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Dr. Allan Ropper, a neurologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, wrote an editorial accompanying the study. According to HealthDay News, he said that people are going to have to “grapple” with the meaning of brain scans that show consciousness or residual consciousness.

“It has to do with what you think life is and what is a meaningful life. Those are social, cultural and theological questions,” he said.

He also cautioned against giving false hope to families, noting the small percentage of the responsive patients. All the study’s patients had suffered traumatic brain injuries, not damage from oxygen deprivation.

Speaking of the 29-year-old patient, Monti said “it is still the case that we managed to give him, to a little extent, a voice. In a sense there was a very positive outcome. We managed to interact. This is an extremely exciting thing."

CNA sought comment on the issue from Bobby Schindler of the Terri Schiavo Foundation.

His sister Terri, who was severely brain damaged from oxygen deprivation, was at the center of a 2005 legal dispute in Florida. She was denied nutrition and hydration by court order in a case between her blood relatives and her husband.

Schindler said the study backs other findings about the “unscientific, inaccurate” diagnosis of a persistent vegetative state (PVS) and shows how it is “often” wrong when diagnosing people with severe injuries.

“As in the case of my sister, they’re using this diagnosis as a criterion to kill.”

Schindler said his family had asked a judge for similar testing for Terri but it was denied.

If the technique was easy to conduct and available, he said, it would have given a better understanding of her condition. “Why not ask, especially when it is going to end someone’s life?”

Asked whether the case offers insight into how unresponsive patients should be treated, he replied:

“Nobody should have to earn the right to hydration. We should do everything we can to care for these people, regardless of how responsive or unresponsive they are.”

Schindler lamented that people are being “indoctrinated” to see killing as “an act of compassion.”

“We are morally obligated to care for these people,” Schindler told CNA.

“They should stop any further dehydration deaths, because we’re learning how inaccurate the PVS diagnosis is.”

Discussing the other patients who could not communicate, he said families of unresponsive patients should continue to treat them with “love and compassion.”

But the patient’s condition should never justify removing food, hydration or “basic care,” he stressed.

Schindler also noted that improvements on science are possible and could improve unresponsive patients’ functioning.

“We should never come to the conclusion that someone is better off starving to death,” he told CNA.

He was critical of news reports that claimed the new technology would not have helped Terri Schiavo, saying some stories were written “as if these doctors want to go out of their way to justify Terri’s death.”

“If you read these articles, it seems they always have this caveat: ‘let’s not jump to conclusions with Terri Schiavo and say these tests would have proven she wasn’t in the conditions the doctors said she was in.’”

Schindler told CNA that more doctors were on record saying that Terri could have been helped with some of the technology available. They believed that she wasn’t in a vegetative state.

He also advocated the elimination of the term “vegetative state” from common use, saying it is “dehumanizing” and devalues the person and his or her “inherent moral worth.” In his view, PVS diagnosis should also not be used as a criterion for ending someone’s life because of how often it is wrong.

Schindler said he describes unresponsive patients as “persons with brain injuries.”

“I don’t know why I have to label them as being a vegetable. I think it leads to an existing prejudice against these types of people,” he told CNA.

Link to the article: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/stop_dehydration_deaths_says_terri_schiavos_brother_in_response_to_new_brain_scan/

Woman charged with possession of euthanasia drug

An article in today's Australia Herald Sun newspaper indicated that a woman was arrested for attempting to illegally import two bottles of Nembutal, a drug that is used to euthanize animals.

The article stated:

A 61-year-old Melbourne woman has been charged with importing a euthanasia drug from Mexico into Australia.

Two bottles of the border-controlled drug Nembutal were intercepted at Melbourne Airport last March.

Australian Federal Police officers executed a search warrant on an address in the eastern suburb of Canterbury on April 15, 2009 but the woman was not charged on summons until last week.

The Canterbury woman is due to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court today.

The maximum penalty for this offence is 25 years' jail or a $550,000fine.

Philip Nitschke, the founder of Exit International, has been encouraging people to go to Mexico and obtain Nembutal from veterinary clinics in that country. Nitschke is promoting a dangerous and irresponsible action by encouraging his supporters to illegally obtain Nembutal.

Link to the article in the Herald Sun: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/woman-charged-over-euthanasia-drug/story-e6frf7jx-1225826714430

German doctor's fatal drug overdose killed British patient

By Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

The euthanasia lobby wants to assure the public that if euthanasia or assisted suicide is legalized that there won't be any deaths without consent or any abuse. They say this while they ignore the fact that the Netherlands government study in 2005 showed that 550 deaths without explicit consent occurred that year, which was down from 950 deaths without explicit consent in 2000.

Meanwhile, the story of David Gray, 70 from Cambridgeshire, who died in February 2008 of a lethal overdose of the painkiller diamorphine allegedly by a German doctor, Dr Daniel Ubani isn't raising eyebrows amongst the euthanasia lobby crowd.

The question of how the UK uses outside physicians is a concern, but the greater concern should be around the reality that a doctor directly and intentionally caused the death of David Gray and he was only given a nine month suspended sentence for causing a death by negligence.

The article stated:

Ubani, who has blamed exhaustion for his error and acknowledged he was unfamiliar with the drug, was given a nine-month suspended sentence for causing death by negligence by a German court but cannot face prosecution in Britain.

If euthanasia or assisted suicide were legal, they would not have even given Dr. Ubani a suspended sentence because the question would have been: Did Gray request this type of death or not?

David Gray's son, Stuart was quoted as saying:

"This inquest has allowed us the opportunity to have the circumstances surrounding my father's death to be examined in some detail and thus afforded us some consolation, in particular because Dr Ubani has escaped U.K. justice,"

I wonder how the euthanasia lobby has the gall to suggest that if euthanasia or assisted suicide were legal that no-one will be killed by accident or against their consent. The fact is that people already die by accident and if you give them the defense that a euthanasia or assisted suicide law would provide them, then you will never get a conviction.

Just consider the facts related the American physician Dr Michael Swango who killed and then killed again while the medical establishment covered it up to protect themselves from lawsuit or embarassment.

At least in this case the coroner was willing to have an inquest.

Link to the article: http://www.vancouversun.com/health/German+doctor+fatal+drug+overdose+killed+British+patient+Inquest/2522026/story.html

Link to information about Michael Swango: http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/weird/swango/index_1.html

http://karisable.com/skazswangp.htm

Winterton introduces a motion alleging bias by the BBC concerning the legalizing assisted suicide in the UK

Ann Winterton MP has tabled an early day motion in the House of Commons complaining at the supposedly impartial BBC's blatant bias in attempting to have assisted suicide made legal.

The motion says:
That this House notes that over the years there have been numerous complaints by hon. Members regarding the persistent bias of the BBC on matters relating to euthanasia and other life issues and on the manner in which the BBC have misused public funds to promote changes in the law; further notes the bias of the Corporation applies not only to news programmes but to drama, with thinly-disguised plays and soap operas being used to promote the use of euthanasia,... further notes that these presentations have culminated in the last weeks with a multi-million pound campaign featuring Mrs Kay Gilderdale in Panorama and the fantasy fiction writer, Sir Terry Pratchett, given centre stage to present this year's BBC Richard Dimbleby lecture calling for euthanasia and supported by the BBC website; further notes that as usual the BBC have ignored the rights of the disabled, despite the fact that every disability rights group in the UK is opposed to the legalisation of assisted suicide and euthanasia on the grounds that from experience they know it would undermine the right to life of the disabled; and calls on the Government to make it clear to the BBC that public funds will be withdrawn unless they abide by the Charter and ensure that all programmes on issues of public interest are treated impartially, and that in particular broadcasters must bear in mind the human rights of the disabled.

Would you contact your MP and ask him or her to sign EDM 787 about the BBC and the disabled?

Your MP's postal address is House of Commons, Westminster, London SW1A 0AA. You can find your MP's name and e-mail address at www.parliament.uk.

Baby Isaiah Case - Euthanasia or not?

The case of Baby Isaiah May has been discussed in Canada and internationally. Baby Isaiah was born with the umbilical cord around his neck after a 40 labour in Alberta. He was not breathing when he was born but was revived and sent to the Stollery Children's hospital in Edmonton Alberta.

After approximately 90 days of receiving care, the parents of Baby Isaiah - Rebecca and Isaac May, were told that the hospital would withdraw the ventilator from Baby Isaiah.

The parents went to court to request another 90 days of care to give Baby Isaiah a chance to further improve. When speaking with Rebecca May, she made it very clear that they hoped to be able to bring Isaiah home and care for him. She understood that Isaiah may not survive very long and if he survived, that he may be profoundly disabled, but she was willing to care for him and love him, no matter what happened.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition has supported the wish of the May family to give Baby Isaiah a chance to improve to the point where they could bring him home.

The very first email we sent out to support the family stated that if Baby Isaiah were removed from the ventilator, that if he died, it would not be euthanasia but rather a natural death. This comment remains correct.

The reason the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition is supporting the May family is that the precedent that would be set if the court did withdraw the ventilator against the wishes of the family would have very wide ramifications.

Modern bioethics has bought into futile care theory. Futile care theory originally focussed on withdrawing treatment when it became futile, burdensome and ineffective. Over the past decade, and more, futile care theory now focusses on withdrawing effective treatment from patients that are deemed to be futile.

The ventilator is effectively providing oxygen for Baby Isaiah, who is growing and physiologically thriving with the care. The hospital and the physician view Baby Isaiah as being futile and believe that they are wasting the resource of the ventilator on a futile patient.

If the May family loses this court case consider where the issue may go next. People with alzheimers or dementia, people with profound disabilities, and more.

Next consider how such a legal precedent could be used if euthanasia ever became legal in Canada.

We need to support the May family. They have asked that Baby Isaiah be given 90 more days on the ventilator and they are wanting him to have a chance to improve to the point where they can take him home and love and care for him. What is so wrong with that?

If you have not joined the facebook page, Prayers for Baby Isaiah James link to: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?v=wall&gid=167085117294

Baby Isaiah James Facebook site re-appears.

The Facebook page for Baby Isaiah mysteriously dissappeared on Friday. The supporters of his cause quickly started a new site.

Then suddenly this morning the Prayers for Baby Isaiah James Facebook site re-appeared.

They now have more than 31,000 supporters.

Join today at: http://www.facebook.com/#/group.php?gid=167085117294&ref=ts