Author Archives: admin

A lot of people think advance planning about health care is only for those who are very sick or very old.  But that’s not the case at all.  A durable power of attorney for health care is absolutely vital for … Continue reading →

The drug that is said to have killed Cameron County Assistant District Attorney Jose Iniguez is a controlled pharmaceutical used for euthanizing animals – and also is touted among groups that advise people on how to commit suicide.  District Attorney … Continue reading →

Our head of state urged doctors to support euthanasia not only as a right, but also as a positive duty towards society.  He reflected on past cultures where the elderly would take their lives when their usefulness had passed, and … Continue reading →

Deryk Lamb who was crushed between two trucks in 1996 pleaded with a state health care board to continue paying for the spinal injections he receives to dull the pain from a workplace injury. “I don’t deserve to be sentenced … Continue reading →

The billboard towering over East Boston is black and whit and straightforward.  It reads, “Irreversible illness? Unbearable suffering? Die with Dignity.”  Final Exit Network says it believes that, like civil rights, the right to die will become the “ultimate right … Continue reading →

“They made money off my brother, they gave him the tools to take his own life without knowing him, without knowing anything about him.  For $60, they blew his life apart.  It breaks my heart.” The Register-Guard “Suicide Kits Sell … Continue reading →

Last year, a total of 87 terminally ill patients requested and obtained lethal doses in Washington State.  Most who used their lethal doses had expressed concern about loss of autonomy as the reason for requesting the drug. The Seattle Times … Continue reading →

“On Tuesday I’ll finally end my battle with cancer thanks to Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act,” said the entry… His home was “consumed with medical bills.”  In a blog about the report, Peg Sandeen, executive director of the Portland-based Death … Continue reading →

The defendant said the victim, Jeffrey Locker, wanted to die and that the killing was assisted suicide.  Kenneth Minor was convicted of murder in a seeming street crime that turned into an unusual framework for questions about the legal limits … Continue reading →

The Mark Skinner Library was the site of an emotionally charged but largely civil conversation on Vermont’s Death with Dignity bill, or H. 274, introduced in the House on Feb. 17. The event was organized by Patient Choices Vermont which … Continue reading →

A New York City jury found Kenneth Minor guilty of first degree murder in the death of Jeffrey Locker, a Long Island self-help guru whose business was floundering. Minor and the prosecution agreed that Locker asked Minor to make his … Continue reading →

After the NH doctor-prescribed suicide bill was met with opposition in a House Judiciary Committee hearing, co-sponsor Steve Vaillancourt promised he would not go so quietly, at one point shouting at a member of the committee. “If it were up … Continue reading →

One of England’s largest health authorities has said it is not opposed to assisted suicide and called for a change in the law to give patients more “choice” over how they die. The Telegraph “NHS chiefs back calls to reform … Continue reading →

Here’s what the Idaho AARP thinks of the new narrow conscience law amendment bill, HB 187. “We don’t view this as progress,” said David Irwin, Idaho AARP spokesman. “It allows all health care professionals in Idaho to have a conscience … Continue reading →

It’s a life and death issue that’s hitting the Statehouse: Physician-assisted-suicide and what the Idaho code should say about the topic. Assisted suicide is already legal in neighboring states and now the battle lines are being drawn in the Gem … Continue reading →

Robert Latimer, who was released on full parole two months ago after spending nine years in prison for the 1993 killing of his disabled daughter, Tracy, remains unrepentant for killing her. He said he would do it all over if … Continue reading →

National groups on both sides of the debate are watching Vermont closely to see whether it will follow Oregon and Washington which enacted physician-assisted suicide laws. Rita Marker, executive director of the Ohio-based Patients Rights Council which opposes the measure, … Continue reading →

Nobody disputes that Kenneth Minor held the knife that ripped into the chest of Jeffry Locker in July 2009….During three days of jury selection, many potential jurors were disqualified when they said they could not convict a person who helped … Continue reading →

Montana legislators had been asked to choose between two proposed bills in creating a physician-assisted suicide law: Ban the practice altogether or create regulation for doctors and terminally ill patients to follow. Now it appears they’ll do neither, leaving the … Continue reading →

Despite backing from the governor, the bill to provide an Oregon-style assisted suicide law in Vermont appears slim this year. The bill’s opponents include the Vermont Alliance for Ethical Health Care and the Vermont Center for Independent Living. Senate leader … Continue reading →

A bizarre murder trial set to begin Thursday in New York City has the makings of both a good mystery novel and a precedent-setting case on what defines assisted suicide. ABC News “Murder Suspect Says Victim Paid to Be Killed” … Continue reading →

A desperate man in debt enlisted a stranger to kill him and make his suicide look like a street crime so his survivors could collect millions in insurance money. The case has sparked a new debate. In the past, legal … Continue reading →

The report lists that there was “unknown information” for 50 to 70 percent of deaths for the following categories: whether the doctor was present when the drugs were ingested, if there were complications, if emergency services were called, and the … Continue reading →

Thirteen years ago, mother-of-two Sue Wigg, 56, was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 1998 after cancerous tumours were found in her liver and brain. Doctors told her and her devastated family that she was likely to live for just another … Continue reading →

Lawmakers tabled a bill Thursday that would have established rules for physician-assisted suicide – setting up a situation where Montana could remain in limbo under a 2009 ruling that doesn’t specifically prevent doctors from getting criminally charged in such cases. … Continue reading →