Articles
“Call for providers to set out assisted suicide policy”
(Money marketing — January 27, 2012)
Protection advisers [insurance agents] have called on life companies to clarify whether they will pay out in cases of assisted suicide…”It could be argued that if a person who is a beneficiary of a life policy caused their partner’s death and so caused the situation where the insurance would pay out, then they would be barred from getting that money because people cannot benefit from the proceeds of a crime.”
“Disabled man’s bid to end his life with ‘dignity’ is ‘not for the courts to decide’”
(Western Daily Press — January 24, 2012)
Tony Nicklinson from Melksham, Wiltshire, is asking senior judges to declare that anyone who intervenes to end his life with “dignity” would not be charged with a crime….His lawyer, Saimo Chahal, said, “We are saying there should be a defence to the law of murder and want a declaration that it would be lawful for a doctor to administer a lethal drug to terminate Mr. Nicklinson’s life.”
“Visiting a patient in a British hospital? Then take them food and water, just to be safe”
(The Telegraph — January 23, 2012)
Few deaths can be as agonising as those caused by lack of liquids and nutrients, yet few deaths are as preventable. In every hospital, water and food are plentiful. In every hospital, nurses, doctors, registrars, and cleaners rush about the wards. Is it too much to ask that they should notice that a patient has not drunk or eaten in days?
“Locked-in syndrome sufferer begins high court battle for right to die”
(Guardian — January 22, 2012)
Test case by Tony Nicklinson seeks declaration that any doctor terminating his life will be protected against murder charge….The disability means he cannot take his own life other than by slow starvation….The high court application goes far beyond assisted suicide. The director of public prosecution guidelines on assisted suicide, which list mitigating factors against individuals being prosecuted for assisting suicide, do not apply as Nicklinson cannot be helped to kill himself, he must be killed.
“Four patients die thirsty or starving EVERY DAY on our hospital wards show damning new statistics”
(Mail Online — January 22, 2012)
Four patients are dying hungry and thirsty on hospital wards every day, shocking figures reveal. Dehydration or malnutrition directly caused or was linked to 1,316 deaths last year in NHS trusts and privately run hospitals.
The revelation follows a series of damning reports accusing staff of failing to address the most basic needs of the vulnerable, particularly the elderly.
“We are all going to die. Who doesn’t want a say in it?”
(Camden New Journal – London – January 19, 2012)
When the time comes she will book a one-way air ticket knowing her final glimpse of London will be the city disappearing behind her as she sets off for Zurich.
Katherine Lennard has signed up for assisted suicide at the Dignitas centre in Switzerland.
“The Promise of ObamaCare: Hospice for the Healthy”
(American Thinker — January 6, 2012)
In Great Britain, where the medicine has been administered by the government for nearly three-quarters of a century, a pattern has emerged that should be troubling to even the most deadened senses of decency….
The LCP [Liverpool Care Pathway] is intended to provide terminally ill patients (in their final days) with a dignified death, free of unnecessary intrusion from hospital staff. In practice, however, it is becoming a greased slide to an economical exit, hastened along by the removal of nutrition, hydration, and all medications, except for heavy sedation which serves to mask the ugliest of the effects.
“Assisted suicide and euthanasia should not rely on clinical guesswork”
(Herald Scotland — January 6, 2012)
As a retired oncologist, who practiced for more than 30 years, I am surprised and very concerned that the commission established and funded by a pro-assisted suicide lobby group has recommended that the law be changed for those who, among other criteria, have an incurable illness and appear to have less that a year to live….
Their recommendations rely heavily on the ability of two doctors to agree on this difficult question. Doctors do attempt it and there are countless anecdotes from patients and relatives to attest to just how inaccurate this so often is.
“Assisted suicide is never an autonomous choice”
(The Guardian — January 5, 2012)
There are many who consider their lives no longer worth living. Yet, it’s fraudulent to ignore the part we all play in those feelings….Once other people’s opinions are called into the picture, so are their interests. And these interests do not necessarily align with the patient’s.
“Assisted dying review selects those who could end their lives”
(The Independent — January 5, 2012)
Expert panel says law as it stands is “inadequate and incoherent” and must be changed a spokesperson for Demos, the think-tank which hosted the inquiry, said those against change were excluded because “we needed people with an open mind.”
“Lord Falconer’s bogus report on ‘assisted dying’ should fool nobody”
(Mail Online — January 5, 2012)
Lord Falconer has produced a report that claims there’s a case for introducing assisted suicide to British law…Even the BBC, usually something of a patsy for voluntary euthanasia, switched from calling them “experts” to calling them “campaigners.”
“Assisted suicide proposals: the situation in Oregon”
(The Telegraph — January 5, 2012)
The average age of those who go through with assisted suicide in Oregon is 72, with three-quarters suffering from terminal cancer. But some research has suggested that some people had depression which may have affected their judgment. Volunteers and family members can pick up the lethal medication from a pharmacy, and there are no rules to ensure it is stored or returned safely. Patients must also take 90 capsules of the barbiturate secobarbital, with some taking up to 53 hours to die afterward.
“Assisted suicide proposals: Q & A”
(The Telegraph — January 5, 2012)
A new report recommends that doctors should be allowed to help people die if they have less than a year to live. But what is the commission and what exactly is it proposing?
It is an independent group funded by the right-to-die campaigner Sir Terry Pratchett and run by the left-leaning think tank Demos.
“Allow assisted suicide for those with less than a year to live”
(The Telegraph — January 5, 2012)
The Commission on Assisted Dying wants GPs to be able to prescribe lethal doses of medication for rying people to take themselves. The year-long inquiry admits legalisation would creat a “real risk” of pressure on vulnerable people to end their lives, either from family members or a sense that they were a burden on society.
“Assisted suicide: GMC to draw up new advice”
(The Guardian — December 15, 2011)
The General Medical Council (GMC) says doctors are already bound by law that assisting or encouraging suicide remains a criminal offense but believes it needs to clarify how its own investigators deal with cases where no prosecution is mounted by complaints are still made about a doctor’s fitness to practice.
“One way path to death”
(The Telegraph — December 12, 2011)
Note: Scroll down for this letter.
“My mother, aged 99 and living in a nursing home, was taken as an emergency to a hospital….The doctor told us there was no help for her and that she would probably only live for about two hours….Mother lived for a year, visited daily by family and friends. The highlight of her “extra” year was her 100th t, when she entertained 40 people to a tea party.
“Judge rejects family’s right to die case”
(The Telegraph — September 28, 2011)
Decision in the case of “M.”
In the first case of its kind in this country, Mr. Justice Baker said that preservation of life was a fundamental principle of law. The woman’s mother and sister had urged him to allow her to die, describing her “pointless existence” and saying that she would not have wanted to live in such a state. But the judge found that the woman, identified only as “M’, did have “some positive experiences” and that crucially, there was a “reasonable prospect” that those experiences could be extended.
“Don’t give out cancer drugs if it’s just to extend life: Treatment costs can’t be justified, say experts”
(Mail Online — September 27, 2011)
Patients with terminal cancer should not be given life-extending drugs, doctors said yesterday….Campaigners dismissed the report, saying it was wrong to write off cancer victims….”We have kidney cancer patients on a life-prolonging drug called Sutent who have been told they have only two to three weeks to live but who go on to live for a further five years.”
“Yorkie ad star who killed his terminally ill wife walks free”
(The Herald Scotland — September 24, 2011)
The Scots-born star of the original Yorkie advert walked free from court yesterday after a judge showed him mercy over the killing of his terminally ill wife. Actor Stuart Mungall, originally from Forfar, smothered Joan, 69, with a pillow at their home in Tooting, south London, last December.
“Has assisted suicide been legalised by stealth? 44 cases escape prosecution”
(Daily Mail — September 6, 2011)
None of the 44 people suspected of helping friends or relatives to die over the past 18 months has been prosecuted, it emerged yesterday….Dr. Peter Saunders, of the campaign group Care Not Killing, said: “There is a very real danger here of leglisation by stealth which runs contrary to the will of Parliament.”
“Hove Dr. Death plans to take ‘healthy’ Eastbourne 91-year-old to suicide clinic”
(The Argus — September 6, 2011)
Michael Irwin said he is expecting to escort the 91-year-old — who does not have a terminal illness — abroad to be helped to die….The woman has arthritis, but is not expected to die from her medical problems.
“Britain has legalised assisted suicide when no one was looking”
(The Telegraph — September 5, 2011)
But here’s a thought: what if, when you are 70, a bit frail, a bit needy, someone else decides that life would be a lot easier without you around? They can let you know, subtly, quietly, that their happiness and fortune would benefit a great deal from your speedy exit. They can pull at your heart strings and leave you thinking that, really, you owe them this.
“It’s a depressing sign of the times that the ‘right to die’ has become such a cause celebre”
(The Telegraph — August 30, 2011)
These days, the only time you hear the word “autonomy” said with any vigour, with heartfelt oomph, is in relation to assisted suicide. In every other area of life, the idea of moral autonomy has taken a beating in recent years….While other rights — from the right to free speech to the right to be let alone by the government — are held in contempt, the “right to die” is increasingly cherished by the chattering classes.
“How I helped my mum to die”
(Daily Mail — August 4, 2011)
They were never close — but then Jane agreed to help her ailing mother starve herself to death….”There was no pretending I hadn’t been part of her decision, and had arguably even encouraged it. Many experts say that old people often choose to end their lives, or say they don’t want them extended, not because of their own genuine wishes, but to spare their children trouble and expense.”
“Patients struggle even to get on NHS waiting lists”
(The Telegraph — July 29, 2011)
Patients have told how they have struggled even to get on NHS waiting lists, forcing them to endure lengthy delays for treatment or to go private, as managers ration treatment to save money….The examples emerged after The Daily Telegraph disclosed how health service funding bodies are artificially increasing waiting times as they wait for patients to die or go private.
“Cataracts, hips, knees and tonsils: NHS begins rationing operations”
(The Independent — July 28, 2011)
Hip replacements, cataract surgery and tonsil removal are among operations now being rationed in a bid to save the NHS money.
“No one has the right to switch off a human life…I should know”
(Mail Online — July 27, 2011)
“So today, as the High Court deliberates over the harrowing case of ‘M’ — a 51-year-old brain-damaged woman whose family is pleading for the right to end her life — you will find me in the Old Palace Yard outside the Houses of Parliament, alongside others, both able-bodies and disabled, who are determined to give a voice to those who cannot speak for themselves.
“Right-to-die patient displays ‘a bit of a smile’ when teased, carer claims”
(Mail Online — July 20, 2011)
Her partner and sister have made an emotional plea to the judge, Mr. Justice Baker, to remove her hydration and feeding tube. But today, her carer told the High Court the woman could display “a bit of a smile” and make different noise when carers joked about men…It is thought to be the first time that a judge has been asked to rule on whether life-supporting treatment should be withdrawn from a person who is “minimally conscious”, one level above a “persistent vegetative state”….Vikram Sachdeva, for the relatives, says M’s family felt that she would not want to live a life “dependent on others.”
“Family fight to end life of brain disease patient: Landmark case affecting thousands with locked in syndrome”
(Mail Online — July 18, 2011)
The 53-year-old — known only as M — has a brain-stem wasting disease and is “minimally conscious.” which means she is able to make some movements or experience some sensations. Relatives, including her mother, say she is often in pain and would be better off dead. They have applied to one of Britain’s most powerful courts for a judge to order the removal of her hydration and nutrition tubes, which will mean she dies of thirst and starvation….If the relatives’ application is successful, it could have implications for the 6,000 Britons who are so incapacitated that they can barely communicate.
“BMA: Let patients die ‘to save cash”
(The Scotsman — June 26, 2011)
Dr. Brian Keighley, chairman of the British Medical Association Scotland, said in some cases tens of thousands of pounds were spent on drugs to extend cancer patients’ lives for relatively short periods…Speaking about cutting costs, Keighley said, “This is a decision not for doctors, but a decision for society.”
“Don’t fall for this toxic idea that the old are disposable”
(Mail Online — June 17, 2011)
What awaits us in old age? Well, the triumph of actually reaching old age for a start — not a privilege offered to all…The twilight years might be preferable to the cold alternative, but the prospect of facing them is even grimmer. Particularly, if those years are to be accompanied by new social pressures to do the decent thing and kill ourselves the second we become a burden to our nearest and dearest.
“Elderly patients dying of thirst“
(Mail Online — May 26, 2011)
Doctors are prescribing drinking water for neglected elderly patients to stop them dying of thirst in hospital. The measure – to remind nurses of the most basic necessity – is revealed in a damning report on pensioner care in NHS wards. The snapshot study, triggered by a Mail campaign, found staff routinely ignored patients’ calls for help and forgot to check that they had had enough to eat and drink. Dehydration contributes to the death of more than 800 hospital patients a year.
“Allowing assisted suicide would ‘pressurise disabled to kill themselves’”
(Telegraph — May 6, 2011)
While high profile lawyers, doctors and celebrities grab the headlines, the views of the thousands of ordinary disable people who could be affected by this issue are rarely listened to. Disabled people who are already worried about people assuming their life isn’t worth living or seeing them as a burden, and are genuinely concerned that a change in the law could increase pressure on them to end their life. The head of end-of-life care for the NHS in the West Midlands called for patients to be given more choice over how they die.
“Legalising assisted suicide ‘would lead to death on prescription’”
(Mail Online — May 5, 2011)
The sick and disabled will be able to buy suicide drugs at the chemist if the law is changed to allow assisted dying, two of the country’s most eminent legal and medical experts claim….[R]ules currently being promoted by campaigners would lead to “doctor-shopping,” where those wanting to die and families trying to persuade them to do so would go from GP to GP looking for one prepared to help.
“Outrage as ‘how-to-die helpline’ is launched by euthanasia charity”
(Mail Online — April 28, 2011)
A right-to-die pressure group provoked outrage yesterday over plans to sponsor the UK’s first helpline aimed at speeding the terminally ill towards “a good death.” The free phone line, to be set up by a charity called Compassion in Dying, will “promote grater patient choice and control where possible.” Its plan to provide the desperately sick with advice on how to end their lives sparked protests from anti-euthanasia activists, who said the helpline would be used to shorten lives.
“Dr. Death suicide film being shown in schools”
(Mail Online — April 16, 2011)
Euthanasia fanatic gives workshop on how to kill yourself in educational video for 14-year-olds. At his workshops Dr. Philip Nitschke demonstrates chilling suicide methods including a helium-filled “exit bag.” The 20-minute film is made by Bristol-based Classroom Video, which supplies educational films to almost every UK school.
“Brain-damaged woman could become first person to have food and water tubes withdrawn while she is still conscious.”
(Mail Online — April 15, 2011)
A judge will soon decide whether to remove food and fluids from a woman, known as only as “M.” According to medical reports, “There is clear evidence of possible communication using a switch, which was quite stark and very surprising.”
“NHS chiefs back calls to reform assisted suicide law”
( The Telegraph – - February 24, 2011 )
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.
“Warning over ‘assisted suicide’ law”
( Press Association of London – - January 19, 2011 )
Baroness Mary Warnock has warned that the UK law on assisted suicide could lead to the worst possible “botched death.” After testifying that current guidelines are “particularly bad,” she argued that “the complex procedure of mercy killing should only be carried out by qualified medical professionals.” After she gave evidence, Lady Warnock,86, said, “I think only doctors and nurses can secure a safe death.”
“Martin Amis says euthanasia is an ‘evolutionary inevitability’”
( Telegraph – - January 17, 2011 )
Author Martin Amis, who caused an outcry last year when he called for euthanasia booths, says euthanasia is nothing less than “an evolutionary inevitability”. According to Amis, “We are living too long.” Claiming that public opinion is on his side, he said, “Of course there are legal difficulties…It is a residue of Christian feeling – this idea of the sanctity of life – that is holding things back, but we have to get rid of this primitive feeling.”
“Warnings over assisted suicide legislation plan”
( Morning Star – - October 12, 2010 )
Calls for legislation to allow assisted suicide could put pressure on vulnerable patients to consider suicide. The warning was issued on the eve of the launch of Healthcare Professionals for Change (HPC) founded by Dr. Ann McPherson.
“Former GP calls for the right to die”
( The Oxford Times – - October 11, 2010 )
Dr. Ann McPherson has set up a group of 12 health professionals to lobby for a change in the UK’s law on assisted suicide. McPherson said she wants to have the choice available “when I feel I am becoming a burden.”
“Outrage as agony aunt tells TV audience ‘I would suffocate a child to end its suffering’”
( Daily Mail – - October 4, 2010 )
Television pundit Virginia Ironside shocked BBC viewers when she said she would hold a pillow over the face of a child in pain. She claimed that “any good mother” would do so.
Ironside is not alone in her promotion of infanticide. Princeton University Professor Peter Singer has also advocated pediatric euthanasia.
“Welcome to Washington, Dr. Berwick”
( The Leaf Chronicle – - July 18, 2010 )
Dr. Donald Berwick, the new administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. praised the British National Healthcare System (NHS) at its 60th anniversary meeting for implementing a socialized health care system – rather choosing America’s plan. But a 2009 NHS audit found that health care managers put cost cutting ahead of patient care and cited that “appalling standards of care” may hae contributed to the deaths of up to 1,200 people in just one hospital.
“Cash crisis in NHS leaves patients lying on operating tables”
( Telegraph – - July 18, 2010 )
A cash crisis in the NHS leaves patients lying on operating tables before doctors realised vital equipment had not been ordered….Women in labour have been forced to wait while epidural equipment was borrowed from other hospitals….vital equipment is regularly not ordered. More
“Mercy Killing? Never. I’ll always fight like a lioness for my darling boy…”
( Daily Mail – - February 18, 2010 )
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 is that if people begin to think of assisted suicide as an option then the balance will change. More
Final Policy for Prosecutors in Respect of Cases of Encouraging or Assisting Suicide
( Issued by Director of Public Prosecutions – - February 2010 )
Specific guidelines for use in determining whether a person assisting suicide should be prosecuted.
“Martin Amis in new row over ‘euthanasia booths’”
( The Guardian – - January 24, 2010 )
British author says a “silver tsunami” of increasingly aging people puts pressure on society. Stating there will be a population of demented very old people, “stinking out the restaurants and cafes and shops,” Martin Amis calls for euthanasia booths on every corner. More
“New assisted suicide guidelines to give ‘clear advice’ to relatives”
( Guardian – September 23, 2009 )
Guidelines are designed to help people know if they will face prosecution for helping someone kill themselves. More
“Assisted suicide guidelines laid out by Director of Public Prosecutions”
( Telegraph – September 23, 2009 )
UK Director of Public Prosecutions issues interim guidelines on prosecuting assisted suicide. More
Summary of UK assisted-suicide interim guidelines
Complete UK assisted-suicide interim guidelines
“Sentenced to death on the NHS”
( The Daily Telegraph – London, UK – September 2, 2009 )
Patients with terminal illnesses are being made to die prematurely under an NHS scheme to help end their lives, leading doctors warn today. More
“The chilling truth about the city where they pay people to die”
( Daily Mail – - August 8, 2009 )
Lord Joffe is working to pass an assisted-suicide law in the UK. He and other activists point to Oregon as a model, saying it ”clearly works” there. But the facts do not support that claim. More
“Now our intellectuals think the old and frail have a ‘duty to die’”
(Daily Mail, London, 9/22/08)
“Baroness Warnock: Dementia sufferers may have a ‘duty to die’”
(Telegraph, London, 9/19/08)
Supporter of failed Joffe bill calls for euthanasia without patient’s consent
(The Guardian, London, 6/8/06)
“Lords block mercy killing bill” by Philippe Naughton (London Times, 5/12/06)
The House of Lords has defeated a bill, patterned on Oregon’s assisted-suicide law, by a vote of 148 to 100.
Care not Killing, an alliance of organizations formed to promote palliative care and oppose euthanasia, maintains an up to date web site with the latest information about developments in the United Kingdom. (2/06)
Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill. Lord Joffe’s assisted suicide measure modeled on Oregon’s assisted suicide law.
Report published by House of Lords Select Committee on the Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill. The Bill in Outline, Ethical Principles, Practical Issues, Overseas Experience, Public Opinion & Conclusions. (Vol. I) (pdf file, 168 pages)
Evidence published by House of Lords Select Committee on the Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill. Testimony from Oregon, the Netherlands and others in preparation for consideration of the bill proposed by Lord Joffe. (Vol. II) (pdf file, 744 pages)
British high court declares that doctor, not patient, must decide who receives food and water.
“Doctors reverse historic right-to-life ruling“ (Times Online, 7/28/05)
“Man loses ‘right to life’ court battle“ (Guardian, 7/28/05)
Text of high court decision
“Dame Cicely Saunders: The mother of modern hospice care passes on.“ (Weekly Standard, 7/19/05)
“BMA drops its opposition to doctor-assisted suicide”
Lord Joffe, a long-time assisted-suicide advocate plans to reintroduce his assisted-suicide bill in British Parliament. (Times, London, 7/1/05)
“The English Patient”
Leslie Burke is capable of making his own decisions. He wants food and fluids, even if provided by tube. Britain’s National Health Service says “no.” (Weekly Standard, 5/30/05)
“Better for old to kill themselves than be a burden, says Warnock” (London Sunday Times 12/12/04) Britain’s leading medical ethics expert has suggested that the frail and elderly should consider suicide to stop them becoming a burden on their families or society.
HAROLD SHIPMAN, England’s “Dr. Death”
Harold Shipman was a trusted doctor for years. He was eventually convicted of killing 15 of his patients. Now police have concluded that he killed at least 215 patients.
Full Text of Shipman Inquiry Report (7/02)
Shipman police “must take blame” (London Guardian, 7/21/02)
Article describes bungled investigation. Links to additional articles and extensive background on Shipman case.
Killer’s wife isolates herself from former friends and the truth (London Telegraph, 7/21/02)
Primrose Shipman still claims her husband is innocent. Links to additional articles and extensive background on Shipman case.
Inquiry reveals Shipman psyche (London Independent, 7/20/02)
First victim was a terminally ill woman. Her death demonstrated his “conviction that he knew when a patient’s life should be ended.” He often said it was “for the best” that a patient died. “In his own words to witnesses, it was better to die than to ‘be a vegetable’ or stay in the hospital…”
Shipman killed 215 patients (BBC, 7/19/02)
Background:
Shipman held pillow over face (BBC, 4/12/02)
Woman tells of Shipman’s suspicious activity.
Police rejected Shipman early warnings (BBC, 5/7/02)
Police rejected concerns expressed over Shipman patients’ deaths.
GP blew whistle on Shipman (BBC, 5/8/02)
Dr. Linda Reynolds risked her career to protect patients.
“BMA: Let patients die ‘to save cash”
(The Scotsman — June 29, 2011)
Dr. Brian Keighley, chairman of the British Medical Association Scotland, said in some cases tens of thousands of pounds were spent on drugs to extend cancer patients’ lives for relatively short periods…Speaking about cutting costs, Keighley said, “This is a decision not for doctors, but fa decision for society.”
“Judge rejects family’s right to die case”
(The Telegraph — September 28, 2011)
Decision in the case of “M.”
