11 August, 2016
21,000 New Zealanders have their say
A petition to hold a parliamentary inquiry into euthanasia has pulled in a staggering 21,435 written submissions from across New Zealand. ...
News
10 August, 2016
I’m a Christian with stage 4 cancer.
I was diagnosed with stage-three lung cancer in 2012. I was 58. In March 2015, we discovered the lung cancer had metastasized to my brain, neck and chest. Recently, I’ve had some headaches. I feel like my breathing has become a little more labored....
6 August, 2016
Research: “A fate worse than death”
“A fate worse than death” is a journalistic cliché. But for the terminally ill, such fates do exist: death really can seem preferable to a lifetime of pain and suffering. The Economist reports on Dr Emily Rubin’s study over an eight-month period, beginning in July...
3 August, 2016
Being granted request for MAID provides relief
A Canadian family says the government’s new law on assisted dying gave their father hope in his last days struggling with a terminal disease. Now they're honouring his wish to speak out in support of the law for other families in need. JP Campbell died...
1 August, 2016
The Economist: Religious leaders grapple with VAD
On July 23rd Charles Scicluna, the Archbishop of Malta, and Mario Grech, the Bishop of Gozo, published an open letter to Maltese Parliamentarians. Their message? “Medical assistance given to the patients for the abrupt termination of life could never be in his or her best...
7 July, 2016
VAD is less than one percent of deaths in Quebec since 2015
Since Quebec's law allowing doctor-assisted death came into effect in December 2015, 253 Quebec patients have requested the procedure, and 166 have received it. 16 of the 253 patients changed their minds, whilst the rest did not receive approval. ...
7 July, 2016
2016 Assisted dying global report card
The Journal of the American Medical Association has published a detailed and comprehensive review, by several of the world's foremost researchers in medical end-of-life matters, into the practice of assisted dying in lawful jurisdictions around the world. ...
28 June, 2016
Review shows elderly subjected to futile end-of-life treatment
More than a third of elderly patients hospitalised at the end of their life received invasive and potentially harmful medical treatments, showed the largest international systematic review of the issue published on Monday. The review of 38 studies from ten countries found widespread use of...
26 June, 2016
Desperate hyperbole from opponents of VAD
Last week, Alex Schadenberg wrote—and Paul Russe—another nonsense article, this time about medical associations going neutral on assisted dying. They opine that there is no such thing as neutrality. And start out by getting their facts wrong...
25 June, 2016
BMA maintains opposition to assisted dying
The British Medical Association has voted (198 to 115) to maintain its current opposition to assisted suicide....
21 June, 2016
Denton in NZ on feeling like a burden
Andrew Denton came to speak at the Voluntary Euthanasia Society of New Zealand AGM. While he was there he gave a radio interview with Wallace Chapman of Radio New Zealand, where Denton had the chance to talk more deeply about assisted dying rather than just...
19 June, 2016
Canada passes assisted dying law
The Canadian government has approved its assisted dying legislation, after the Senate backed off a bid to expand access beyond those who suffer from a terminal illness. ...