Euthanasia

French presidential candidate backs euthanasia

Michael Cook | 31 January 2012

The left-wing candidate in the French presidential election has strongly endorsed the legalisation of euthanasia if he is elected. François Hollande, a Socialist, who will face the incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy, recently revived France’s simmering euthanasia debate.

European assembly slams euthanasia

Michael Cook | 27 January 2012

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has given a big boost to opponents of legalised euthanasia. This body, which (somewhat confusingly) is not part of the European Union, is an advisory body in Strasbourg with more than 300 delegates whose pronouncements on human rights are highly influential in the EU.

Controversial UK commission backs assisted suicide

Michael Cook | 17 January 2012

The UK should legalise assisted suicide, says a report by a private group headed by former lord chancellor Lord Falconer.

We have to try harder, say Belgian euthanasia doctors. We’re only #2

Michael Cook | 17 January 2012

Remember the Avis Rent-a-Car commercials from the 1960s? Maybe not. Anyhow, they tripled the company’s market share with the slogan, “Avis Is Only No. 2, We Try Harder.” The Belgian right-to-die lobby seems to have the same can-do attitude.

Is the slippery slope at work in Belgium?

Michael Cook | 10 December 2011

The “slippery slope” is often derided as a logical fallacy. But when one of the leading advocacy groups for euthanasia in Belgium posts an article entitled “Euthanasie: tijd voor de volgende stap, Euthanasia, time for the next step”, it’s hard not to think that it may not be so illogical after all.

Does the slippery slope to euthanasia make sense?

Michael Cook | 02 December 2011

Two words guaranteed to spark derision on a blog are Slippery and Slope. They are dismissed with either a smirk as a hoary old chesnut, scaremongering or religious sophistry. However, the slippery slope, the notion that small steps today will inevitably lead to bad policies later on, still has a lot of life in it – at least judging from the number of articles in learned journals which keep refuting it.

Completed lives: a Dutch explanation

Michael Cook | 02 December 2011

The concept of a “completed life” which deserves voluntary euthanasia is a controversial one. The Dutch group Of Free Will , which is campaigning for its legalisation, has explained the reasoning behind the movement in an English-language pamphlet, “The self-chosen death of the elderly”. It was written by Wouter Beekman and translated with the help of a grant from the Society for Old Age Rational Suicide (SOARS), in the UK.

Budapest police probe suspicious hospital deaths

MIchael Cook | 02 December 2011

Hungarian police have launched an investigation into 70 suspicious deaths at a Budapest hospital following claims that patients were given lethal drug overdoses.

Canadian expert report endorses euthanasia

Michael Cook | 19 November 2011

A lengthy report on euthanasia commissioned by the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) has strongly recommended the legalisation of assisted suicide and euthanasia. The six-person panel argues that this is consistent with Canadian values, and will not lead to an increase in elder abuse or a slippery slope from voluntary to non-voluntary euthanasia.

Informed consent in Netherlands: euthanasia

Michael Cook | 12 November 2011

A 64-year-old Dutch woman with dementia was euthanased earlier in March, it has been revealed. According to the Dutch daily De Volkskrant, it was the first time that a person in an advanced stage of dementia had been euthanased.

Was Norway’s Queen Maud euthanased?

Michael Cook | 05 November 2011

You would think that having a personal physician would guarantee excellent health care. However, the trial of Michael Jackson’s doctor for involuntary manslaughter suggests that this is not necessarily the case. Prosecutors have declared that Dr Conrad Murray conducted an “obscene” pharmaceutical experiment on the pop singer. (The verdict could come next week.) Even royalty are not exempt. One of the sensational claims made in a new book about Norway’s monarchs during World War II, King Haakon VII and Queen Maud is that the Queen may have been involuntarily euthanased.

British nurses could be jailed for mentioning assisted suicide

Jared Yee | 28 October 2011

Nurses will be warned that they could go to prison if they talk to patients about assisted suicide. They will be told that they face prosecution if they are found to have spoken about any aspect of assisted suicide with patients who go on to kill themselves.

UK hospitals secretly use “do not resuscitate” orders

Jared Yee | 26 October 2011

Hospitals in the UK have used “do not resuscitate” orders secretly to bring elderly patients to an early death, an investigation has found.

Dutch doctors complain about long wait for judgments in euthanasia cases

Jared Yee | 23 September 2011

Dutch euthanasia doctors must wait up to eight months to find out if they will undergo criminal investigation.

Euthanasia becoming integral part of Dutch medicine

Michael Cook | 17 September 2011

Bulgarian parliament spurns euthanasia

Michael Cook | 03 September 2011

The Bulgarian Parliament has rejected a euthanasia bill by a vote of 59 to 13, with 29 abstentions.

New website gives info on US euthanasia initiatives

Michael Cook | 27 August 2011

A new website opposed to assisted suicide and euthanasia brings together useful information about the status the law in the various American states. “Choice is an Illusion” provides up-to-date information about what is happening in the United States

Furore in Netherlands over refusal to conduct euthanasia funeral

Michael Cook | 26 August 2011

But what happens when a religion does not accept euthanasia? This is being debated in the Netherlands after a Catholic priest in the small town of Liempde refused to say a funeral mass for a man who had opted for euthanasia.

French doctor allegedly killed four elderly patients

Michael Cook | 20 August 2011

In a case which has gripped France, a doctor has been released on bail after being charged with the euthanasia deaths of four elderly people.

Australian euthanasia activist in new ploy to import lethal drug

Jared Yee | 05 August 2011

Euthanasia campaigner Philip Nitschke is trying to use a legal loophole to obtain the euthanasia drug Nembutal for two South Australians.