Gruber: There Will be Obamacare Death Panels 12/31/2014 (NRO) – Back in 09-when Obamacare advocates castigated those who worried that Obamacare would lead to rationing-Jonathan Gruber said get the law passed first, then refuse treatment later. From the Daily Caller story:
Hillary’s Two-Faced Terri Schiavo Cynicism 12/29/2014 (The Corner) – Jeb Bush is making all the noises of a presidential candidate and is already being hit for his attempt to save the life of Terri Schiavo. People aren’t going to change their opinions about that case.
All Life Matters: Jahi Mcmath’s Journey by Michelle Malkin 12/26/2014 (Townhall.com) – The very first column I filed in 2014 exposed the plight of a beautiful young girl, the same age as my daughter, whom medical experts declared “brain dead” after a routine tonsillectomy gone wrong. Are you ready for the rest of the story?
Court Declares Orangutan “Non Human Person!” 12/23/2014 (NRO) – I have been warning you and warning you: It just takes one judge, wanting to make history, to kick the props out from under our tottering societal embrace of human exceptionalism.
That One Guy Who Got a Court to Starve His Wife Won’t Be Voting for Jeb Bush 12/22/2014 (Daily Caller) – Last week, Republican Jeb Bush announced that his looming 2016 presidential bid is closer to becoming reality. Naturally, then, the activist nonpartisan journalists at ThinkProgress immediately set out to find out how Michael Schiavo feels about Bush’s candidacy.
Hockey Legend Improving Following Adult Stem Cell Treatment 12/21/2014 (CBS Sports) – After suffering a major stroke in late October, the health of Detroit Red Wings legend Gordie Howe seemed to be rapidly deteriorating. But lately there have been reports that his condition has been steadily improving to the point where he is now able to help with household chores, reports that were confirmed by his family on Friday.
Hey Kids: Let’s Organ-Harvest the Suicidal! 12/18/2014 (NRO) – I warned this would happen back in my first anti-assisted suicide article-Newsweek, June 28, 1993-in which I wrote: “Of greater concern to me is the moral trickledown effect that could result should society ever come to agree with Frances [to legalize assisted suicide].
Schindler: Killing Has Taken Its Toll 12/17/2014 (LifeNews.com) – Anybody paying attention to what has happened in our nation, and worldwide for that matter, regarding the lack of reverence for the dignity of life, is probably aware of the advances the culture of death has made over the past several decades.
New York State Senator Wants to Legalize Assisted Suicide 12/16/2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A New York state senator is proposing a new law allowing doctors to prescribe lethal doses of medication to terminally ill adults who express the wish to die.
Despite Devastating Injury, Student Finishes Marathon 12/15/2014 (USA Today) – Statistics never offered much hope to Audrey Self. “She was broadsided,” said her mother, Julie Self. “T-boned by a truck at a high rate of speed. I know there were no skid marks.” Audrey’s 2010 Toyota Camry was unrecognizable.
Making Sure Jahi Stays Dead? 12/14/2014 (NRO) – I accept properly diagnosed brain death as dead. Hence, when three doctors found that Jahi McMath was tragically gone, I accepted the diagnosis. But I also wrote that if her body did not deteriorate-as happens in almost all brain death cases-that would raise my eyebrows.
Studies: Progesterone Fails to Help Brain Injuries 12/12/2014 (ABC News) – Giving people with fresh traumatic brain injuries the hormone progesterone does no good, two major studies have found. The results dash some high hopes for treating a problem that hits millions each year, from combat troops to car crash victims.
Canada Bill to Legalize Euthanasia of Disabled 12/11/2014 (NRO) – Like I keep saying: Euthanasia/assisted suicide is not about terminal illness. It is ultimately about allowing anyone with more than a transitory desire to die to be killed-whether by a doctor, a lay suicide facilitator, or even, family and friends.
“Ethicist”: Okay to Kill Terminally Ill Newborns 12/10/2014 (By Sarah Zagorski) – According to Udo Schuklenk, a prominent Canadian ethicist, it is justifiable to kill terminally ill newborns who are suffering. In a paper published in the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Schuklenk wrote, “The parents should be able to freely decide on what would amount to postnatal abortion.
California Introduces Bill to Legalize Assisted Suicide 12/09/2014 (LifeNews.com) – California ProLife Council, working in conjunction with a coalition of life-affirming groups, has defeated California Assisted Suicide proposals in the past. But euthanasia advocates have promised to be particularly aggressive this coming year.
Kevorkian’s Vision: He’s Looking Alarmingly Prophetic 12/08/2014 (Wesley J. Smith/Weekly Standard) – Assisted suicide exploded into the news again two months ago after Brittany Maynard, dying of brain cancer, announced she would take a lethal prescription as permitted under Oregon law.
Caring for the Dying Means Not Intentionally Killing Them 12/04/2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A week ago I received a message from a distressed family writing about a loved one in the final stages of living. The members of this family were informed by hospice care that their dying relative, a 95-year-old father/grandfather with dementia who still recognizes the family and talks with them at times, had come down with pneumonia.
Remembering Terri On Her Birthday 12/03/2014 (North Country Gazette) – Terri Schiavo would be celebrating her 51st birthday today if her husband hadn’t killed her.
Glenn Beck to Headline 3rd Life & Hope Award Gala 12/02/2014 The Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network is pleased to announce two events, as part of Terri’s Day 2015, that will be held in Philadelphia on March 31st, 2015, the 10-year anniversary of Terri Schiavo’s death.
Why Are High School Football Players Dying? 12/01/2014 (wusa9.com) – Death certificates have empty spaces to be filled – even if death, like life, never fits easily into bureaucratic boxes. The death certificate of Damon Janes sketches a terrible story.
November
Brain Injured Volunteer Helping Brain Injured 11/30/2014 (rocklintoday.com) – On December 1, 1995, Sharon Gieseke was crossing a New Ulm, Minnesota, street and was only a step from being safely on the other side. In a telephone interview, Gieseke, now 57, said, “Then a van hit me. He did not yield to the person in the crosswalk and I was in the crosswalk.
MS Patient “Hero” for Euthanasia/Organ Harvest 11/28/2014 (NRO) – So, this is where euthanasia leads, and how its values spread like a virus. Belgium permits euthanasia to be combined with organ harvesting.
Netherlands Aims to Increase Organ Donations by Euthanasia Victims 11/26/2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Specialists from several Dutch medical schools have prepared a document that is to serve as official guidelines for organ donation after euthanasia, and aims to facilitate the procedure.
Marine Gives Back After Traumatic Brain Injury 11/25/2014 (Denpubs.com) – Shannon Swanson never thought that after years of being protected by her older brother, Shawn, she would ever end up taking care of him. Major Shawn Swanson, now 46, was in a nearly fatal car crash in June of 2010 that initially placed him in a medically induced coma.
Media Indifferent to Euthanasia Victimized Families 11/23/2014 (NRO) – Imagine you are at work, going about your day. The phone rings. You pickup and it is a mortuary informing you they have your mother’s body. “What do you mean you have my mother’s body!” you exclaim in utter shock.
Understanding Tracy Morgan’s TBI 11/21/2014 (Daily Beast) – It is often the least visible but sometimes deadliest of injuries: traumatic brain injury (TBI). With the recent statement released by Tracy Morgan’s lawyer that the famous comedian-actor suffered a “severe brain injury” in an August highway crash with a Walmart truck driver, public awareness has been raised on a complex condition, one that can span a wide range of outcomes.
Out of Control: Dutch Ethicist Screened Over 4,000 Euthanasia Cases 11/20/2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A prominent professor of ethics who was once part of the Netherlands’ euthanasia bureaucracy has again voiced his qualms over the present interpretation and use of the Dutch euthanasia law in a lengthy interview published last week by the Protestant daily, Trouw.
Nurse Teaches How to Starve Yourself to Death, She’s Killed More Than 100 People 11/19/2014 (LifeNews.com) – On November 2, terminally ill cancer patient, Brittany Maynard legally took her own life with a lethal dose of phenobarbital. She partnered with the organization, “Compassion and Choices,” which advocates for physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill.
A Powerful Witness to Love, Life, and Human Dignity 11/18/2014 (Celebrate Life) – Love is wanting what’s best for the other person. It’s putting the other person’s wants and needs before your own. Nowhere is this truer than in marriage, wherein each spouse vows to love, honor, and cherish the other in sickness and in health-until death.
Pope Denounces Right to Die Movement 11/17/2014 (Daily Mail) – Pope Francis denounced the right to die movement saying it was a ‘false sense of compassion’ to consider euthanasia as an act of dignity when in fact it’s a sin against God and creation.
NJ Passes Bill to Legalize Assisted Suicide, Gov. Christie Promises to Veto 11/14/2014 (LifeNews.com) – The New Jersey Assembly today passed a bill to legalize assisted suicide and it will now send the measure to Governor Chris Christie, who has promised to veto it. After impassioned speeches on both sides of the debate, the New Jersey Assembly passed the bill on a 41-31 vote.
Community Helps Athlete in Coma 11/14/2014 (KSL.com) – A Southern Utah teen remains in a coma weeks after a four-wheeler crash before a school dance. Since that accident, the community has rallied around him, raising more than $50,000 to help with medical costs.
NJ to Vote Today on Legislation of Legalize Assisted Suicide 11/13/2014 (NJ.com) – The state Assembly on Thursday is scheduled to vote on a bill that would allow doctors to prescribe life-ending drugs to terminally ill patients, just two weeks after Oregon cancer patient Brittany Maynard ended her life.
Nurse Who Killed 38 Patients Because She Found Them “Annoying” Gets Fan Mail 11/12/2014 (LifeNews.com) – Daniela Poggiali, an Italian nurse, was arrested last month for allegedly killing up to 38 patients because she found them or their relatives annoying. One of her victims, Rosa Calderoni, brought her crimes to light after she died from an injection of potassium.
What Brittany Maynard May Not Have Known About Suffering 11/11/2014 (Kristina Hernandez / SFLA) – Death is inevitable. For some, it comes way too soon and for people like Brittany Maynard, it was a deliberate choice. And those of us left behind often are left to pick up the remnants of our lives and somehow move on.
UK to Create “Suicide Courts?” 11/10/2014 (NRO) – Talk about a death panel! The House of Lords-pushed again to legalize assisted suicide-struggles with the nonsense of fashioning” strict guidelines” to protect against abuse.
Man Shoots Wife in the Head in So-Called “Mercy Killing” 11/07/2014 (LifeNews.com) – A California man has reportedly shot his wife to death in a so-called “mercy killing” – claiming he did so to alleviate the pain and suffering she endured because of her dementia.
Pregnant Woman Wakes From Coma to Give Birth 11/06/2014 (Christian Post) – A Florida man is celebrating after his pregnant wife woke up from her two-week coma to give birth to their baby girl. “From day one, none of this was expected,” Angel Quiles told local TV news station KTVU. “I thought I was I was going to lose my wife.
How Assisted Suicide Advocacy Hurts the Sick 11/05/2014 (NRO) – Imagine you have Lou Gehrig’s disease. You know you are dying. But your struggle is made even more difficult by advocates who claim: 1) You should commit suicide if you want “death with dignity;” and, 2) Your society should help you do it.
Maynard’s Storybook Death Shouldn’t Add Support For Assisted Suicide 11/04/2014 (Debra J. Saunders/SFGate) – “Brittany Maynard died with dignity from brain cancer,” read the headline of a press release issued by the organization Compassion & Choices. Suffering from a vicious form of brain cancer and near the end, the 29-year-old died Saturday surrounded by family and friends, in an Oregon home to which she moved so that she could take advantage of Oregon’s assisted-suicide law.
Oregonian: Maynard Dies by Lethal Overdose 11/03/2014 (NRO) – According to the Oregonian, it appears that Brittany Maynard ingested the poison prescribed by a doctor as allowed in Oregon law. Final verification is pending. I know that I am supposed to keep quiet and simply offer condolences.
October
Mother Wins Case to Kill Her Disabled Daughter 10/31/2014 (LiveActionNews.org) – The ethical problems with euthanasia have been detailed at Live Action News extensively. People with disabilities, people suffering from mental illness, people who were just lonely or old but otherwise healthy, even children – all can be euthanized in countries like Belgium and the Netherlands.
More College Students Support Post-Birth Abortion 10/30/2014 (College Fix) – A trend seen by prolife activists that frequently engage college students on campuses nationwide is the growing acceptance of post-birth abortion, or killing the infant after he or she is born, campus prolife outreach leaders tell The College Fix.
Rising to New Life: Teen Recovers From Near-Fatal Injuries 10/29/2014 (mywebtimes.com) – Jessica Cashmer shouldn’t be here today. She was 15 on Nov. 13, 2010, when a car accident south of Streator caused severe injuries. The vehicle Jessica was a passenger in was traveling at a high speed downhill and flipped several times, throwing her into a field.
Brittany Maynard Tries to Stifle Debate 10/28/2014 (NRO) – The Brittany Maynard media explosion (my takes here and here) is an intense advocacy offensive-funded substantially by the culturally subversive George Soros through his support of Compassion and Choices-that is intended to do two things:
Does Being an Annoyance Justify Taking Someone’s Life? 10/24/2014 (OneNewsNow) – In what many in her home country consider to be some of the most heinous crimes ever committed on their soil, Italian nurse Daniela Poggiali has been arrested and charged with mercilessly murdering at least one elderly patient and possibly 38 more at her hospital in Northern Italy.
Peter Singer to Court: Make Chimps Persons! 10/23/2014 (NRO) – There he goes again. Peter Singer-who has argued that cognitively devastated people should have been used instead of chimps in the creation of the hepatitis vaccine-urges a court to impose chimp personhood on society. Why?
Researchers Discover Two Potential Treatments for Traumatic Brain Injury 10/22/2014 (NewsMedical) – Researchers at the University of Adelaide have discovered two potential treatments for traumatic brain injury that are most effective when given at different stages after the injury has occurred.
Mother in Coma Heard Everything, Scared They’d Turn Off Her Life Support 10/21/2014 (LifeNews.com) – Kate Allat suffered a stroke at the age of 39 and the mother spent 10 days in a coma afterwards. Now that she is past that frightful ordeal, Allat reveals in a new interview that she heard everything going on around her in her hospital room and she was fearful her life support would be turned off.
Now UK Media Pushes Suicide by Starvation 10/20/2014 (NRO) – The media have become so in the tank for assisted suicide they now treat some suicides more as a necessity than as a choice. Take the Independent’s headline about an elderly assisted suicide campaigner woman who intentionally starved herself to death. Note the tone of the story.
Nurse Killed 38 Patients Because She Found Them “Annoying” 10/17/2014 (LifeNews.com) – Daniela Poggiali, an Italian nurse, has been arrested for allegedly killing up to 38 patients because she found them or their relatives annoying. One of her victims, Rosa Calderoni, brought her crimes to light after she died from an injection of potassium.
Assisted Suicide Debate Masks Disability Prejudice 10/15/2014 (thechronicleherald.ca) – Today (Oct. 15), the Supreme Court of Canada will hear argument in an appeal which seeks to strike down Canada’s Criminal Code prohibition against assisting suicide.
Father of Two On Slow Road to Recovery 10/14/2014 (nzherald.co.nz) – A digger driver critically injured by a freight train is still in hospital four months later, unable to speak or eat. Paul Anderson, 37, was working on the Raurimu Spiral near Tongariro National Park in June when the train struck his digger.
Brittany Maynard: The Vultures Circle 10/13/2014 (NRO) – I wasn’t going to write about the Brittany Maynard assisted suicide frenzy. Maynardis apparently dying of brain cancer at age 29, and has decided to mount a pro-assisted suicide campaign, announcing she will kill herself on November 1.
Family Asking for Help Healing Son with TBI 10/10/2014 (9&10News) – A Northern Michigan family is asking the community to help heal Claus. He was hit by an ambulance while walking to a friends house during a snowstorm in February, and is still hospitalized 8 months later.
Really? Stanford Doc Says No Jahi Life 10/10/2014 (NRO) – This is disturbing. Two internationally respected neurologists conclude that Jahi McMath isn’t brain dead, and the Stanford court appointed independent expert isn’t even curious to see what is going on? Apparently not, as Dr. Paul Graham Fisher says the evidence presented “isn’t enough.”
Bioethics Push Poll to Allow Killing for Organs 10/09/2014 (NRO) – To donate vital organs, a donor must be dead. This is known as the “dead donor rule”, I have been warning that utilitarian bioethicists and transplant medical professionals want to shatter the DDR to permit killing living living profoundly cognitively disabled patients for their organs.
Immediate Release: New Medical Findings May Prove Jahi McMath’s Doctors Wrong 10/08/2014 PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 8, 2014 /– Who has primacy in a life-or-death matter like that of Jahi McMath, whose family was told their child was “brain dead”? After suffering massive blood loss and cardiac arrest following tonsil surgery in December 2013, Jahi’s parents were told there was no hope for her recovery.
Formula One Driver Remains Critical 10/07/2014 (sportinglife) – Formula One driver Jules Bianchi remains in a “critical but stable” condition after suffering one of the most common traumatic and devastating brain injuries following his crash during Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.
MRI Test Proves Jahi Not Brain Dead! 10/07/2014 (NRO) – If the concept of “justice” matters-and if we care about the integrity of the system that bears its name-the Jahi McMath case must be reopened.
UCLA Neurologist: Jahi “Alive!” “Awake!” 10/05/2014 (NRO) – I know and deeply respect Dr. Alan Shewmon, professor emeritus in neurology at UCLA. He is a world renowned expert on the brain, particularly dealing with pediatrics.
Claim: Jahi “Interactive” and “Responsive” 10/03/2014 (NRO) – I have read the petition filed on behalf of Jahi McMath’s mother to reopen the case and declare her daughter alive. Here is the gist:
Court Petition to Declare Jahi McMath Alive! 10/02/2014 (NRO) – According to the State of California, Jahi McMath has been dead since December 9, 2013, when she went into cardiac arrest after catastrophic side effects from throat surgery. Oakland Children’s Hospital doctors insisted she was brain dead, that is, she had experienced total brain failure.
Who Decides the Harm in “Do No Harm?” 9/29/2014 (NRO) – Medical futility disputes often involve the question of harming the patient. Family/patient believe they should decide what constitutes “harm” in these cases, and that for the patient/family, the greatest harm would be death.
Children Support Parents’ Joint Euthanasia 9/26/2014 (NRO) – If this doesn’t scare you, nothing will. A doctor has agreed to murder euthanize a healthy elderly Belgian couple who don’t want ever to live apart-and their three children approve. One even procured the death doctor. From the Daily Mail story:
The Market for Brain Death 9/26/2014 (Life & Hope News Alert) – A silent and deadly epidemic is moving across America. No one is broadcasting it. No one is writing about it. Almost no one is even talking about it. But every day in hospitals, nursing homes and hospices across the country, more and more of our medically vulnerable loved ones are being euthanized.
Drug That May Save Brain Cells Undergoes Tests 9/25/2014 (baylorlariat.com) – A toxicology scientist at Baylor is testing a new drug that may cure traumatic brain injuries for soldiers fighting on the battlefield.
Yes, We Have a Culture of Death 9/24/2014 (By Bobby Schindler / LifeNews.com) – According to research reviewed by board-certified medical geneticist and Co-Director of the Down Syndrome Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Skotko, it is estimated that 92 percent of all women who receive a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome abort their baby.
Another Study Shows Some ‘Vegetative’ Patients Are Mentally Active 9/23/2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Patients in what doctors call a “persistent vegetative state” may be much more aware of their surroundings than previously believed, according to a new study from the University of Western Ontario.
Anencephalic Babies Not Good as “Dead” 9/22/2014 (NRO) – Throughout my campaign on behalf of the human exceptionalism and the equal dignity of all people, utilitarian bioethicists and others have challenged me about anencephalic babies, that is, those born with parts of their brain missing.
Standing Against the Human “Dignity Deniers” 9/19/2014 (Wesley J. Smith) – God may not be dead, but considering the imago Dei in philosophical discourse and public policy certainly is. Not only that, but the rational reasons for acknowledging the exceptional dignity of humans are wrongly denigrated as merely reflecting our religious past in which rigid moralism supposedly trumped reason.
Despite Doctors, Parents Never Gave Up 9/18/2014 (LifeNews.com) – In 2006, Paul Janssen was in a tragic car accident and almost died. The accident left him in a coma and doctors told his family he probably wouldn’t survive. They even asked if was an organ donor and if they wanted to keep him on life support.
After Traumatic Brain Injury, A Young Man’s Astounding Recovery 9/17/2014 (Washington Post) – On Nov. 8, 2012, my son Dylan – two months into his junior year at Tufts University – was struck by a car in a crosswalk. His head punched a hole through the car’s windshield, and he suffered a traumatic brain injury so severe that doctors initially warned he might be permanently disabled. He might never be able to feed himself again.
Another Conscious “Vegetable” 9/16/2014 (NRO) – As regular readers of this blog know, I loathe the V-word used for human beings instead of peas. So, why did I deploy it in my headline? Because another case of a supposedly unconscious man, found to be actually aware, has apparently been discovered-and many would have denigrated him as nothing but a V before he went into the scanning machine.
Germany Opens Memorial to Nazis’ Disabled Victims 9/15/2014 (FOX news) -Germany has inaugurated a memorial to more than 200,000 people with physical and mental disabilities who were killed by the Nazis after their lives were deemed “worthless.” The memorial in Berlin is close to monuments to the Jewish Holocaust victims and to the Nazis’ gay and Gypsy, or Roma, victims.
Alzheimer’s: To Love and Care or Kill? 9/12/2014 (NRO) – Sometimes I get emotional whiplash. On one hand, we see very prominent bioethicists say that we should starve Alzheimer’s patients to death if they asked to be killed in an advance directive.
Couple Starved 3-Month-Old to Death, “Skin Was Hanging on His Bones” 9/11/2014 (LifeNews.com) – On Monday Kansas Judge Patrick Thompson sentenced Desirah N. Overturf to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years in connection with the death by starvation of her three-month-old son.
Why Today’s Elderly are Being Treated as Old Age Pariahs 9/10/2014 (Mail Online) – When I was a child in the Sixties, very old people were relatively uncommon. A great-uncle who was nearly 80 seemed unimaginably ancient. Seventy-five was considered a very decent lifespan.
“Deformed” Baby’s Parents Wanted to Euthanize Him, But Then This Happened 9/09/2014 (LifeNews.com) – Baby Adam was born in a Christian missionary hospital in India. He had healthy lungs, brain, and heart, but was severely deformed. He had no eyelids, no nose, no hands, and his legs were fused together.
Alliance Defending Freedom Files Complaint Against Belgian Euthanasia Law 9/08/2014 (ADF) – Alliance Defending Freedom filed an application with the European Court of Human Rights Wednesday on behalf of Tom Mortier, who is challenging Belgium’s laws that allow doctor-prescribed death. Mortier’s mother was put to death by a doctor for “untreatable depression” even though she was not terminally ill.
How to Avoid Death Panels 9/05/2014 (Wesley J. Smith) – It shows the level of suspicion people have for government and the health care system that many of us distrust paying doctors to engage in end-of-life discussions. Indeed, during the run-up to the passage of Obamacare, Sarah Palin labeled a never-passed provision to pay doctors for such conversations, “death panels.”
Euthanasia, Doesn’t Tell Family Until Next Day 9/04/2014 (LifeNews.com) – Alliance Defending Freedom filed an application with the European Court of Human Rights Wednesday on behalf of Tom Mortier, who is challenging Belgium’s laws that allow euthanasia. Mortier’s mother was put to death by a doctor for “untreatable depression” even though she was not terminally ill.
Doctor: Euthanasia is ‘Appropriate’ When All Fails 9/03/2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The head of Canada’s largest doctors’ group has called euthanasia an “appropriate” choice under certain circumstances despite the group’s official policy against the practice.
Taking Pride in V-Word “Unrepentant Bigotry” 9/02/2014 (NRO) – I am on a rather lonely campaign to make the V-word-“vegetable”-as unacceptable as the N-word in describing human beings. I call it an “unrepentant bigotry.”
Insuring End-of-Life Talk Not Death Panels 9/01/2014 (NRO) – Sarah Palin started the idea that paying doctors to discuss end-of-life care with patients were death panels. She soon corrected herself to properly note that health care rationing boards under Obamacare would be the death panels.
August
Mixed Martial Arts Fighter Has Long Road to Recovery 8/29/2014 (Park Rapids Enterprise) – It’s been three months to the day since mixed martial arts champion Dan “The King” Kiser suffered a traumatic brain injury during a fight at Detroit Lakes’ Kent Freeman Arena on May 24.
New Hope for France’s ‘Terri Schiavo’ 8/28/2014 (LifeSiteNews) – There’s hope for Vincent Lambert, also known as France’s “Terri Schiavo.” At the end of July the doctor who has been pushing to stop giving Lambert food and liquids in order to “let him die” announced that he is leaving the Reims hospital where Lambert has been under his care since 2009.
Push to Make Suicide Easier Will Never Stop 8/27/2014 (NRO) – Here’s the advocacy con advanced by suicide promoters in the UK to bludgeon Parliament into legalizing doctor-prescribed death. First, get the media to publish pro-suicide stories of Brits flying to Switzerland for death at a clinic.
Parents Abandon Mentally Disabled Baby 8/26/2014 (LifeNews) – After the worldwide storm over baby Gammy, a child with Down Syndrome whose parents abandoned him with the surrogate mother after he and his twin sister were born, another case of baby abandonment has cropped up.
California Man Dies After Hospital Refuses Ambulance 8/25/2014 (NY Daily News) – A grieving California family says it lost a loved one because a cash-strapped hospital refused to accept patients arriving by ambulance.
Northern Ireland Considers Allowing Killing Disabled Unborn Babies 8/22/2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Northern Ireland’s leading pro-life group, Precious Life, has condemned this week’s announcement by Justice Minister David Ford that a consultation on changing the abortion law will be “ready by autumn.”
Richard Dawkins’ Down Syndrome Bigotry 8/21/2014 (NRO) – What is it with scientists who become crusading atheists? First, James Watson came out as an anti-Semite and a eugenicist. Now Richard Dawkins has let out his own inner bigot by claiming that women have an ethical duty to abort Down babies. From the Telegraph story:
Canadian Medical Association Softens Stance on Assisted Suicide 8/20/2014 (Globe and Mail) – The Canadian Medical Association, which has a long-standing policy saying doctors should not participate in euthanasia or assisted suicide, is substantially softening its stance.
Professor Death Supports Doctor Death 8/19/2014 (NRO) – I think it is time to start calling Peter Singer “Professor Death.” The Princeton moral philosopher-an oxymoron in his case-is the world’s foremost proponent of infanticide.
Doctors Forced to Refer for Starvation Suicides? 8/15/2014 (NRO) – It is very interesting that as some bioethicists complain about doctors being prohibited from discussing guns with their patients in Florida, they are apparently silent about a California proposal to force them to give information on non-medical legal end of life options, by which I mean, suicide by self-starvation (VSED).
Suicide Cult Pushes Home Made Suicide Kits 8/13/2014 (NRO) – Suicide advocacy never stops. Even as the world mourns a celebrity self-destruction, Derek Humpry’s group ERGO-Euthanasia Research Guidance Organization-continues the death proselytizing-this time pushing a booklet, How to Make Your Own Helium Hood Kit.
The Misguided ‘Mercy’ of Euthanasia 8/12/2014 (Catholic Register) – Most people who believe euthanasia and assisted suicide should be legal are not thinking the issue through. They are weighing personal autonomy and choice, or imagining what it would be like to be incapacitated and forced into a life they consider undignified or worthless, or perhaps seeing severely disabled people as having no quality of life.
Smith: Dying of Thirst is Excruciating Agony 8/11/2014 (NRO) – Health writer Larry Bernstein of the Washington Post has written an excruciating column about how awful and painful it is to die by thirst. The article laments-as any civilized person would-the potential mass deaths by dehydration of the Yazidi at the hand of the butchers of ISIS in Iraq. Dying of dehydration is an awful death.
With an Aging Population, Euthanasia and Rationing are Real Threats 8/08/2014 (LifeNews.com) – The fifth working session of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageingconvened this week at the UnitedNations. Scott Fischbach, Executive Director of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life Global Outreach (MCCL GO), spoke today at the session about the importance of protecting the rights of older persons.
Haleigh Poutre and Her Incredible Will to Live 8/05/2014 (Bobby Schindler/LifeNews.com) – Aside from the misleading claim in the article referringmy sister, Terri Schiavo, as being in a persistent vegetative state (PVS), the Boston Globe did a wonderful follow-up story on Haleigh Poutre’s tragic situation.
Haleigh’s New Life After State Wanted Her Dead 8/04/2014 (NRO) – It’s been awhile since I have written of Haleigh Poutre. Some may recall that she was an abused child beaten into a sustained unconsciousness by her step father.
Architect Overcomes Traumatic Brain Injury 8/01/2014 (azcentral.com) – Kuna Williams had to start all over again. After suffering a traumatic brain Injury in a motorcycle accident in 2006, Williams has spent years relearning all the things that most of us take for granted.
July
Bipartisan Support for the Traumatic Brain Injury Reauthorization Act 7/30/2014 (The Hill) – With Republicans and Democrats divided on so many policy issues, it is gratifying to see the parties agree on an approach to a serious public health problem – traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Assisted Suicide Death Cult “Death Coaching” 7/29/2014 (NRO) – I discovered the assisted suicide death cult when my friend Frances killed herself under the influence of the Hemlock Society, since evolved into Compassion and Choices.
Sioux City Woman Survives TBI, Earns Graduate Degree 7/28/2014 (Sioux City Journal) – A Sunday night in 2009, a nurse became a patient. Michelle Lara was thrown from a motorcycle and fractured her skull. Talk of organ donation swirled around her hospital room as she lay in a coma. No one would sign the consent.
Medical Board Suspends Australia’s Dr. Death 7/25/2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In a widely hailed move, the Medical Board of Australia has used their emergency powers to suspend the medical registration of euthanasia advocate Dr. Philip Nitschke.
Starving Our Way Toward Lethal Injections 7/23/2014 (NRO) – I continue to push back against the starvation killing agenda now being promoted vigorously among assisted suicide advocacy groups and by some bioethics.
Ten Reasons Why the UK Should Not Legalize Assisted Suicide 7/21/2014 (LifeNews.com) – Lord Falconer’s Assisted Dying Bill, due for a second reading in the House of Lords on 18 July, is purportedly based on the US state of Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act (DWDA).
The Ethics of Food and Drink: Starvation is Not Mercy 7/18/2014 (Wesley J. Smith/Weekly Standard) – Should the law compel nursing homes to starve certain Alzheimer’s patients to death? This is not an alarmist fantasy, but a real question, soon to be forced by advocates of ever-wider application of assisted euthanasia.
Death Panels? Obama Admin May Pay Doctors to Conduct “End of Life” Discussions 7/17/2014 (LifeNews.com) – In a recent Politico Magazine article titled, “Let’s Talk About Death Panels,” Harold Pollack urges reviving one of the most notorious proposals that did not make it into the Obama Health Car Law – “advance planning consultations.”
Desmond Tutu Plea for ‘Assisted Dying’ 7/16/2014 (The Guardian) – Desmond Tutu, one of the world’s most eminent religious leaders, has made an extraordinary intervention in the debate over assisted death, by backing the right of the terminally ill to end their lives in dignity.
Outrage as ‘Dr Death’ Offers Euthanasia Tours of ‘Inspiring’ Auschwitz 7/15/2014 (Mail Online) – A controversial doctor who practises euthanasia has sparked outrage by organising a tour to Auschwitz because he says the Nazi death camp is ‘inspiring’. Belgian doctor Wim Distelmans, who has been dubbed ‘Dr Death’ for administering lethal injections, claims the visit will ‘clarify confusion’ about dying as well as addressing the issue of euthanasia.
The Science Behind TBI Recovery: New Research and Recovery Techniques 7/14/2014 (Outside Magazine) – When a skull slams into a hard surface, damage control typically happens in a rush. Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) often require immediate surgery, and even during the slow recovery process an urgent question lingers: How much time do I have before permanent brain damage sets in? Previously, doctors believed that the maximum window for recovery was about a year after the injury occurred. But new research suggests the TBI-recovery timeline is longer than previously thought, giving injured athletes more opportunity to restore cognitive functions.
Compassion and Choices Pushes Suicide by Starvation 7/12/2014 (NRO) – The people at Compassion and Choices are blatantly mendacious. And the media do not care. In the wake of the Diane Rehm story, in which she describes her husband committing suicide by self-starvation (“voluntary stop eating and drinking,” or VSED) and pushes legalizing doctor-prescribed death, the suicide-boosting NBC claims that Compassion and Choices wants to prevent these kinds of deaths.
Family in Need of Our Help! 7/10/2014 Life & Hope Network Friends and Supporters, we need your help today for a young man in need. I’ve been in touch with the family of Kyle Dantzler (pictured), a 31 year old young man and resident of Atlanta. Kyle was born with a very rare and serious liver disease, and his family needs our help to transfer him from a Philadelphia hospital to a long term acute care facility close to his home and loving family in Atlanta.
Medical Center to Test Drug on the Unconscious Without Consent 7/09/2014 (Seattle Times) – Say you get hit by a car, trip on stairs or slip off a ladder and hit your head. While you’re unconscious, you may be enrolled in a study and injected with a drug researchers at Harborview Medical Center hope will prevent bleeding in your brain.
Animals Equivalent to Humans in NYT … Again 7/08/2014 (NRO) – The New York Times is crusading against human exceptionalism. Indeed, articles that advocate human animal moral equivalency are so ubiquitous in the Gray Anti-Human Lady that I wrote a piece in the Weekly Standard a bit ago pointing out several examples of the continuing theme.
‘Dr. Death’ Draws Outcry After 45-Yr-Old Man’s Suicide 7/07/2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Dr. Philip Nitschke’s practice of using media interviews to publicize his pro-euthanasia cause has backfired, generating criticism and calls for an enquiry into the “suicide industry” in Australia.
Smith: Centralized Healthcare Hurts the Dying 7/06/2014 (NRO) – We should look with great trepidation at the experience of the NHS for what Obamacare’s centralized control is bringing our way-I mean beyond bitter societal division currently tearing the country apart.
Navy Vet Begs VA: Please Don’t Starve Me to Death 7/03/2014 (examiner.com) – Joe Geoghagan, a 31-year-old Navy veteran who served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, now suffers from PTSD and has to be fed through a feeding tube because he is unable to keep food down.
Utah Man Accused of Killing Wife Appears in Court 7/02/2014 (Salt Lake Tribune) – A 74-year-old Roy man made his initial court appearance Wednesday on charges that he killed his ailing wife, possibly by using tips from a book on suicide to poison her with nitrogen gas.
Euthanasia Activists Want Nursing Homes to Starve Patients to Death 7/01/2014 (LifeNews.com) – No line in bioethics is ever fixed. Rather, the push to eradicate the boundaries that keep medical professionalism tied to Hippocratic values (sniffed at as “paternalism” by many in the field) continues unabated, with new boundary lines created, consolidated, and then moved again into ever-more extreme territory.
June
Golden Gate Bridge Suicide Barrier Violates Right to Death 6/30/2014 (NRO) – We are told continually by the “right to die” crowd that suicide/euthanasia is the “ultimate civil liberty.” Indeed, these purveyors of suicide argue that we all of the RIGHT to determine the time, manner, method, and place of death. If that is so, the Golden Gate Bridge District Board of Directors are civil rights abusers! From the San Francisco Chronicle story:
LA Governor Signs Law Saving Unborn if Mother is Declared ‘Brain-Dead’ 6/29/2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Gov. Bobby Jindal has signed another bill into law aiming to protect unborn children, this one requiring pregnant mothers considered “brain-dead” to be kept alive if it could save their child. H.B. 1274, which was introduced by Democratic Rep. Austin Badon, became law on Monday with Jindal’s signature.
Wisconsin Democrats Endorse Assisted Suicide 6/27/2014 (NRO) – Disability rights activists are, generally speaking, part of the Democratic coalition. They also, generally speaking, are the country’s most effective opponents of assisted suicide.
European Court Tells France to Maintain Food, Hydration 6/25/2014 (Reuters) – The European Court of Human Rights has told France to maintain life support for a tetraplegic man who has spent nearly six years in a coma while it examines a last-ditch appeal by his parents. The request from the rights court late on Tuesday came just hours after French judges ruled doctors should be allowed to end medical support that has kept Vincent Lambert artificially alive since a motorbike crash in September 2008.
French Court Allows Wife to Stop Husbands Food & Water 6/24/2014 (Medical Xpress) – A top French court gave the green light Tuesday to ending life support for a patient in a vegetative state, in a closely watched ruling that went against his parents’ wishes that he be kept alive.
BRAIN TRAUMA: Treatment, Recovery Results Improve Drastically 6/20/2014 (KMSP) – Over the past few years, greater understanding of traumatic brain injuries has led to dramatic progress in recovery and treatment even though the circumstances that led to those discoveries is less than ideal.
Family Attorney: Jahi Appears to be Responding 6/19/2014 (NRO) – A news story reports that Jahi McMath, declared dead by the State of California, is being maintained at a Catholic hospital in New Jersey. More, that she may be becoming responsive. From the San Jose Mercury News story:
Justina Pelletiers Legal Nightmare Should Frighten All Parents 6/18/2014 (Fox & Friends) – A Massachusetts judge ordered Tuesday that 16-year-old Justina Pelletier be returned to her Connecticut family. His ruling ended a 15-month odyssey that I believe showed that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Boston Children’s Hospital were willing to disregard the rights of her parents and, in essence legally “kidnap” her.
Push for Child Assisted Suicide in Scotland 6/17/2014 (NRO) – Fresh off of Belgium’s legalizing euthanasia for children, child “advocates” in Scotland seeks to enable dying kids to commit assisted suicide. From the London Times story (subscription pay wall):
Euthanasia Hurts Families 6/16/2014 (National Post) – My brother, who is severely handicapped, was once admitted to the hospital for pneumonia. During the few hours my family was not with him, a “do not resuscitate” bracelet was attached to his arm.
Legendary Radio Broadcaster Casey Kasem Has Died 6/15/2014 (FOX News) – Casey Kasem, the legendary radio broadcaster whose style set the benchmark for Top 40 shows, has died. He was 82. Danny Deraney, publicist for Kasem’s daughter, Kerri, says Kasem died Sunday morning.
Casey Kasem’s Wife Challenges Judges Ruling 6/14/2014 (Toronto Sun) – The wife of dying U.S. broadcaster Casey Kasem has filed legal papers demanding her hospitalized husband be fed.
The Sad Fate of Casey Kasem: Death by Dehydration 6/12/2014 (By Bobby Schindler/LifeNews.com) – A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge reversed his own ruling, permitting Casey Kasem’s daughter, Kerri Kasem, to remove her father’s food and hydration (via feeding tube), which will result in his death by starvation and dehydration.
Schindler: The Advancing Euthanasia Culture 6/11/2014 (Bobby Schindler/LifeNews.com) – I wonder if we are paying attention to some of the more recent stories that have been reported in regards to euthanasia and assisted suicide. Arguably, the most troubling of them have been reported overseas, however things here in our country are getting worse, as well.
Judge Reverses Ruling, Casey Kasem to be Starved and Dehydrated 6/11/2014 (Daily News) – The judge overseeing Casey Kasem’s family feud reversed course Tuesday and revoked an earlier decision ordering doctors to artificially feed and hydrate the radio icon. “You have blood on your hands,” Kasem’s wife of 34-years Jean Kasem said as she stormed out of the Los Angeles courtroom following the decision. (continue reading …)
His Disabled Brother on His Back, Teen Walks 40 Miles 6/11/2014 (LifeNews.com) – Hunter Gandee of Temperance, Michigan is just 14-year-old but hi courage and dedication to helping others has already eclipsed most adults. Persisting through the elements, Hunter walked more than 40 miles with his little brother strapped to his back to raise awareness for those with cerebral palsy.
Judge Rules That Casey Kasem Should Be Kept Fed and Hydrated 6/10/2014 (Mail Online) – A judge ruled on Monday that Casey Kasem should be fed, hydrated and medicated while a court-appointed attorney evaluates the health of the ailing radio personality after his daughter moved to implement end of life measures.
Israel Committee Approves Measure to Legalize Assisted Suicide 6/09/2014 (Times of Israel) – A day after Israeli ministers gave the go-ahead to a bill regulating assisted suicide for terminally ill patients, the country’s minister for senior citizens appealed the decision, saying he would work to “save the legal system from this pill of death.”
Quebec Enshrines Euthanasia as ‘Medical Aid In Dying’ 6/08/2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Quebec became the first Canadian province to legalize euthanasia today as the National Assembly voted 94 to 22 to allow doctors to kill their patients as “medical aid in dying.”
More Than 100 Washington Assisted Suicides 6/06/2014 (NRO) – Assisted suicide is on the rise in Washington. From the Seattle Times story: “More than 100 people died in Washington last year after requesting and taking a lethal prescription through Washington’s Death with Dignity law, the state’s Department of Health reported Wednesday. Officials said that 173 people requested and received lethal doses of medication in 2013, a 43 percent increase from the year before.”
A Miraculous Recovery For Police Officer Shot in Head 6/05/2014 (WTOP) – It’s been more than a year since Alexandria Police Officer Peter Laboy (pictured above) was shot in the head by a cabdriver during a routine traffic stop.
Assisted Suicide for the Old But Healthy 6/04/2014 (NRLC) – Swiss assisted suicide provider Exit has officially sanctioned assisted suicide on the grounds of old age. The new statute – the first of its kind in Switzerland – was passed at the group’s annual general meeting over the weekend.
College Basketball Coach Now Talking, Walking 6/03/2014 (The Daily Citizen) – Just three weeks ago, John Redman’s outlook was bleak. Bound to a hospital bed following a car accident that claimed the life of his fiancee on April 28, family members were faced with the possibility his condition would never improve.
Starvation as the New “Death with Dignity” 6/02/2014 (Wesley J. Smith) – Self-starvation has become the latest craze among the “death with dignity” crowd. This has been coming on for some time. Removing feeding tubes from cognitively disabled people who can’t swallow has been allowed for decades, under the right to refuse unwanted “medical treatment.”
May
Quebec Bishops: Euthanasia Bill Would Bring ‘Grave and Harmful Consequences’ 5/30/2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In a strongly worded letter the Assembly of Bishops of Quebec (AEQ) has urged the faithful to “urgently” contact their elected representatives to oppose the province’s newly-resurrected euthanasia bill, which could be voted on as early as next week.
Wesley J. Smith: Belgian Doctors Kill 5 per Day 5/29/2014 (NRO) – Belgium has jumped head first into the darkness that is the culture of death. Euthanasia deaths-the ones recorded, more are done sub rosa-have gone up 27% in one year. From the story:
Beaten Giants Fan Appears at Jury Selection 5/28/2014 (Gillette News Record) – Bryan Stow, the San Francisco Giants fan whose beating at Dodgers Stadium became a symbol of violence associated with sports events, sat in a specially equipped wheelchair as prospective jurors heard lawyers give brief summaries of the civil suit brought for the brain-damaged man.
Oregon Runs Out of Death Drugs 5/24/2014 (NRO) – It appears that Oregon has run dry on death drugs. You see death penalty opponents have made the supply of a prime death-causing drug used in assisted suicide scarce. Of course, the media misses the irony. From the Willamette Week story:
The “Quality of Life” Slouch Toward Infanticide 5/18/2014 (NRO) – I have long argued that our neurotic obsession with eliminating suffering-we should, of course alleviate and mitigate it-leads very quickly to eliminating the sufferer.
No One Should Be Reliant on a Dr. Death 5/15/2014 (No Euthanasia) – “No one should be reliant on Dr Death” was the closing line of Dr Nicholas Tonti-Filippini’s rebuttal of the recent media in The Age newspaper and elsewhere that surrounds the admittance in late April by Melbourne doctor, Rodney Syme, that he had provided nembutal to a terminally ill Victorian man in 2005.
ER Visits for Traumatic Brain Injury Spike 30 Percent 5/14/2014 (CBS News) – The rate of emergency room visits for traumatic brain injury increased by 30 percent between 2006 and 2010, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Canada’s CBC Pushes Suicide Culture 5/13/2014 (Wesley J. Smith/NRO) – The media are society’s premier suicide pushers. Oh sure, they decry suicides of teenagers and veterans. But they push suicide for the elderly, the disabled, the chronically and terminally ill-sometimes even, the mentally ill.
Unilateral Non Resuscitation at Massachusetts General! 5/12/2014 (NRO) – Can this have something to do with Romney/Obamacare? According to a medical study, since 2006, Massachusetts General Hospital’s Bioethics Committee has forced people to not receive wanted resuscitation by imposing unilateral DNRs. And apparently, it’s all done in Star Chamber secrecy. From Thaddeus Pope’s blog (quoting from a medical symposium presentation):
Quebec Government Expected to Re-Introduce Bill Legalizing Euthanasia 5/09/2014 (LifeNews.com) – The Quebec government is expected to re-introduce its euthanasia bill later this month. By analyzing data from recent studies concerning Belgium and the Netherlands, where euthanasia is legal, some concerning facts emerge.
Apostolic Nuncio: Church Must Make its Voice Heard Opposing Assisted Suicide Bill 5/08/2014 (CatholicHerald.co.uk) – Archbishop Antonio Mennini, the Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain, has said the Church must “make its voice heard” in opposing the proposed change to law that, if passed, would legalise assisted suicide in the UK.
Grad Hopes for Mini-Marathon Comeback 5/06/2014 (WTHR.com) – Brigette Schutzman, 26, calls Saturday’s Mini-Marathon “the most important thing in my life right now, in terms of goals.” The Carmel woman is signed up to do the half marathon. She’s been training for it for months, logging lots of miles.
Smith: What Happened to Switzerland 5/02/2014 (First Things) – In 2008, bioethicist Yuval Levin in his book Imagining the Future: Science and American Democracy identified a subtle but momentous shift in the philosophical driver of the West: “The worldview of modern science … sees health not only as a foundation but also a principal goal, not only as a beginning but also an end.
Brain Injury Victim Continues to Improve 5/01/2014 (Standard Journal) – When Taylor Bingaman of Mifflinburg sustained a traumatic injury to the brain upon falling down a set of stairs at home in 2012, he faced a long and uncertain recovery period.
Family Gives Update on Road to Recovery 4/29/2014 (cardschat.com) – Last year, the poker community was shocked to learn that on June 14, Kevin “Phwap” Boudreau collapsed in a Subway parking lot during a dinner break at the World Series of Poker.
Three Scientists Doggedly Fight the PVS Dogma 4/28/2014 (NRLC) – Thankfully, whenever there is another study that proves yet again that we over-categorize severely brain-injured patients as being in a PVS, there is coverage not only of the original investigation but also what the study means-its larger context.
Assisted Suicide Frees Doctors’ Inner Kevorkian 4/27/2014 (NRO) – Pathologist Jack Kevorkian infamously assisted the suicides of people he had not actually treated, or even examined. He would look at medical records, speak to the victim, and bring on the carbon monoxide or suicide machine. Similarly, a Swiss doctor assisted the suicide of a man he did not physically examine, and took umbrage that authorities brought a case against him.
At Walter Reed Hospital, Music Heals 4/25/2014 (Gazette.net) – The phone call Claudia Avila got on Dec. 27, 2011, was from Army officials telling her that her husband was in critical condition and might not survive.
How Media Helps Push Us Off Suicide Cliff 4/22/2014 (NRO) – I’ve seen it again and again in my more than twenty years of opposing assisted suicide: the media promote suicide in the guise of reporting the news. Indeed, these days, it is almost a universal rule.
Saying Patients are PVS Allows Courts to Starve Them to Death 4/21/2014 (By Bobby Schindler/LifeNews.com) – I have written time and time again about the dangerous and dehumanizing persistent vegetative state (PVS) diagnosis. Actually, we saw in my family’s battle to save my sister, Terri Schiavo, from death by dehydration, that a tremendous amount of debate raged over whether or not she was in this condition.
Pope Francis Highlights Worth and Dignity of the Disabled 4/18/2014 (LifeNews.com) – In preparation for Easter Sunday, Pope Francis decided today to highlight the worth and dignity of disabled people – including washing the feet of 12 disabled patients at a care center.
Trooper’s Road to Recovery after TBI 4/17/2014 (keloland.com) – In uniform and behind the wheel, South Dakota Highway Patrol Trooper Andrew Steen (pictured) has returned to the job he left 18 months ago after he was seriously hurt in the line of duty. “I worked pretty hard to get back from what people were thinking I was going to.
Some Dutch Pharmacists Say No to Euthanasia 4/16/2014 (NRO) – As we move into a morally polyglot society-with the culture of death rushing to the fore-the question of medical conscience will become increasingly hot button. This is apparently already occurring in the Netherlands where many pharmacists apparently refuse to dispense drugs for use in lethal injection doctor-administered homicides. From the DutchNews.nl story:
Swiss Suicide Clinic Helped Second Woman ‘Tired of Life’ to Die 4/15/2014 (express.co.uk) – The 99-year-old Londoner, who was not terminally ill or severely disabled, felt her time had come to an end. Her decision mirrors that of an art teacher, known only as Anne, who travelled to the Dignitas Clinic near Zurich on March 27 to end her life.
Traumatic Brain Injuries a Significant Public Health Problem 4/11/2014 (24-7PressRelease) – Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 138 people die every day from injuries associated with brain injury.
Belgian Docs Give Selves OK to Kill ICU Patients 4/10/2014 (NRO) – The Journal of Critical Care Medicine has published a statement by the Belgian Society of Critical Care Medicine giving ICU docs the right to kill patients-even though euthanasia in the country is supposed to only be consensual.
The Dignity of Dying 4/09/2014 (by Bridget Green) – Within the last month we’ve marked the anniversaries of two important deaths that, while linked inextricably because of when they occurred, could not have been more different.
10 Years Since His Accident and Kevin Goff Has Been Recovering Ever Since 4/08/2014 (OregonLive.com) – May 20, 2004, Kevin Goff slipped off a trail he was hiking on with a friend at Eagle Creek in the Columbia Gorge. He was airlifted to OHSU where he started his recovery from a traumatic brain injury.
Feeding Tube Removed Despite Court Order 4/07/2014 (Wesley J. Smith/NRO) – Texas has a medical futility-what I call Futile Care Theory-law permitting doctors to remove wanted life-support that works from a patient based on their views about quality of life.
Paralyzed Man Overhears Doctors Talk About Removing His Organs 4/06/2014 (New York Daily News) – A paralyzed Swedish man in hospital could hear doctors telling his girlfriend he would die and discussing transplanting his organs. Jim Fritze was conscious but unable to tell medics he could hear them.
Formula One Race Car Champion Showing Signs of Consciousness 4/04/2014 (ESPN) – Michael Schumacher is now showing “moments of consciousness and awakening” more than three months after suffering serious head injuries in a skiing accident, the retired Formula One star’s manager said Friday.
How to Drive the Dying to Assisted Suicide 4/03/2014 (NRO) – Hey kids! I have an idea to cut health care costs: Let’s legalize assisted suicide and also ration care to the elderly and dying! Then we’ll still call it “choice.” Genius!
Obamacare: Daughter, Doctor Blame President for Father’s Death 4/02/2014 (American Spectator) – Yesterday the Obama Administration boasted that six million people had signed up for Obamacare. There was not a word about Frank Alfisi. Frank Alfisi was killed by Obamacare.
Snowboarder’s TBI Inspires Awareness for Other Survivors 4/01/2014 (FOX News) – In the run up to the 2010 Winter Olympics, 22-year-old Kevin Pearce was on the brink of snowboarding superstardom, poised to take on his rival and gold-medalist, Shaun White, in Vancouver.
March
Terri’s Day 2014 Memorial Mass! 3/20/2014 On March 31st, the anniversary of the death of Terri Schiavo, Archbishop Charles Chaput of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will celebrate a national memorial mass as part of an “International Day of Prayer and Remembrance for Terri Schindler Schiavo, and All of Our Vulnerable Brothers and Sisters.” The mass begins at 5:00pm at the Chapel of the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter & Paul 18th Street & Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA. The public is invited.
The Continued Deterioration of Our Health Care System 3/20/2014 It was nine years ago, March 18, 2005, that my sister, Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube was removed by order of Pinellas County Florida Court Judge, George W. Greer. It was by Greer’s order that Terri would slowly die by way of starvation and dehydration. It took almost two-weeks.
Bill Gates Supports Death Panels 3/17/2014 (NRO) – It is funny-in both the ha-ha and ironical senses-that those who often scream most loudly against the “death panel” meme often follow, sotto voce, “But we need death panels.”
Brother of Terri Schiavo Gives Talk on End-Of-Life Issues 3/14/2014 (CatholicPhilly.com) – Bobby Schindler spoke Sunday, March 9 at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Richboro, Bucks County, on the topic of assisted nutrition and hydration.
Pushing Experimentation Without Consent 3/12/2014 (NRO) – The New England Journal of Medicine-ever more radically utilitarian, in my view-has an article by prominent bioethicists urging that some less dangerous (comparative effectiveness research) medical experimentation be conducted on patients without our consent.
The Dark Debut of Debbie Wasserman Schultz 3/10/2014 (Susan D. Harris/American Thinker) – It was a turning point in my life. Some people remember where they were when Kennedy was killed or Apollo 11 landed on the moon. I remember where I was the day Terri Schiavo died. I was crying in a bathroom stall at work, wondering what kind of merciless country I lived in.
‘Death with Dignity Act’ Finds Little Support in NH House 3/07/2014 (Union Leader) – The House Thursday soundly rejected legislation that would have allowed a terminally ill patient to seek a lethal prescription from cooperating physicians. Under House Bill 1325, the “Death with Dignity Act,” the patient must have received a prognosis of six months or less to live by two physicians.
Florida Judge Says No to Hospital “Pull Plug” Demand 3/06/2014 (NRO) – Futile Care Theory (medical futility) permits strangers-doctors, bioethicists, etc.-to overrule a patient’s advance directive or decisions by family to maintain a patient’s life.
Deception Instead Of Dignity: The Language of Assisted Suicide 3/05/2014 (BreakPoint) – The battle over ideas is the battle over definitions. Whoever controls the language controls the debate. Let me illustrate. What’s your response-positive or negative-to the term “assisted suicide”?
Drug Seems to Speed Recovery After Traumatic Brain Injury 3/04/2014 (HealthDay News) – A drug that’s typically used to treat the flu and Parkinson’s disease appears to speed recovery in traumatic brain injury patients, a new study indicates.
Jahi Mcmath’s Family to Get Award From Terri Schiavo Network 2/28/2014 (Contra Costa Times) – The family of Jahi McMath will receive an award next month from the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network at the organization’s award gala, the nonprofit announced Thursday.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jahi McMath’s Family Recipients of 2014 Life & Hope Award 2/27/2014 Philadelphia, PA / February 27, 2014 – Since 2007, Terri Schiavo’s family has marked the anniversary of her death on March 31, 2005 by celebrating Terri’s Day. Through the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network (Narberth, PA), they have channeled the national controversy that erupted over the court-ordered decision that ended Terri’s life by removing her feeding tube into a positive effort of awareness, education and advocacy that supports thousands of families worldwide.
Wesley J. Smith: Death on Demand Comes True 2/25/2014 (NRO) – I have been warning for more than 20 years that assisted suicide ultimately leads to death on demand. And so it has become in the Swiss suicide clinics according to a recent study. From the Mirror News story:
Belgium Legalizes Medicalized Killing of Children 2/24/2014 (Dr. Mark Mostert) – It’s hardly news that Europe is ground zero for the moral catastrophe of pro-death madness. Hundreds have traveled to Swiss death clinic Dignitas, where they are put to death, at their request, by assisted suicide.
Mother Jahi Mcmath Gives Update on Daughter’s Condition 2/21/2014 (Fox News) – Jahi McMath, the 13-year-old California girl who was declared brain dead after complications from tonsil surgery, is reportedly doing “much better physically.”
Judge Blocks Execution Drug Used in Assisted Suicide 2/19/2014 (NRO) – This is pretty rich. We are frequently told by activists that the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment, and indeed, that allegedly includes lethal injection.
Low-Cost Tech Helps Brain-Injured Patients Speak 2/18/2014 (Fox News) – A week before Maggie Worthen was due to graduate from Smith College, she suffered a severe brain stem stroke that left her unable to move or speak. She was only 22.
Belgium Has Legalized Child Killing 2/17/2014 (NRO) – Well, they went and did it: Belgium has legalized child euthanasia. There is no age limitation. Here is how it is supposed to work from the Washington Post story: The child must have a terminal and incurable illness, with death expected to occur “within a brief period.”
Brain Injury Recovery Thanks to Fiancee’s Support 2/17/2014 (Peterborough Telegraph) – A man who suffered a serious brain injury in a car crash will leave the Peterborough care centre he has been living at for 15 months thanks to the devotion of his caring fiancée.
Should O.J. Be Given Assisted Suicide? 2/13/2014 (NRO) – O.J. Simpson, jailed for robbery after being found not guilty of murder, says he wants to die “his way.” From the Daily Mail story: “OJ Simpson has gone on hunger strike in prison, saying, ‘I used to live my way, and now I’m going to die my way,’ sources have claimed.”
Husband Keeps “Brain Dead” Pregnant Wife Alive to Give Birth to Son 2/11/2014 (LifeNews.com) – In a case that made international news, a son has been born to a husband who had been raising funds to cover his “brain dead” pregnant wife’s medical bills so his unborn son could be born.
For The Love of Jahi, The Living Testimony of Nailah Winfield 2/09/2014 (Renew America) – Nailah Winkfield’s daughter, thirteen year-old Jahi McMath, suffered from pediatric sleep apnea. On December 9, 2013 Jahi was admitted into Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland where she underwent tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy.
Ride to Recovery: Why Brett Banasiewicz’s Parents Fought Doctors 2/07/2014 (WSBT 22) – A South Bend teenager, turned pro athlete is finally back on his bike. A terrible fall from his bike caused a traumatic brain injury and put him into a coma 18 months ago.
Child Asks King to Stop Pediatric Euthanasia 2/06/2014 (NRO) – I don’t like using children to argue about public policy issues which they really can’t understand. This is no exception. But I present it because it illustrates three truths about euthanasia:
Suicide Preventers Ignore Suicide Promoters 2/05/2014 (NRO) – I am disgusted with the suicide prevention community. Not because they want to prevent suicide-I’m all for it! But they are either cowards or derelict in their chosen calling.
Food and Water: Keys To Euthanasia? 2/03/2014 (Archdiose of Miami) – Most people are probably unaware that the last time they sat down for a meal they gave themselves a “medical treatment.”
New Hampshire Assisted Suicide Bill’s Word Games 2/02/2014 (NRO) – Here we go again-and again, and again! Assisted suicide advocates mendaciously pretend that their killing agenda is only about terminal illness. But they are full of beans, as evidence by the phony definitions they often employ in their legalization schemes. Take the new New Hampshire legalization bill, as a typical example.
Camp Director Returns After Traumatic Injury 1/29/2014 (Baptist Standard) – When Roy Norman takes a Royal Ambassadors group to Latham Springs Camp this summer-as he has every year since 1969-his son, Daniel, will work with him as a certified safety officer on the rifle range.
Traumatic Brain Injury is Rising in The Public’s Consciousness 1/28/2014 (Daily News) – A professor of rehabilitation medicine at Mount Sinai, Dr. Wayne Gordon specializes in treating adults and children who’ve had brain injuries. He has been working in the field for 40 years.
Unconditionally Loving a Human “Non-Person” 1/26/2014 (NRO) – This story is important because it shows a vivid contrast between two approaches dealing with severe human disability-one based on the equality/sanctity of life, and the other a utilitarian “quality of life ethic-currently vying for predominance in the West.
Pro-Death Insanity Envelops Belgium 1/24/2014 (Dr. Mostert/American Thinker) -To most people’s minds, the notion of killing others because they are sick, suffering, or disabled is simply outlandish, because our moral code rightly dictates that those so afflicted need comfort, care, and as much positive support as we can muster.
Mcmath Attorney: Jahi’s Family Deserve Better Than Ignorant Attacks 1/22/2014 (LA Times) – I am the attorney who answered a call for help from Jahi McMath’s family in December. I have represented them for free – starting 10 hours before the first order to turn off Jahi’s ventilator at Children’s Hospital Oakland – as they have fought for their right to make medical decisions for a beloved child.
France’s ‘Terri Schiavo’ Wins Reprieve, Court Rules Illegal to Remove Food & Water 1/20/2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – France’s “Terri Schiavo” has been saved – once again. An administrative court near Reims ruled on Thursday that it would be illegal to withdraw food and water from Vincent Lambert, a deeply handicapped young man whose doctor claims sustaining his life is “unreasonable obstinacy.”
Jahi’s Case is About Parental Rights 1/17/2014 (By Bobby Schindler/Washington Times) – Much has been written about Jahi McMath in recent days. The 13-year-old Oakland, Calif., girl underwent surgery Dec. 9 to remove her tonsils. She was declared “brain-dead” after going into cardiac arrest.
Husband Sues Over Pregnant Wife’s “Life Support” 1/16/2014 (CN) – A Texas paramedic sued a hospital today demanding that his pregnant wife be removed from life support, claiming she is brain-dead and rejected such treatment. Erick Munoz sued John Peter Smith Hospital as husband and next friend of “Marlise Munoz, deceased,” in Tarrant County Court.
Doctor Orders Food & Water Pulled From ‘France’s Terri Schiavo’ 1/15/2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – On Saturday, the head of the geriatric division of the University Hospital of Reims, Dr. Eric Kariger, ordered that food and fluid tubes be pulled from Vincent Lambert, who is known by pro-life advocates who are supporting his parents in their fight to save his life as “France’s Terri Schiavo.”
Court Imposes Assisted Suicide in New Mexico 1/14/2014 (LifeNews.com) – If you ever wonder why there are so many radical and extreme lawsuits, wonder no more. As I have often said about a variety of issues, it only takes one judge to break down the walls of democratic governance and impose an ideological view.
Did Ariel Sharon Die Today or Eight Years Ago? 1/13/2014 (NRO) – Former Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has died. But according to some bioethicists who push Personhood Theory, he actually died eight years ago when a stroke put him into a permanently unconscious state.
Attorney Fires Back At Medical Ethics Critics 1/11/2014 (LA Times) – The attorney who successfully fought in court to keep 13-year-old Jahi McMath on a ventilator at an Oakland hospital for weeks after she was declared brain dead defended his actions this week, calling the case a fight for family rights.
Long Journey Back From Brain Injury 1/10/2014 (nelsonmail.co.nz) – Mark Thomas’ life came crashing to a halt in 2006 after he “smashed his head” into a microwave-sized rock while mountainbiking downhill. He suffered a serious head injury and had to learn to walk and talk again.
Remember the Humanity of Jahi McMath 1/07/2014 (TIME Online) – As in the case of Terri Schiavo, people with severe brain injuries are treated like second class citizens, often being denied the treatment, care, and love that their humanity demands
Jahi Released From Hospital, Hailed as Victory by Family 1/06/2014 (LA Times) – The release of 13-year-old Jahi McMath’s body from an Oakland hospital Sunday night is being hailed as a victory by her family and their attorney.
Hospital Agrees to Let Jahi Mcmath Family Take Girl 1/03/2014 (SFGate) – Children’s Hospital Oakland reached an agreement with the family of Jahi McMath on Friday that will allow a critical care team to enter the hospital to move the girl to an unspecified facility.
Michelle Malkin: The Gifts of Jahi 1/02/2014 (NRO) – New Year’s Day should be a time of fresh beginnings and forward motion. But for the family of 13-year-old Jahi McMath, the holiday season has been suspended in a cloud of unfathomable pain and suffering: A routine tonsillectomy gone wrong. A beautiful child declared “brain dead.”
Statement From Jahi’s Attorney, Chris Dolan (1/01/2014) Jan 1. (4:20p ET) – We continue to seek a tracheostomy procedure for Jahi McMath before she departs for or upon arrival in New York. However, many surgeons and hospital administrators are on holiday making our goal difficult to reach. If Children’s Hospital Oakland would perform the procedure we could quickly move Jahi to a facility that provides innovative world-class treatments, of the type being given to Prime Minister Sharon in Israel.
