All posts by Stephen Drake

Italy: Eluana Englaro is Dead – Questions Remain

A couple of people have contacted me to point out the Eluana Englaro tragedy in Italy – a tragedy that has played out over the past few weeks. Englaro, who died yesterday, was at a center of a life-and-death dispute that involved her father, the Italian courts, Italian legislators, Italy’s president and prime minister, and … Continue reading Italy: Eluana Englaro is Dead – Questions Remain

Dick Sobsey: Blog Entry on Recent Studies Re: Abuse and Disability

This will probably be of interest to readers – at least some of our readers. Dick Sobsey’s latest post on ICAD concerns recent research on Abuse & Disability: This post lists 15 studies on the relationship between abuse and disability that were published in 2008 and 2009. A brief description of each study is reported. … Continue reading Dick Sobsey: Blog Entry on Recent Studies Re: Abuse and Disability

Germany: Oops! Man Allegedly Kills Friend Who Was Misdiagnosed as Terminally Ill

In case anyone wonders what the unintended consequences of lowered criminal penalties for “mercy killings” or “compassionate homicides” can look like, one only needs to look to Germany. (This is aside from the obviously discrimatory standard in officially labeling the murders of old, ill and disabled people as less serious crimes than the murders of … Continue reading Germany: Oops! Man Allegedly Kills Friend Who Was Misdiagnosed as Terminally Ill

Two Highly Recommended Blog Reads Today

Part of my daily routine involves checking news and blogs for material relevant to NDY issues. Most often I excerpt and link to relevant pieces – critiquing ones that kind of demand a response of some kind. Then there are those happy times I find bloggers who have written some things that are so on-target … Continue reading Two Highly Recommended Blog Reads Today

Barbara Coombs-Lee and “Compassion” Join “Last Goodnights” Book Promotion

Yesterday, I wrote about Good Morning America‘s fawning rollout of John West and his memoir, “The Last Goodnights.” In the book, he claims to have facilitated/aided the suicides of both his father and mother about ten years ago. It turns out that West’s lone publicity tour is looking more like a bandwagon. Today, I found … Continue reading Barbara Coombs-Lee and “Compassion” Join “Last Goodnights” Book Promotion