Category Archives: barbara coombs lee

Why is there so much suicide promotion during National Suicide Prevention Week?

assisted suicide, barbara coombs lee, Compassion & Choices, euthanasia, Massachusetts, national suicide prevention week, Netherlands, Oregon, Our News & Commentary Blog, reality check, suicide prevention, UK, world suicide prevention day

You’d never know it’s National Suicide Prevention Week (Sept. 4 – 10), or that Saturday, Sept. 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day.  But then again, as I’ve written before, it’s been increasingly clear that the Suicide Prevention Community has washed its hands of old, ill and disabled people – and surrendered at risk individuals in … Continue reading Why is there so much suicide promotion during National Suicide Prevention Week? →

CNN: “Choosing death can be like a ‘birth,’ advocates say” – NDY and NCD perspectives included

assisted suicide, barbara coombs lee, cnn, Compassion & Choices, Conflation and Con jobs, media coverage, national council on disability, ncd, Oregon, Our News & Commentary Blog

Two interesting and fairly unusual related things happened over the last two weeks. First, CNN reporter Elizabeth Landau contacted both NDY and the National Council on Disability (NCD) for interviews in connection to a story on assisted suicide.  This was surprising considering that when CNN ran a mini-media tour with Jack Kevorkian during the promotion … Continue reading CNN: “Choosing death can be like a ‘birth,’ advocates say” – NDY and NCD perspectives included →

Surprise! Compassion & Choices Weighs in on Arizona Final Exit Network Trial Outcome

Arizona, assisted suicide, barbara coombs lee, Compassion & Choices, Conflation and Con jobs, exploitation, final exit network, Our News & Commentary Blog, reality check

Not exactly a big surprise, but Compassion and Choices (aka “Conflation & Con Jobs“) has weighed in on the disappointing outcome of the trial of Final Exit Network (FEN) members in Arizona.  I am cynical enough to believe that reporters who use this press release from the organization are too shallow, lazy or generally lacking … Continue reading Surprise! Compassion & Choices Weighs in on Arizona Final Exit Network Trial Outcome →

Connecticut: Assisted Suicide Advocates Attempt to Exploit Tragic Murder-Suicide

assisted suicide, barbara coombs lee, bullshit, Compassion & Choices, Conflation and Con jobs, Connecticut, exploitation, homicide, kathryn tucker, Our News & Commentary Blog, reality check

On Monday of this week (May 10), there was one of those all-too-familiar tragedies that appear in the news on a regular basis.  In the one of the earliest and most comprehensive articles covering the story, reporter Ann DeMatteo wrote an article titled “North Haven deaths believed to be murder-suicide“: NORTH HAVEN — A well-known … Continue reading Connecticut: Assisted Suicide Advocates Attempt to Exploit Tragic Murder-Suicide →

Phil. Inquirer: Art Caplan Delivers Some Truth About Kevorkian, But Misses (or Evades) His Real Impact on Assisted Suicide Movement

Art Caplan, assisted suicide, barbara coombs lee, blog recommendations, Kevorkian, Our News & Commentary Blog, reality check, Timothy Quill

On Monday, June 8, the Philadelphia Inquirer published an op-ed by bioethicist Art Caplan. Expressing his concern over the news that Al Pacino plans to play Jack Kevorkian in a movie for HBO, Caplan thought it was time to do some preemptive truth-telling about Jack Kevorkian. His commentary is titled “The truth: Kevorkian was less … Continue reading Phil. Inquirer: Art Caplan Delivers Some Truth About Kevorkian, But Misses (or Evades) His Real Impact on Assisted Suicide Movement →