As anyone who follows the news of old, ill, and disabled people who get killed by family members or “caregivers,” it’s all to clear that if the perpetrator claims the act was a “mercy killing,” it’s frequently a successful defense strategy. The public tends to believe that the victim would have wanted to die, even … Continue reading Two recent cases show what it takes to screw up a “mercy killing” defense
Since I was interviewed for this article in American Medical News, I was actively looking for its appearance online this morning. The interview with the reporter lasted almost 45 minutes and covered a lot of ground, most of which didn’t get included in this relatively short article. It is an attempt to explore the “legacy” … Continue reading American Medical News – “Kevorkian leaves mixed legacy” (NDY Quoted)
It’s been a long couple of weeks. The month started with the death of Jack Kevorkian and a nonstop barrage of eulogizing and mythologizing his life. This week, we had the sorry spectacle of Terry Pratchett’s “infomercial” on assisted suicide featuring the spectacle of another rich disabled man drinking some poison and dying on camera. … Continue reading The American Muslim (publication) – “Euthanasia: a Modest Proposal” by Rev. Frank Julian Gelli
Back on April 1, 1998 I sent out an obviously bogus press release from an email address I reserved for just such purposes. It was an attempt at some (I thought) outrageous satire, taking pro-assisted suicide arguments based on “quality of life” to one of their many logical conclusions. What would happen, I wondered, when … Continue reading Yesterday’s Joke Becoming Today’s Reality – Death Row and Assisted Suicide
The following are excerpts from an excellent piece by columnist Dominic Lawson. He arranged to visit SCOPE, the UK disability charity that published the results of a survey earlier this year, finding that 70% of disabled respondents expressed concerns about their own safety if assisted suicide was legalized in the UK. Lawson was allowed to … Continue reading UK – Dominic Lawson: Why the disabled fear assisted suicide
