Obviously, this blog has been conspicuously quiet for far too long.
We’ve been dealing with some issues that have kept me away from the computer a lot of the time – and then I’ve had some trouble regaining my own energy and stamina after some illness.
The New Year – 2008 – promises to present multiple challenges regarding euthanasia, futility and assisted suicide.
Right now, the biggest battle is in Washington State. Assisted suicide activists, led by former governor Booth Gardner, have started the “It’s My Choice” campaign to legalize assisted suicide for people deemed terminally ill in Washington State.
As has happened in other states – California was the most recent – a broad-based coalition (Coalition Against Assisted Suicide) has formed to oppose the effort to legalize assisted suicide:
In Washington, the Coaliton Against Assisted Suicide has formed to combat the
assisted suicide initiative that is being promoted for the 2008 ballot.The Coalition includes people with disabilities, doctors, nurses, hospice workers, minority persons, and religious groups.
The Washington State chapter of Not Dead Yet is playing a prominent role in the coalition. They’ve already established a blog which we expect to be linking to and quoting often.
Washington NDY has been at the forefront of opposition to the proposed legislation, as evidenced by this article in today’s issue of The Olympian:
Two activists in wheelchairs, Duane French of Lacey and Joelle Brouner of Olympia, spoke against the law in a news conference that followed the one featuring Gardner.
French and Brouner said the law could create a coercion for some disabled people who are faced with difficulty getting palliative, or non-curative, care. French said some could be pressured by family or by economic forces into taking their lives.
More tomorrow….
–Stephen Drake
need some legal advice for a person with ms who is unable to communicate whose guardian is wanting to remove feeding tube after 6 years this person is totally conscious with no signs of chronic pain has become an issue now because certain family members feel that “this is ridiculous how long he has lived like this” please we need some help for this disturbing situation there are much more disturbing details to this story
anonymous,
first, I am sorry that I am so far behind on the blog. We’ve been dealing with family illness and death here and things are just getting back to normal.
Please contact us directly at our office – you can find all our contact info at this URL:
http://notdeadyet.org/docs/contact.html