Massachusetts: Good News on Mass. Medical Society – Organization reaffirms opposition to assisted suicide

December 5, 2011assisted suicide, john kelly, Massachusetts, Massachusetts Medical Society, Our News & Commentary BlogStephen Drake

…ty, the statewide association of physicians with more than 23,000 members, today voted to reaffirm its opposition to physician-assisted suicide, with its House of Delegates voting by a wide margin to maintain a policy the Society has had in effect since 1996. Opposition to physician-assisted suicide was part of a larger policy statement that includes recognition of patient dignity at the end of life and the physician’s role in caring for terminall…

Final Exit Network in the News – Reframing Themselves and Erasing the Past

December 22, 2009Arizona, assisted suicide, final exit network, homicide, media coverage, Our News & Commentary Blog, reality checkStephen Drake

…etwork will be there to support those who need relief from their suffering today!” “The Network’s Exit Guide Program is available nationwide,” Goodwin said. “With the Network’s compassionate guidance and support, physically and emotionally competent adults in all fifty states are free to exercise their last human right – the right to a peaceful, dignified death. “Final Exit Network is the only organization in the United States that will support in…

Big News: Final Exit Network Activist Enters Guilty Plea in Arizona – Agrees to Testify Against Other Defendants

January 12, 2010Arizona, crime and punishment, final exit network, media coverage, Our News & Commentary BlogStephen Drake

This could be very important news. Wye Hale-Rowe, a long time assisted suicide activist and advocate, has entered a guilty plea in Arizona to a charge of “facilitation to commit manslaughter.” The longest and most detailed coverage of Hale-Rowe’s plea is in the Phoenix New Times, an independent paper that originally broke the story of the investigation that led to the arrests of Hale-Rowe and three other individuals, all “exit guides” in the Fina…

An elderly woman’s “mercy killing” looking more like murder – an overview of elderly homicide/suicides

September 16, 2013Our News & Commentary Blogdomestic violence, mercy killing, press coverageStephen Drake

…claims of “mercy” as a reason for killing his wife. Some even appeared on news sites outside of the U.S. In contrast, only two local news sites have posted stories about the reactions and statements of Virginia Chumbley’s family to her murder. Only a very small audience is getting to see/hear what the family has to say compared to the very large audience who saw Virginia Chumbley’s death framed as a “mercy killing.” None of this is unusual. The “…

News on Minna Mettinen-Kekalainen: Home Care Resumed, But Problems Remain

February 5, 2009als, aspergers, Canada, long term care, Our News & Commentary Blog, palliative careStephen Drake

…rizing here), the nurse that arrived seemed to be doing the best that she could, but was operating from incomplete/incorrect medical orders. And the nurse, of course, is limited to what she can do – according to the instructions/orders she’s been given. Hopefully, this is something that can be worked out fairly simply. Getting medical instructions corrected can’t be that big a deal – can it? Let’s hope not, anyway. –Stephen Drake…