…y of the latest report gauging the effects of budget cuts to people in the UK.) But of course that’s not getting that much coverage, especially considering the number of people who will be affected. What does get coverage is when some selfish, self-absorbed disabled person makes loud public noises about wanting to kill himself – or, more accurately, wants to have someone else be able to legally kill him when he’s ‘ready.’ That’s not a hypothetical…
…best quality possible. We also support the IOM’s efforts to ensure that end-of-life care be person- centered. However, as an organization representing thousands of individuals with disabilities and organizations serving those individuals, NCIL has grave concerns with the potential implications of the implementation of several recommendations in this report, including #2 (Clinician-Patient Communication and Advance Care Planning), #4 (Policies and…
…nd Mary Clement in the book Freedom to Die: people, politics, and the right-to-die movement. The book was written in 2000. The second-to-last chapter is titled “The Unspoken Argument.” This seems a very appropriate time to remind people of what Humphry and Clement had to say ten years ago: “Similar to other social issues, the right-to-die movement has not arisen separate and distinct from other concurrent developments of our time. In attempting to…
…ing in functional losses that become pivotal in the decision-making process. . . . Of particular concern is the recommendation that “frequent clinician-patient conversations about end-of-life care values, goals, and preferences are necessary to avoid unwanted treatment”, and equally concerning is the recommendation that these conversations be incentivized. A significant fear on behalf of the disability community is that incentivizing these convers…
…discussion of the reasons to oppose medical assisted suicide, please go to www.notdeadyet.org and http://dredf.org/public-policy/assisted suicide. The advocates of Medical Assisted Suicide (or “Aid in Dying,” as they call it) legislation in Connecticut and elsewhere have tried to make it appear that the only opposition to it comes from religious conservatives. This is untrue. Social progressives are increasingly coming to understand just how dange…
