NJ: Disability Groups File Amicus in Betancourt v. Trinitas (futility case)

…9, sought the protection of the courts. The trial court found, upon a three-day hearing record and following long-established New Jersey law, that Mr. Betancourt’s daughter should be appointed his guardian and surrogate decisionmaker for medical treatment, and that Trinitas and its personnel must follow her direction in exercising her father’s right to choose whether or not to continue treatment. Trinitas appealed, arguing that the doctors alone,…

More on Betancourt

…fluential not only in New Jersey but across the United States and even abroad. In case you’re wondering, that means that Pope took the same side as NDY and other disability rights groups in this case. His brief is available online in PDF (scanned document). To get more information on the history of this case, and other briefs, go to the Medical Futility Blog and type “betancourt” in the search window in the upper left-hand corner of the page….

Disability Activists “Greet” Euthanasia Activist in San Francisco

…troubled teen … .” [Kathryn Lopez, “Euthanasia Sets Sail,” National Review Online, June 5, 2001.] Nitschke calls for suicide on demand at a time when drastic budget cuts in many states are slashing funding for crisis counseling and suicide intervention programs. Nitschke favors facilitating suicide by older people at a time when elder abuse is rampant in the US. The perpetrators are often family members.[1] Given the prevalence of abuse of older p…

The Wreckage Suicide “Helpers” Leave Behind – A letter from a bereaved family member

…“friends.” Part of her information and “encouragement” came from ASH – alt-suicide-holiday, a newsgroup that is notorious for urging suicidal people standing on a ledge to jump. She also bought her copy of “Final Exit” through the web – no doubt through Derek Humphry’s ERGO site or through the Final Exit Network. It’s impossible to know just how many people she emailed or talked to – part of the detailed preparations she learned involved erasing…