AUGUST 4: ONLINE VIGIL FOR THE MURDERED DISABLED PEOPLE OF SAGAMIHARA

August 3, 2016hate crime, Japan, murder, Our News & Commentary BlogDisability Visibility Project, hate crime, Japan, vigilStephen Drake

…Thursday, August 4th, the Disability Visibility Project will be hosting an online vigil and chat starting at 8 PM ET. Here’s the info from the site: Online Vigil and Chat Disabled People of Tsukui Yamayuri En Sagamihara, Japan Thursday, August 4, 2016 8 pm Eastern 9 am Japan (Aug. 5) The Disability Visibility Project will be partnering with disabled filmmaker and activist Dominick Evans in an online vigil and chat remembering the 19 disabled peo…

Minnesota Supreme Court Rules Online Suicide Predator Melchert-Dinkel Protected by First Amendment

March 21, 2014court cases, court decisions, Our News & Commentary Blog, suicideFinal Exit Network, Melchert-Dinkel, Minnesota Supreme Court, suicideStephen Drake

…ed and that he played an integral role in the deaths, including giving step-by-step instructions. Evidence showed that Melchert-Dinkel sought out depressed people online. When he found them, he posed as a suicidal female nurse, feigned compassion and offered instructions on how they could kill themselves. Melchert-Dinkel told police he did it for the “thrill of the chase.” According to court documents, he acknowledged participating in online chats…

Elaine Kolb Performs “Not Dead Yet” Song at CT Press Conference

February 8, 2023Our News & Commentary Blogassisted suicide, PAMAS, Progressives Against Medical Assisted Suicide, Second Thoughts ConnectcutJules Good

…the chorus now. ♪ ‘Cause we’re not dead yet ♪ ♪ And we can boogie with the best of them ♪ ♪ We are not dead yet ♪ ♪ We can laugh and have some fun ♪ ♪ We’re not dead yet ♪ ♪ Fighting for our freedom ♪ ♪ And we’ll never die ♪ ♪ ‘Cause our spirit will live on ♪ ♪ Well, when you take away our services, ♪ ♪ We don’t know how we’ll survive ♪ ♪ Since death is cost effective ♪ ♪ Do you want us dead or alive? ♪ ♪ I really wonder about that sometimes, don’…

Australia – Great Essay: Looking at the Bigger Picture Regarding Euthanasia

January 25, 2013assisted suicide, Australia, Belgium, disability rights, discrimination, euthanasia, media coverage, Our News & Commentary Blog, suicideStephen Drake

…care for those most vulnerable. Instead of having the support to make well-considered choices, the services that make life bearable could fall away and people with disabilities could be levered into taking their lives as the default option. Euthanasia can become a euphemism which sanitises what is, essentially, suicide. It is hard to see what separated euthanasia from suicide for Mark and Eddy, except they had a disability. Suicide is not a lifes…

Jacob Appel: Bad Medical Historian, Questionable Ethicist or Just a “Spin Doctor?”

March 9, 2010bioethics, euthanasia, infanticide, jacob appel, media coverage, medical decisionmaking, Netherlands, Our News & Commentary Blog, research, unethical ethicistsStephen Drake

…n the essay by Appel. They begin with the first sentence: Advocates for aid-in-dying have largely focused their efforts on the rights of mentally-competent adults to end their lives when and how they wish. Almost a year ago, this blog featured a post devoted to revealing the history of pro-euthanasia leaders promoting legalized killing of ill and disabled kids in the US and Canada. Maybe “historian” Appel didn’t know about that. The impetus for Ap…