…Ezekiel Emanuel on the social factors that motivate usage of the suicide drugs. “The dominant reasons for wanting euthanasia or assisted suicide are psychological and involve control factors,” said Ezekiel Emanuel, chair of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania’s medical school. He noted that most of those who have used aid-in-dying laws are white, well insured and college-educated. “These are people who are used to c…
The federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is proposing important and beneficial new regulations under Section 504 to clarify how the law prohibits healthcare discrimination based on disability. The notice of proposed regulations from the federal government is full of examples of disability discrimination by healthcare providers. For example, based on a report from the National Council on Disability, the notice states: In its repor…
…fered from Lou Gehrig’s disease moved into her home, named her his estate trustee, deeded his home to a trust, and then died by physician-assisted suicide Two days after Thomas Middleton died, Sawyer listed the property for sale and deposited the sale money into one of her own accounts. This story came to light, not through any assisted suicide program safeguards, but through suspicious real estate transactions. Americans place tremendous value on…
…quality of life” decisions and even when the courts are involved, they can rule in a variety of ways. A court in one jurisdiction may rule that a guardian cannot refuse life sustaining care unless the individual has an end stage condition or is in a permanent vegetative state. A court in another state may focus on the broad nature of a guardian’s power to make medical decisions without court review. (2) Efforts to reform guardianship law have been…
…to consent or self-administration at the time of ingestion of the lethal drugs. If the drugs were, in some cases, administered by others without consent, no one would know. In September, the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services proposed new regulations prohibiting healthcare discrimination based on disability. The federal Notice of Proposed Rule Making is full of examples of disability discrimination by healthcare providers. Making assisted su…
