Jules Good: Disabled need help living, not help dying

March 1, 2024Anorexia Nervosa, assisted suicide, depression, Jules Good, mental health, op-ed, Our News & Commentary Blog, suicide preventionableism, assisted suicide, Jules Good, suicide preventionDiane Coleman

…70% of my hearing in the middle of completing a music degree, and I was struggling with untreated anorexia that was taking a serious toll on my health. At my intake appointment with a new therapist a few days after my attempt, I explained my situation and the hopelessness I was feeling. She nodded along, then looked me in the eyes and said something I will never forget: “I would probably kill myself if I were you.” She wasn’t the first person to…

Access Living’s Amber Smock Quoted Extensively In Chicago Tribune

March 8, 2024ableism, Access Living, aid in dying, assisted suicide, duty to die, media coverage, Our News & Commentary Blogassisted suicide, media coverage, medical aid in dyingDiane Coleman

…ople to die at home. But they draw the line at a doctor — sworn to protect human life — intentionally being part of causing it to end and thus being asked to carry that ethical burden. The matter is of particular concern to those who advocate for the disabled and worry about possibly unconscious physician bias. Our attention was drawn to a Harvard study that surveyed doctors and found that 82.4% of those physicians believed that “people with signi…

New 504 Rule Prohibits Discrimination in Suicide Prevention Services, Bars QALYs

May 3, 2024ableism, assisted suicide, HHS, medical discrimination, Our News & Commentary Blog, public comment, qaly, Quality Adjusted Life Years, quality of life judgments, suicide preventionPartnership to Improve Patient Care, QALYs, Section 504, suicide preventionDiane Coleman

…so weighed in on this issue and responded with the following about the new rule: As described in the final rule, the new regulations would bar health care decisions made using measures that discount gains in life expectancy, which would likely include the quality-adjusted life year (QALYs) and the combined use of QALYs and equal value of life years gained (evLYG). HHS’ rule represents a critical step forward to protecting patients and people with…

Anita Cameron: Fight for Life and Health – Not Assisted Suicide!

June 19, 2024Anita Cameron, assisted suicide, health disparities, long term services and supports, medical discrimination, Our News & Commentary Blog, racismAnita Cameron, assisted suicide, assisted suicide expansion, medical aid in dying, medical discrimination, racial disparitiesDiane Coleman

…there is one, the provider issues the prescription, the person or someone designated by them picks it up, and the medication is ingested by the person to whom it is prescribed. There is no doctor or witness required to be present to report if the medication was taken by the person, themselves, as is the law, or administered by someone else, which is illegal. Currently, assisted suicide is legal in ten US states and the District of Columbia. As of…

Lisa Blumberg: The 504 Regulations Now Explicitly Prohibit Healthcare Discrimination Based on Disability

July 2, 2024better dead than disabled, Health care decision-making, health disparities, HHS, informed consent, life-sustaining treatment, Lisa Blumberg, medical discrimination, Our News & Commentary Blog, treatment withdrawalHealth care decision making, healthcare discrimination, healthcare disparities, Section 504Diane Coleman

…an do on the state level to reduce anti-disability “steering” and promote true informed consent. Lastly, we raised concerns about how the following provision could be interpreted: “A recipient may not, on the basis of disability, provide a medical treatment to an individual with a disability where it would not provide the same treatment to an individual without a disability, unless the disability impacts the effectiveness, or ease of administratio…