Montana Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Pro and Con Assisted Suicide Bills Will Be Webcast Feb 9, 2011

February 8, 2011assisted suicide, legislation, Montana, Our News & Commentary BlogStephen Drake

…apitol. (For any Montana readers who might be able to make it on short notice) If you’re like me and can’t be there, you can view the hearing online at: http://leg.mt.gov/css/audio/audio_broadcast.asp. For Montanans Only: Call the legislative hotline at (406) 444-4800 to leave one message for all Senate Judiciary Committee members and ask them for a “YES” vote on SB 116 and a “NO” vote on SB 167. More news as it comes in. –Stephen Drake…

Milwaukee Magazine: NDY featured in profile of elderly couple who died through a suspected suicide pact

February 23, 2011assisted suicide, final exit network, Homicide / 'Mercy Killing', media coverage, Our News & Commentary BlogStephen Drake

…a reporter at Milwaukee Magazine in preparation for a feature story on a local elderly couple who had allegedly died through a “suicide pact.” I succeeded in a few things during our conversation: Made the point that if the death was a suicide pact, it was atypical of elderly homicide/suicides;’ Referred him to Donna J Cohen to discuss her research on elderly homicide/suicide cases; Was able to document that assisted suicide supporters in this coun…

Organ Donation by Death Row Inmates – Get Ready to Start Hearing More About How it’s “Good” for Everyone

March 11, 2011Art Caplan, Ben Goldhirsh, bioethics, crime and punishment, death penalty, Dylan Ratigan, Eric Meslin, good magazine, Graeme Wood, Kevorkian, media coverage, Our News & Commentary Blog, reality check, Wesley SmithStephen Drake

…mates.” Here’s an excerpt: But by using what the bioethicist Arthur Caplan calls “the Mayan Protocol”—a term derived from the ancient Mayan practice of vivisecting their human sacrifices—the removal of organs would itself be the method of execution. If this sounds inhumane, compare it to current practices: botched hangings, painfully long gassings, and messy electrocutions. Removal of the heart, lungs, and kidneys (under anesthesia, of course) wou…

Five Things a “TakePart.com” Author Really DIDN’T Know About Assisted Suicide

June 2, 2011Allan MacDonell, assisted suicide, euthanasia, final exit network, Oregon, Our News & Commentary Blog, pets, reality check, slippery slope, Switzerland, TakePart.comStephen Drake

…ve the potential to reach more than 75 million people. So they’re your typical bunch of affluent and well-connected self-proclaimed progressives who want to somehow put a bunch of different issues into that one box labeled “progressive.” What called my attention to the site was something that appeared in my news feed titled “5 Things You Need to Know: Doctor Assisted Suicide.” The article – by Allan MacDonell – should have carried the more accurat…

Reality Check – Factual Information on Jack Kevorkian from a Surprising Source

June 6, 2011Kevorkian, media coverage, media issues, Our News & Commentary Blog, reality check, satire, spoof.comStephen Drake

…to be just concerned with “terminally ill” people. Kevorkian had a broader calling. One of the few places you’ll see it laid out is in a piece at the satire site Spoof.com. When you click on a link to a satirical article at Spoof, you are directed first to a disclaimer page, in which you are warned: The story you are trying to access may cause offense, may be in poor taste, or may contain subject matter of a graphic nature. This story was written…