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

…anasia activist will be hard-pressed to find a person, other than a potential serial killer, who will assert that Scruffy or Spot or Balthazar would have been better served to wheeze out a few extra last days while being starved to death in a joy-blocking haze of pain, medication and intrusive surgical procedures. Before even going into his “need to know” list, MacDonell perpetuates the myth that all pets are “put down” by loving owners because th…

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

…at Slate – credit Kevorkian as someone who “helped” the “terminally ill” (although Saletan thinks he slipped on occasion and accidentally helped the suicide of someone who wasn’t dying). As you can see from checking the resources on a recent post here, the claim that Jack Kevorkian’s campaign was aimed at helping the “terminally ill” is a load of fetid dingo kidneys. He never claimed (at least in his writings or before being managed by Mayer Morg…

Disability Activists in the UK Push Back Against BBC and Terry Pratchett Promotion of Assisted Suicide

June 14, 2011assisted suicide, BBC, clair lewis, Derek Humphry, disability rights, Disabled People Fight Back, final exit network, miss dennis queen, Our News & Commentary Blog, sanjay gupta, Terry Pratchett, United KingdomStephen Drake

…the increasing cost of health care in an aging society, because in the final analysis, economics, not the quest for broadened individual liberties or increased autonomy, will drive assisted suicide to the plateau of acceptable practice. As technology advances, as medical costs skyrocket out of control, as chronic diseases predominate, as the projected rate of the eighty-five-and-older population accelerates, as managed care seeks to cut costs and…

Suicide Promotion During Suicide Prevention Week – Blog from Wesley Smith and a Little More from Me

September 9, 2011assisted suicide, final exit network, lanny berman, national suicide prevention week, Our News & Commentary Blog, suicide, suicide prevention, Wesley Smith, world suicide prevention dayStephen Drake

…, at least we’ll know how little our lives are valued by the so-called mental health community. To me, knowledge is better than guessing. –Stephen Drake “This is irresponsible and downright dangerous; it is the equivalent of handing a gun to someone who is suicidal,” wrote Lanny Berman, president of the International Association of Suicide Prevention, in an email. “This message, communicated to thousands of vulnerable individuals, suffering from p…

Text of Response to Dr. Phil Segment ‘Deadly Consequences’ with List of National, State and Local Signons.

May 30, 2012disability rights advocates, Dr. Phil, involuntary euthanasia, media bias, Our News & Commentary Blog, promoting murderStephen Drake

…tic Self Advocacy Network Autism National Committee Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law Concrete Change Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Government Disability is Natural Disability Rights Center Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF) Disabled Queers in Action Easter Seals Families Against Restraint and Seclusion Hearing Loss Association of America Little People of America National Association of County Behavioral Health & Developmental Dis…