Media Alert – Looks Like “Dr. Oz” Is Planning Slanted Show on Assisted Suicide

October 18, 2011assisted suicide, barbara coombs lee, Dr. Oz, ira byock, keith ablow, media coverage, media issues, Our News & Commentary Blog, right to dieStephen Drake

…face possible on both assisted suicide and her organization. That’s a textbook example of how to build the appearance of balance while stacking the deck. Not that any of this matters to Dr. Oz or the show itself. You can see for yourself how little effort and thought they’ve given to what they call a “survey” on their site which solicits people’s opinions on the “right to die.” The trouble is, the whole thing was put together in a way that totall…

Arizona Daily Star: Derek Humphry and Columnist Push “New Frontier” on Assisted Suicide

November 4, 2013Arizona, assisted suicide, Derek Humphry, final exit network, george exoo, media coverage, media issues, Our News & Commentary Blog, suicide, suicide preventionArizona, assisted suicide, Derek Humphry, Final Exit Network, George Exoo, Jana Van Voorhis, media issues, suicide, suicide prevention, Tim StellerStephen Drake

…the Jana Van Voorhis case, the Final Exit Network, and even some less-than-compassionate comments by Humphry on the subject that appeared in a documentary. Accordingly, I sent him links to articles and videos about the Final Exit Network, Humphry, Vanvoorhis, and some other material – much of which is used in the article. I also had my own reactions, which don’t appear in the article, but which I’ll add after discussing the article linked and exce…

Jury Acquits Transplant Surgeon in Ruben Navarro Death

December 24, 2008crime and punishment, Our News & Commentary Blog, professional accountability, Ruben Navarro, safeguardsStephen Drake

…alizes in health law and policy, said Thursday that many in the transplant community were relieved to learn of the verdict. “It’s been a big deal,” Liang said about the case. “I think people, certainly in the medical community, are very happy this particular case is not being seen as the typical situation, and that medical providers are actually very sensitive to how ethically they’re suppose to behave with respect to procuring organs.” Added Lian…

John Kelly Gives His Take on the NDY Protest of the World Federation Conference

September 24, 2014Our News & Commentary BlogDiane Coleman

…arned that the partygoers did have to walk the gauntlet of Not Dead Yet protesters. The intense experience of group action, the police, and all the comings and goings of our leadership as it improvised tactics on the fly, made me think of what Texas member Heiwa Salovitz had told me the day before, that these protests are a “good bonding experience.” Obviously, we’re not there to bond. But, here and now, in the early part of the 21st Century, most…

Joseph Fins, Expert on Consciousness, Calls for Temperance re: Organ Solicitation and Severe Brain Injury

June 27, 2012brain injury, coma, organ donation, Our News & Commentary Blog, vegetative statebrain injury, coma, minimally conscious state, vegetative stateStephen Drake

…t use of deep brain stimulation in the minimally conscious state. His forthcoming book, Rights Come to Mind: Brain Injury, Ethics & The Struggle for Consciousness is under contract with The Cambridge University Press. So if you haven’t heard of Fins, it should be clear that he’s someone who should be taken seriously when he expresses some ethical concerns about evolving practices in medicine that trouble him. The March 2012 issue of Virtual Mentor…