AP: Final Exit Network manual calls members “special”

April 22, 2009"special", assisted suicide, cults, final exit network, murder, Our News & Commentary BlogStephen Drake

…this morning, the Associated Press issued its newest article on the Final Exit Network. I’ve been waiting for this one to hit, since I’ve known for several weeks that it was coming. I was interviewed by Amanda Lee Myers, the reporter who wrote this story. General comments: This is the best example of real journalism that I’ve seen since this story broke. Myers went to all sources on this. The Final Exit Network (FEN) members get their say. I’m in…

Chicago NDY Confronts Chicago “End of Life” Care Coalition and Barbara Coombs Lee

April 23, 2009"end of life", activism, assisted suicide, barbara coombs lee, final exit network, Our News & Commentary Blog, reality checkStephen Drake

…biggest “end of life” story in Chicago has been the coverage of the Final Exit Network (FEN) – a bunch of “special” people who devote their spare time to hooking up with strangers and facilitating their suicides. The “special people” at FEN don’t limit their “assistance” to people who are terminally ill, but are eager to “help” just about anyone with a disability or chronic condition. (Note – to be fair and accurate, I should let readers know tha…

Big News: Final Exit Network Activist Enters Guilty Plea in Arizona – Agrees to Testify Against Other Defendants

January 12, 2010Arizona, crime and punishment, final exit network, media coverage, Our News & Commentary BlogStephen Drake

…s of Hale-Rowe and three other individuals, all “exit guides” in the Final Exit Network. The rest of the media in Arizona has treated this as almost a non-story. From the New Times blog: Readers may remember our story on the so-called “assisted case” of Jana Van Voorhis, a 58-year-old Phoenix woman who died mysteriously in her bed in the spring of 2007. It was a particularly sad and bizarre yarn (even by our standards), and had a slew of dicey leg…

Is Illinois next on the list for the multi-state investigation of Final Exit Network?

February 28, 2009assisted suicide, crime and punishment, final exit network, Our News & Commentary BlogStephen Drake

The recent articles on the multi-state investigation of Final Exit Network (FEN) list nine states in the ongoing investigation: The GBI is now leading a wide-ranging investigation into the ring, which has led to raids in nine states. Authorities say they have searched 14 sites in Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, Colorado and Montana. It seems to me that there should be a tenth state on that list. That tenth state wou…

Georgia: Grand Jury Indicts Four Members of Final Exit Network on Multiple Counts

March 10, 2010assisted suicide, crime and punishment, final exit network, Our News & Commentary BlogStephen Drake

…it yesterday, but things aren’t looking great for the members of the Final Exit Network (FEN). Here’s the gist of the news, from the second paragraph of the story from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: An indictment returned Tuesday charges the Final Exit Network along with co-founder Thomas “Ted” Goodwin, 64, of Kennesaw and Punta Gorda, Fla.; Claire Blehr, 77, of Atlanta; and Dr. Lawrence Egbert, 82, and Nicholas Alec Sheridan, 61, of Baltimore…