Yesterday’s Joke Becoming Today’s Reality – Death Row and Assisted Suicide

June 16, 2011assisted suicide, crime and punishment, death penalty, Our News & Commentary Blog, reality check, satire, slippery slopeStephen Drake

…ree sterilized needles and takes about six minutes for the combination of drugs to kill the prisoner. The state has used the lethal injection method since Oregon’s capital punishment was reinstated in 1984. Prior to that, Oregon executed prisoners for many years in a gas chamber. There’s more from another member of the clergy that goes farther: …the Rev. Lynne Smouse Lopéz, pastor at Ainsworth United Church of Christ in Alameda, says she’s pretty…

Reporter Succeeds in Getting Two Suicide Prevention Organizations to Comment on Final Exit Network Billboard!

June 22, 2010assisted suicide, International Association of Suicide Prevention, lanny berman, media coverage, Our News & Commentary Blog, San Francisco Suicide Prevention, suicide preventionStephen Drake

…n their stories. The website provided information on obtaining suicide instructional materials and how to get involved with the Final Exit Network. Most of the articles treated the Network and its “work” sympathetically. In case you’re wondering, suicide prevention groups do get involved in media issues. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Suicide and Mental Health Association International both have sections devoted to media is…

UK: Disabled Man Wants Promise that Wife Won’t be Prosecuted for Outright Killing Him

July 19, 2010Homicide / 'Mercy Killing', litigation, locked-in syndrome, murder, Our News & Commentary Blog, United KingdomStephen Drake

…n about four months since Starmer published his “guidelines” that gave instructions to family members about how to make sure they avoided prosecution after having assisted an old, ill or disabled family member to commit suicide. Already, there’s a legal challenge saying the “guidelines” are too restrictive for family members to safely and lovingly kill the disabled people in their household with legal immunity. More from the article: But the DPP’s…

Blog – “Euthanasia: Dog vs. Man” – A Succinct Analysis from a Nurse

August 4, 2010blog recommendations, bloggers, euthanasia, Our News & Commentary Blog, pets, reality checkStephen Drake

…thing for the pets we love as much as members of our family, why don’t the humans we love deserves the same humane end if they so choose? I’ve actually been pondering this reasoning very carefully, and I happened upon the thought of looking at it another way. Regardless of how much I do cherish my beloved dog Hollywood, the love for her is actually not the same. I would take a bullet for my son, but I would not take a bullet for my dog. So let’s l…

Disabled Feminists Issue Statement: on Robert Edwards, Virginia Ironside and Unnecessary Opposition of Rights

October 22, 2010clair lewis, disability activists, disability rights, eugenics, feminism, Laura Hershey, Our News & Commentary Blog, UKStephen Drake

…ion to disability rights, and that disability rights requires attention to human rights, including reproductive rights. We offer the following statement in response to two recent events that promote eugenic reproductive decision-making, and that further stigmatize disabled people by presenting disability exclusively in terms of suffering and hardship. Although seemingly disparate events, they share the presumption that disability renders a life no…