Vermont: Anti-Assisted Suicide Groups Announce New Resources/Governor to Sign Assisted Suicide Bill Into Law Monday, May 20

May 20, 2013assisted suicide, Our News & Commentary Blog, Resources, suicide, True Dignity Vermont, vermontStephen Drake

…o suspect patients of being unduly influenced to request or ingest lethal drugs, or of being given such drugs against their will, can report such concerns by calling 1-855-787-5455 (1-855-STP-KILL) or emailing True Dignity Vermont at ReportAbuse@TrueDignityVt.org. A citizen-led, grassroots initiative, True Dignity Vermont worked alongside other organizations to vigorously oppose the legalization of prescription death in Vermont . That effort faile…

PBS Airs Frontline “The Suicide Plan” – Video Tape Exposes Final Exit Network’s Big Lie

November 14, 2012assisted suicide, final exit network, Frontline, Georgia, murder, Our News & Commentary Blog, zealotryStephen Drake

…GOODWIN: Like that. GBI AGENT: You can do it. TED GOODWIN: I can do that. Trust me. NARRATOR: As soon as physical contact was made, agents arrested Ted Goodwin. The tape is striking – in the last part, Goodwin gives a demonstration of how he would hold the agent’s arms down as the agent is down on the bed. The agent looks like he’s struggling to get his hands up – Goodwin is successful in holding them down. It gets worse, though. In an earlier exc…

Autistic Writer/Blogger/Activist Amanda Baggs Facing Life-Threatening Discrimination in Vermont Hospital

April 1, 2013Amanda Baggs, autism, medical bigotry, medical discrimination, medical killings, Our News & Commentary Blog, vermontStephen Drake

…f people might remember reading her blog essay “If I am killed” on our old site, where it was reproduced with permission – and will be put up again in the near future. Many more will remember seeing her youtube video “In My Language.” Amanda Baggs is an autistic woman who writes brilliantly, doesn’t use speech as her primary mode of communication and also lives with a variety of conditions, one of which has become quite serious in terms of being l…

Minnesota: Some Charges Against Final Exit Members Thrown Out, Two Defendants and Serious Charges Remain

March 27, 2013courts, crime and punishment, final exit network, Frontline, Jerry Dincin, lawrence egbert, Minnesota, Our News & Commentary BlogStephen Drake

…“the website states.” That’s important because not all of what the FEN website claims is true. Take this, for example, from the latest article: A Final Exit Medical Committee reviews information, and if approved, an “Exit Guide” is assigned who provides detailed information how a person may purchase equipment and take steps to end their own life, according to the website.“The Network never supplies equipment,” the website states.That right there…

Australia – Great Essay: Looking at the Bigger Picture Regarding Euthanasia

January 25, 2013assisted suicide, Australia, Belgium, disability rights, discrimination, euthanasia, media coverage, Our News & Commentary Blog, suicideStephen Drake

…sing? People take their lives for all sorts of reasons – they might be bankrupt, old, ill, lonely, overworked, trapped in poverty, abused, addicted, confused about their sexuality, at the sharp edge of family breakdown, in shame or at the end of a long set of bad life experiences. If suicide is a gift for one group of people who feel their lives have become unbearable, then why not for everyone who feels like this? Imagine the reaction if someone…