Art Caplan “Debunks” 23-year Misdiagnosis of PVS in Belgium, But Omits Some Details

November 25, 2009Art Caplan, bioethics, locked-in syndrome, media coverage, Our News & Commentary Blog, pvs, rom houben, steven laureysStephen Drake

Over the past week, there has been a lot of news coverage regarding the case of Rom Houben, a man in Belgium who was labeled as being in a persistent vegetative state. He was severely injured in an auto accident in 1983, and since shortly after that has been regarded as being in a persistent vegetative state. Twenty-three years later, things looked very different. Houben’s family believed he still had consciousness. He was fortunate enough to com…

New Hampshire: House Judiciary Committee Votes Against Assisted Suicide Bill

November 12, 2009assisted suicide, legislation, New Hampshire, Our News & Commentary Blog, policyStephen Drake

…January. If the chamber accepts the committee recommendation, legislative rules make it nearly impossible for the issue to be brought up again next year. Good news, but there is reason to remain vigilant. Allies in the state tell us that it’s highly unusual for the full legislature to approve a measure defeated in committee, but it is possible. Assisted Suicide activists could make a push for a full vote – or they might decide this could be a yea…

UK: New Swiss Suicide Tourist Case – Double Suicide

July 16, 2009assisted suicide, blog recommendations, euthanasia, Gary Presley, Our News & Commentary Blog, Switzerland, United KingdomStephen Drake

…1, but assisting others to kill themselves is. But since the Zurich clinic run by Dignitas was established in 1998 under Swiss laws that allow clinics to provide lethal drugs, British authorities have effectively turned a blind eye to Britons who go there to die. None of the family members and friends who have accompanied the 117 people living in Britain who have traveled to the Zurich clinic for help in ending their lives have been charged with a…

Diane Coleman Interviewed Re Disability Opposition To NY Assisted Suicide Bill

May 13, 2022"death with dignity", aid in dying, assisted suicide, diane coleman, end-of-life options bills, media coverage, New York, Our News & Commentary Blogassisted suicide, end of life options, MAID, media, videoDiane Coleman

…like a burden on others, feeling like you’ve lost your dignity,” she tells News10NBC. All issues, Coleman says can be eased with access to proper home care. “We also know that doctors aren’t that great at predicting the 6 months, I mean I’ve certainly experienced that and many disabled people have been told, well you’re on your last legs here,” she said. Coleman also has concerns about the safety of the medication being in a home after it is presc…

AP: Final Exit Network manual calls members “special”

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

…of comments I always make, but this time they’re in the context of a real news story instead of a softball treatment of FEN as some kind of “human interest” story: Stephen Drake of the Rochester, New York-based group Not Dead Yet, which is against assisted suicide, compared Final Exit Network and the wording in its training manual to a cult and said it’s hard to distinguish what the group does from murder. “What they do is reduce ambivalence,” he…