Bioethicist Endorses Mass. Assisted Suicide Bill in a Sloppy and Intellectually Lazy Essay

November 2, 2012Art Caplan, assisted suicide, ben mattlin, bioethics, Compassion & Choices, disability rights advocates, final exit network, Massachusetts, Oregon, Our News & Commentary Blog, reality checkStephen Drake

…y are actively engaging a growing body of palliative care practioners to become comfortable in playing a role in the deaths of people who are simply old and say they don’t want to live any more. That is going to have a much more far-reaching range of effects than the one individual who wanted his bed sores left untouched. But questioning the effect of an effort like C & C’s would mean inviting the retaliation of a large and powerful advocacy group…

It’s Suicide Prevention Week – Except for Old, Ill and Physically Disabled People

September 10, 2009assisted suicide, media coverage, Our News & Commentary Blog, reality check, suicide, suicide prevention, Washington stateStephen Drake

…outlets included the URL for the Final Exit Network in 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 Associatio…

John Callahan – A Talented and Twisted Voice Is Gone

July 29, 2010blog recommendations, Gary Presley, humor, in memorium, john callahan, Our News & Commentary Blog, stephen Kuusisto, wheelie catholicStephen Drake

…oot. One quote stuck with me – and I dug it out of my battered copy of the book: Comedy is the main weapon we have against “The Horror.” With it we can strike a blow against death itself. Or, at least, poke a hole in the pretentious notion that there is something dignified about it. Which is as good an explanation about why you’ll find humor featured here from time to time. It’s the main weapon against “The Horror.” Below is a cartoon titled “Cell…

NDY Concerns Included in US Human Rights Network Stakeholder Reports to UN Human Rights Council

August 24, 2010assisted suicide, dignity, discrimination, euthanasia, human rights, Our News & Commentary Blog, reports, united nationsStephen Drake

…mprehensive report on human rights in the U.S. highlights significant shortcomings in domestic compliance with international human rights standards, as well as U.S. obligations under multiple human rights treaties and agreements. That report, a compilation of 26 independent submissions covering a sweeping range of human rights topics, took almost a year to research and was endorsed by more than 200 organizations and hundreds of advocates across th…

NDY Staff Raise Disability and Minority Community Issues in Boston Training

May 8, 2017"death with dignity", aid in dying, Anita Cameron, assisted suicide, john kelly, Massachusetts, Our News & Commentary Blog, Patients Rights Action FundAnita Cameron, assisted suicide, John Kelly, Massachusetts, Patients Rights Action FundDiane Coleman

…worry about. The same can be said about disabled communities of color. The best way to reach communities of color, particularly Black people, is to highlight the racial disparities in health care and show that assisted suicide laws put us in greater danger of being coerced into assisted suicide because our lives are more likely to be devalued, especially if we are living in poverty and denied quality healthcare and palliative care. Although there…