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

…a little. The Bay Citizen “was founded in 2010 as a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to fact-based, independent reporting on civic and community issues in the San Francisco Bay Area.” (This all sounded familiar so I did a quick check of the likeliest source and found that the Chicago Reader‘s Michael Miner wrote about The Bay Citizen just about a month ago.) Given the dismal and consistent silence of suicide prevention organizati…

Catching up #1: Chris Hilderbrant on Max Baucus and “Palatable” Health Care Reform

May 22, 2009access to health care, cdr, chris hilderbrant, legislation, long term care, Our News & Commentary Blog, policyStephen Drake

…icated that he’d meet with people personally rather than have further interruptions of the hearing. As an ADAPT members with a certain prowess for interrupting bureaucratic proceedings, I had been considering a one person protest for the Community Choice Act… but, now I’ll be contacting his office to set up the meeting he promised me. For three hours, a variety of Senators and healthcare experts discussed options. And for three hours, not one pers…

John Kelly: A social policy of assisted suicide is just as dangerous as the death penalty

September 3, 2015assisted suicide, california, death penalty, john kelly, Our News & Commentary Blogassisted suicide, death penalty, John KellyDiane Coleman

…Testimony in strong opposition to AB2x 15 September 3, 2015 Members of the Finance Committee: If you are opposed to the death penalty, I hope you will have second thoughts about legalized assisted suicide. Yes, there is a committed group of proponents who believe that assisted suicide would benefit them, and many people have stories of difficult and traumatic deaths. But compelling personal stories notwithstanding, a social policy of assisted suic…

Anita Cameron: Racial Disparities in the Age of COVID-19

April 23, 2020access to health care, Anita Cameron, discrimination, health disparities, healthcare rationing, medical bigotry, medical discrimination, Our News & Commentary Blog, racismAnita Cameron, COVID-19, healthcare rationing, racial disparitiesDiane Coleman

…, also known as coronavirus. What started as an outbreak has turned into a worldwide pandemic, with the United States now the epicenter. As expected, the virus is severely impacting seniors, people with disabilities, poor people and communities of color. From Indigenous nations in New Mexico and Arizona, to Latinx and immigrant communities across the nation, COVID-19 is spreading like wildfire. The Black community, especially, is being ravaged by…

John Kelly: Older, ill and disabled people deserve choice-promoting services, supports

August 13, 2020"death with dignity", aid in dying, assisted suicide, john kelly, letters to the editor, Massachusetts, Michael Reynolds, Our News & Commentary Blog, quality of life judgmentsaid in dying, assisted suicide, John Kelly, Letter to the Editor, MassachusettsDiane Coleman

…o can bully you into requesting the drugs, witness the request, fetch the drugs, and even administer them without worry. The bill grants complete immunity to anyone involved in the suicide. Doctor misdiagnosis puts 6 million people yearly at risk of severe harm, and 12% to 15% of people with a terminal diagnosis are not really dying. Hundreds of people have needlessly lost years of life to these mistakes. No choice there! Quality-of-life judgments…