With the Grand-Duchy’s law on “Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide” being in place for one year now, there is little to report on the subject except that the secretariat of ADMD-L receives many letters and calls from people outside the country hoping to be able to come and “die” in Luxembourg.
Because of the ruling of the Montana Supreme Court in Baxter vs Montana, physician assisted suicide (PAS) is now openly allowed in Montana. The ruling read that nothing in Montana Law is preventing PAS and that therefore “it is not illegal”. This makes Montana actually the third USA State where PAS may be practiced.
The TV film “You don’t know Jack” on Jack Kevorkian is aired in the USA on HBO on Saturday, April 24, from 9 to 11.15 pm ET/PT. Oscar winners Al Pacino and Susan Sarandon will star in this film, directed by Oscar winner Barry Levinson.
The editors of the Canadian Medical Association Journal made a new contribution to the worldwide definition issue around end-of-life decisions in general and euthanasia in particular.
NIVEL, a Dutch independent research organisation performed research into the influence of the Dutch Euthanasia law of 2002 on the number of requests for assisted dying. A pdf ot the articel (in English) can be seen by clicking here.
CTV News Montreal has recently (March 31, 2010) aired a Special Report called “Last Wish”, concerning the ongoing public and political debate on euthanasia in Canada. Interviewer Debra Arbec sat down with those facing death and their doctors – the people who make the most profound arguments.
Dr Michael de Ridder, head of the Emergency Departement of a central Berlin Hospital, gave an interview to Der Spiegel (Beate Lakotta), after the publication of his book “Wie Wollen wir Sterben?”
After a controversial publication in The Singapore Academy of Law Journal by Ms Toh Puay San, a deputy public prosecutor (writing in her personal capacity), and National University of Singapore law don Stanley Yeo in which they broke a lance for physician assisted suicide, a public debate exploded.
Medical News TODAY published the article “What is Euthanasia (assisted suicide)?”, written by Christian Nordqvist. It is clearly meant to bring clarity in the definitions issue, which is also discussed in our organisation. It is an interesting article, useful as a starting point for the debate.
The Canadian private members Euthanasia bill C-384 of Francine Lalonde received another hour of debate in the Parliament on March 16th. Because the Parliament was adjourned in January and February, this debate must be seen as a first reading (although in October 2009 such a debate already started). The second hour is now expected to take place sometime in May this year.
Belgium scientists (Smets e.a.) published a brief report in Medical Care in which they give the characteristics of all the reported cases of euthanasia in Belgium, since the implementation of the law in 2002. The objective was to study the reported medical practice of euthanasia and present an analysis of the anonymous database of all euthanasia cases reported to the Federal Control and Evaluation Committee Euthanasia.
More then a year after four members of Final Exit Network were arrested for (1) allegedly helping 58 year old John Celmer die and (2) allegedly helping plan the suicide of an undercover agent, the Forsyth County grand jury decided to indict them. They all have been free on bond since February 25, 2009.
