The Society for Old Age Rational Suicide (established on International Human Rights Day December 10, 2009, in Brighton, UK) today published its website. The Society campaigns for a change of law so that very elderly, mentally competent individuals, who are suffering unbearably (not “terminally”) … can have a dignified death, as an ultimate human right.
Washinton state publishes its first numbers on the now one year old DWD Act, started on March 5, 2009. 63 Terminally ill Washingtonians used the act in the first nine months to procure a prescription, only 36 actually died after ingestion. This was rfeported at a C&C Conference organised for the first birthday of the act.
The latest Newsletter from DWD nsw (Australia) can be downloaded here.
Later today Keir Starmer DPP from the UK Crown Prosectution Service will publish the long awaited guidelines on the prosecution of people who assisted with suicide. He said so in an article in The Times, more or less also as a reaction to an article by Gordon Brown, UK’s Prime Minister.
In Canada the discussion on legalizing euthanasia has developped. Both Federal Parliament and the National Assembly of French province Quebec haven been discussing the issue. In the folowing a summary of what is going on is given, including some links to usefull articles.
A Dutch citizens action group “Out of Free Will” (“Uit Vrije Wil”) wants to legalize assisted suicide for all people over 70, who have an “explicit, logical and consistent” desire to end their life. They suggest the task should be carried out by a new kind of specially trained and certified professional.
Because of a ruling by the Montana Supreme Court in January 2010 – following the 2008 verdict of Montana District Court Judge Dorothy McCarter – saying that “nothing in state law prevents patients from seeking physician-assisted suicide”, now three States (Oregon, Washington and Montana) provide its residents with legal aid-in-dying
In accordance with the Belgian Euthanasia Law a 16 person Federal Euthanasia Review Committee assesses every case of Termination of life on request (that is reported!), and reports every two years to the Belgian Parliament. Recently the numbers of reported cases in 2008 and 2009 were already published, in advance of the official report expected this year.
The Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society accepted for publication in 2010 the article “Techniques to pass on: technology and euthanasia” by Australian professor of Social Sciences Brian Martin. Martin examined a number of possible future paths three) for the development of euthanasia, focussing on the Australian State versus EXIT International situation.
Within the scope of Dutch RtD Society NVVE’s strategy to broaden the situations in which assistance in dying should be made legally possible, a number of activities have been undertaken: documentaries on Dementia and euthanasia, on psychiatric illness and euthanasia and on “completed life” have been produced and broadcasted on national television. A special week was organised beginning this month to promote a discussion on the completed life issue. For more information
Dutch researchers, headed by Roeline Pasman, from the VUmc Amsterdam, have looked into the concept of unbearable suffering in the context of ungranted requests for euthanasia. The objective was to obtain in-depth information about the views of both doctors and patients on suffering in ungranted or not performed euthanasia requests.
On January 21 MSP Margo McDonald finally tabled her long expected Bill to allow doctors to end the life of terminally-ill patients. This bill – signed by 21 MSP’s from all four Scottish parties – is now cleared to be formally adopted for investigation by the health and sports committee, leading to a first vote by the Scottish Parliament this autumn. A special Committee is to investigate the issue thoroughly.
