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Taken from the World Right-to-Die Newsletter issue no. 46, Januray 2005.

By Michael Irwin

Contact information about the World Federation appears now on a list of “NGOs with Expertise in Fundamental Rights”, ­produced by the European Union (an organization of 25 ­countries, headquartered in Brussels).

Others on this list of exactly 100 organizations include Amnesty International, the European Humanist Federation, Friends of the Earth, Human Rights Watch, and Greenpeace.

Taken from the World Right-to-Die Newsletter issue no. 46, Januray 2005.

Count the ways:

• Join the 21 Club with a contri­bution of $1000 (tax deductible in the U.S.
  
• Include the World Federation of Right to Die Societies in your will
  
• Encourage friends of our mission to contribute

Currently we are primarily financed by dues from member organizations in addition to the generosity of donors of gifts and legacies.

Taken from the World Right-to-Die Newsletter issue no. 46, Januray 2005.

Taken from the World Right-to-Die Newsletter issue no. 46, Januray 2005. By Dr. Michio Arakawa, Executive Director,

Taken from the World Right-to-Die Newsletter issue no. 46, Januray 2005. Derek Humphry At the 15th biennial

Taken from the World Right-to-Die Newsletter issue no. 46, Januray 2005.

2005: RTD Europe will meet in Turin Italy in October, hosted by Exit Italia. It is open to members of RTD Europe and the WF Board.

2006: World Fed to Meet in Toronto Canada
To be hosted by Dying with Dignity the 16th biennial conference of the Toronto. DWD Executive Director, Cathy St. John, promises a lively and varied conference. WF Board member and sister, Cynthia St. John, has promised to help.

The Saba Medal, awarded every two years to the person or organization that has done most during that time for the World Federation of Right to Die Societies, was awarded to the Japan Society for Dying with Dignity.

An excerpt of a speech by Sidney Rosoff, the first president of the World Federation about how the organization got its start.

Taken from the World Right-to-Die Newsletter issue no. 46, Januray 2005.

The presentation of the first Marilynne Seguin Award to Beatriz Gomez, founding member and long-time President of Fundacion Pro Derecho A Morir Dignamente (DMD) of Colombia was made at the banquet for attendees on the final night of the World Conference of Right to Die Societies.

Taken from the World Right-to-Die Newsletter issue no. 46, Januray 2005.

A physician was acquitted who administered sleeping drugs and morphine to a terminally ill patient and did not report it. He argued that it was Terminal Sedation (TS) and thus a “normal” medical decision and had nothing to do with euthanasia.

The NVVE is preparing the publication of a book in which experiences with euthanasia from the point of view of the patient/relatives will be described as a form of assessment /evaluation of the law. Expected publication date: January 2005.

Taken from the World Right-to-Die Newsletter issue no. 46, Januray 2005.

The Commission established to ­monitor the operation of the assisted dying law has issued its first, unanimous, report. Its main findings are that the number of cases of assisted dying has stabilized after the first few months and nearly half of them take place at the patient’s home. The vast majority of cases involved cancer and to a lesser extent neuromuscular diseases; they included some cases where death was not imminent.

Taken from the World Right-to-Die Newsletter issue no. 46, Januray 2005.

According to a survey conducted by DGHS, 84% of the population would not lose confidence in their doctor if s/he helped an incurably ill person to end their life; only 20% thought they would lose confidence in a doctor who provided active and direct assistance in the case of an incurably ill patient.