Category: Euthanasia

Medical professionals concerned their ethical rights may be eroded by health reforms

1newsnow

Nicole Bremner

The New Zealand Medical Council says it’s ‘up to the challenge’ of three controversial law changes currently before Parliament.

A new law enabling the terminally ill to access assisted dying, along with reform to cannabis and abortion laws, has sparked widespread and sometimes heated public debate.

“I think these (proposals) represent a potential challenge to the medical profession,” says Dr Curtis Walker, Chair of the NZ Medical Council. “But I know the medical profession is up to it.” [Full text]

Otago psychiatrists call on colleagues to say no to euthanasia

Voxy.co.nz

The impact of legalising euthanasia will be devastating on older people, the poor and disabled, according to two University of Otago psychiatrists who are calling on their colleagues both in New Zealand and internationally to oppose the move.

Consultant psychogeriatrician Associate Professor Yoram Barak and Senior Lecturer Chris Gale, from the Department of Psychological Medicine, have reviewed the laws and practices in every country with legal euthanasia and how they have been modified.

They found the most vulnerable – the elderly, the poor and the disabled – are disproportionate in their use of euthanasia. . . [Full text]

From dementia to medically assisted death: A Canadian woman’s journey, and the dilemma of the doctors who helped

The Globe and Mail

Kelly Grant

To give Alzheimer’s patient Mary Wilson the death she sought, her physicians had to make a tough decision in a short time – and risked going to prison if they got it wrong. Now they’ve been cleared of wrongdoing in a decision that could have wide-reaching implications for tens of thousands of Canadians. . . [Full text]

Kalgoorlie GP calls for euthanasia ‘kill clinics’

Kalgoolrie Miner

Jason Mennell

A longstanding Kalgoorlie-Boulder GP says the State Government should introduce “kill clinics” if proposed euthanasia laws receive the parliamentary seal of approval.

Dr Mal Hodsdon believes it would be “immensely unfair” of politicians to put the onus on GPs to sign off on people’s deaths.

Instead, Dr Hodsdon feels the State Government should take full responsibility by establishing what he calls “kill clinics”, providing a one-stop shop for terminally ill patients wanting to end their lives. . . [Full text]

Facilitating an unethical practice is unethical

Psychiatric Times

Madelyn Hisaio-Rei Hicks*

I am an adult psychiatrist who has worked in public sector psychiatry in the US and the UK. In both countries, physicians struggle with the ethics and professional meaning of legalized or proposed physician-assisted suicide (PAS). I was recently asked by an organization to host a CME course titled “Best Practices in the End-of-Life Options Act.” Passed in 2016, the Act legalized the practice of PAS in California.

My response to the invitation

Thank you very much for your invitation to join in providing a CME about “Best Practices in the End-of-Life Options Act.”the very serious and complex ethical and legal issue of PAS.

At one point in my 14 years of examining and writing about PAS and euthanasia, I thought that, even though I found PAS to be unethical, in situations where it became legal, perhaps the best that psychiatrists and other physicians could do would be to provide thorough assessments and treatment options for individuals requesting PAS. . . [Full text]