June 15, 2023
(Associated Press) – The homicide rate for older U.S. teenagers rose to its highest point in nearly 25 years during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the suicide rate for adults in their early 20s was the worst in more than 50 … Read More
June 15, 2023
(AFP via MSN) – Colette Julien, like thousands of sick Canadian compatriots each year who seek an end to their suffering and dignity in death, requested medical assistance in dying — a regime that Quebec province this month moved to … Read More
June 6, 2023
(Undark) – Proponents of legalizing assisted dying argue that that issue is philosophically and politically distinct from the matter of improving palliative care. But the two ideas are connected: The reasons that many French people give for wanting a change … Read More
June 5, 2023
(The Atlantic) – Harriet died in their hotel room on November 3. Mill sat alone with her body in their room for a day. He was despondent over the loss of his marriage: “For seven and a half years that … Read More
May 17, 2023
(Wired) – A big chunk of that decrease can be attributed to suicide declines in the two most populous countries in the world. Between 1990 and 2016, suicide rates decreased by 15 percent in India and by over 60 percent in China. … Read More
May 15, 2023
(Comment Magazine) – The surgeon was correct that for recurrent head and neck cancers like mine, most patients live just a few months regardless of treatment. But for a small fraction of patients like me, pembrolizumab—a novel, preposterously expensive immunotherapeutic … Read More
May 10, 2023
The New England Journal of Medicine (vol. 388, no. 7, 2023) is available online by subscription only. Articles include: “The Journey to RSV Vaccines — Heralding an Era of Structure-Based Design” by B.S. Graham “Looking After Our Own” by R.M. … Read More
May 2, 2023
(Associated Press) – Vermont on Tuesday became the first state in the country to change its medically assisted suicide law to allow terminally ill people from out of state to take advantage of it to end their lives. Republican Gov. … Read More
April 29, 2023
(ProPublica) – At issue was the use of midazolam, a sedative typically used to ease anxiety and produce drowsiness before medical procedures. In circumstances like major surgeries, the drug is paired with other medications, such as opiates, to achieve general … Read More
April 25, 2023
(Kaiser Family Foundation) – Disability rights advocates sued Tuesday to overturn California’s physician-assisted death law, arguing that recent changes make it too easy for people with terminal diseases whose deaths aren’t imminent to kill themselves with drugs prescribed by a … Read More
April 24, 2023
(Wall Street Journal) – Among the biggest complaints: The rule would delay or block access for patients who seek medically assisted suicide and hospice care, critics said. Many of the comments — including nearly 10,000 delivered in person to DEA … Read More
April 7, 2023
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics (vol. 32, no. 1, 2023) is available online by subscription only. Articles include: “Existential Suffering as a Legitimization of Euthanasia” by Jasper Doomen “Health, Health Care, and Equality of Opportunity: The Rationale for Universal Health … Read More
April 3, 2023
(Associated Press) – New legislation to be drafted this year will address end-of-life options, French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday, following the release of a report indicating that most French citizens support legalizing medically assisted suicide and euthanasia. In a … Read More
March 31, 2023
(UPI) – Suicides and substance abuse with illicit drugs have sent overdose mortality among people 65 years old and above skyrocketing — quadrupling over the past two decades, according to researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles. The … Read More
March 30, 2023
(New York Times) – Ms. Bluestein, who was diagnosed with late-stage fallopian tube cancer, said that if chemotherapy stopped working, she intended to make use of a Vermont law that allows certain people to seek and self-administer a lethal dose … Read More
March 30, 2023
Bioethics (vol. 37, no. 2, 2023) is available online by subscription only. Articles include: “Access to effective but expensive Treatments: An Analysis of the Solidarity Argument in Discussions on Funding of Medical Treatments” by Sietske A. L. van Till, Jilles … Read More
March 14, 2023
(ABC News) – Lynda Bluestein has terminal cancer and knows she’ll likely die soon, but until Tuesday, she didn’t know if she’d be able to choose how or when and whether her family, friends and dog would be with her … Read More
March 1, 2023
Journal of Bioethical Inquiry (vol. 18, no. 2, 2021) is available online by subscription only. Articles include: “Exploitation, Criminalization, and Pecuniary Trade in the Organs of Living People” by Hugh V. McLachlan “Constitution of “The Already Dying”: The Emergence of … Read More
February 13, 2023
(New York Times) – Dr. Narita, 37, said that his statements had been “taken out of context,” and that he was mainly addressing a growing effort to push the most senior people out of leadership positions in business and politics — … Read More
February 7, 2023
(Harper’s Magazine) – Let’s suppose—the idea isn’t so absurd—that I’m able, by way of connections or skill at navigating the dark web, to get my hands on some pentobarbital, an apparently painless, lethal poison. Then suppose that a friend for … Read More
February 6, 2023
The Journal of Medicine & Philosophy (vol. 47, no. 5, 2022) is available online by subscription only. Articles include: “‘Accompanied Only by My Thoughts’: A Kantian Perspective on Autonomy at the End of Life” by Anna Magdalena Elsner and Vanessa … Read More
January 30, 2023
(Bioethics) – Five countries now permit organ donation after euthanasia, on the basis of respecting donor autonomy. Some now openly consider performing euthanasia itself via organ extraction to better preserve organ viability, albeit in violation of the dead donor rule. … Read More
January 19, 2023
(CTV News) – A growing number of patients who request medical assistance in dying are asking to donate their organs for transplant, says an international review that found that Canada is performing the most organ transplants from MAID patients among … Read More
December 19, 2022
(ABC News) – The highest court in Massachusetts said in a decision Monday that allowing doctors to prescribe a lethal dose of medication to mentally competent patients with terminal illnesses is not protected by the state constitution. (Read More)
December 19, 2022
HEC Forum (vol. 34, no. 4, 2022) is available online by subscription only. Articles include: “Introducing Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada: Lessons on Pragmatic Ethics and the Implementation of a Morally Contested Practice” by Andrea Frolic and Allyson Oliphant … Read More
