Category: Euthanasia

Euthanasia Without Brakes

Commentary ​In my first ever anti-euthanasia piece, which was published in Newsweek back in 1993, I warned that legalizing assisted suicide would lead to organ harvesting of those killed by doctors “as a plum to society.” For my trouble. I was called alarmist and hysterical—and those were the nice letters. Alas, rather than being alarmist,…


Commercial Forays Into Social Issues Highlighted by Simons Ad on Assisted Death

The man who launched a boycott of a Quebec fashion retailer that ran an ad on its website highlighting medical assistance in dying says the ad demonstrates the willingness of corporations to weigh in on social issues, even to the point of being controversial. “It’s become the new thing that if you’re a corporation, and…


Australian Capital Territory Pushes Ahead With Euthanasia Laws

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) will move to start community consultations early next year on voluntary assisted dying laws after a quarter-century ban was overturned. The Senate passed a repeal bill to remove the embargo on Australia’s two territories legislating on euthanasia after the Northern Territory (NT) became the first jurisdiction to legalise it in…


‘Nothing I Could Do’: A Mother Recounts How Her Mentally Ill Son Was Given Access to Assisted Suicide

TORONTO—It was just a few weeks before Christmas 2021 when Matthew spoke to his mother, Sharon Danley, about a holiday he wanted to take in New York City. Being on disability and unable to afford to pay for the trip himself, he asked her for some money, Danley says. She agreed, and just before Matthew…


Legalising Euthanasia Risks Undermining Life Under Human Rights Rhetoric, Liberal Senator Argues

An Australian senator has pushed back against the move to legalise euthanasia in Australia’s territories, saying that it will “depreciate the value we place on life” under the banner of human rights. The comment comes following the introduction of a private bill dubbed Restoring Territory Rights, which aims to hand the Northern Territory and the…


Legalising Euthanasia Will ‘Depreciate’ the Value of Life, Senator Says

A senator is pushing back against the move to legalise euthanasia in Australia’s territories, saying it will “depreciate the value we place on life” under the banner of human rights. The comment comes following the introduction of a private bill dubbed Restoring Territory Rights, which aims to hand the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital…


Euthanasia’s Cruel Compassion

Commentary Frederico Carboni made international news recently when he died in Italy’s first legal assisted suicide. Carboni was not terminally ill. He was paralyzed from an auto accident. He wanted suicide because he had no autonomy, saying in an interview, “I am like a boat adrift in the ocean.” How tragic. Quadriplegia need not be…


California to Euthanize 350,000 Rainbow Trout After Bacterial Outbreak

California has to humanely euthanize approximately 350,000 catchable rainbow trout due to a bacterial outbreak, which has led to a fishing stock shortage in parts of the state, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced on June 20. Two facilities operated by the state agency—Black Rock and Fish Springs hatcheries in Inyo County—were detected…


Cyprus Trial of UK Man: Was It Murder or Assisted Suicide?

NICOSIA, Cyprus—The trial of a British man charged with the premeditated murder of his sick wife got underway Thursday in Cyprus’ coastal resort town of Paphos, with defense lawyers arguing that David Hunter should instead be charged with assisting a suicide. State Prosecutor Andreas Hadjikyrou said the postponement was due to a court scheduling conflict…


NSW Moves to Vote on Assisted Dying Bill Despite Opposition From Faith Groups

Members of the New South Wales (NSW) Legislative Council will progress to a final vote on the Voluntary Assisted Dying bill this week, as the debate over amendments resumes from Tuesday. A number of politicians, unions, charity organisations and pro-euthanasia groups on Tuesday gathered together to urge upper house members to support the bill. Under…