It used to be that psychiatrists and psychologists strived to prevent mentally ill people from committing suicide. Now, a blog post by Canadian psychiatrist Ralph Lewis published in Psychology Today — of all places — understands that allowing the mentally ill to be euthanized could have a deleterious impact on suicide-prevention efforts. But what the hell. Refusing to euthanize the mentally ill is... Source ..read more

Should psychiatrists and other doctors assist the suicides of mentally ill patients? Not that long ago, the answer to that question would have been unequivocally, “No” The job of a mental health professional is to save the lives of suicidal patients, not help them die. But that was before assisted suicide became an up and coming cultural cause. Most people think that the “right to die” movement is... Source ..read more

Good morning. My name is Wesley J. Smith. I am a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism. For the last thirty years I have been deeply engaged throughout the nation and internationally in public policy debates about the most important bioethical issues facing our nation and global community, specifically including the issue of so-called “futile care... Source ..read more

The media love to boost assisted suicide. They laud people who commit it — witness their swoon over the late Brittany Maynard — and the doctors who are willing to lethally prescribe or give lethal injections. Now, The Atlantic goes there bigly, describing the experiences of two California doctors who assist suicides. But I want to focus on one: Lonny Shavelson, whose excesses and assisted-suicide... Source ..read more

Euthanasia homicide is conjoined with organ harvesting in at least three countries — Canada, the Netherlands, and Belgium. In the latter two, the donors who are killed are sometimes mentally ill, not physically sick. Or, they might be disabled. A letter from a doctor involved in the Dutch kill-and-harvest procedures was published with all due respect in JAMA Surgery. It makes for cold reading. Source ..read more

When activists successfully legalized assisted suicide in California, they persuaded the California Medical Association to shift from opposition to neutrality with the promise that no doctor would be forced to participate. But here’s the thing with assisted suicide: Such promises are made to be broken. Now that assisted suicide is well-ensconced in California culture, a bill has been filed that... Source ..read more

Always remember that the first iteration of assisted-suicide legalization is not the last iteration. Over time — and once people get used to doctors prescribing for suicide or giving lethal jabs — the laws are loosened to make more people eligible to die, or to expand the cadre of medical professionals entitled to end patient’s lives. Now, hot on the heels of Washington State, it’s Hawaii. Source ..read more

When selling the legalization of assisted suicide, activists always promise that strict guidelines will protect against abuse. After legalization, these protections are rebranded as “ obstacles” or “barriers” that prevent patients from getting what they want. As soon as activists think they can get away with it, the law is loosened. That process is unfolding in Washington State, where a new bill... Source ..read more

The push is on in Canada to normalize euthanasia as the best way to die — to save money and emotional turmoil. How hard is the push? Reader’s Digest Canada — no less — has published a guide to end-of-life planning that pushes euthanasia and doesn’t even mention hospice. The guide advises readers to “pick the right time” to die, i.e., be euthanized — euphemistically known as “medical assistance in... Source ..read more

I have written here before about Delta Hospice in British Columbia, which has been under unremitting pressure by the government of the province — including a funding cutoff — only because it refuses to participate in euthanasia. It is now being forced to lay off clinical workers and faces eviction. From the press release: The board of DHS deeply regrets being compelled to take this action. Source ..read more