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Posts Tagged ‘assisted suicide’

“Yes” to euthanasia brings a seismic shift in value

June 16th, 2014 Comments off

BY MARGARET SOMERVILLE

Why, after millenniums of prohibiting the intentional killing of another human being, in particular by physicians, did Quebec politicians think euthanasia is a “progressive” idea that must be implemented without delay? Bill 52, originally introduced by the Parti Québécois government, was rapidly reintroduced by the Liberals and passed Thursday. Read more…

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Quebec legalises euthanasia

June 13th, 2014 Comments off

BY MICHAEL COOK

Quebec has become the first Canadian province to legalise euthanasia. Bill 52 easily passed in the National Assembly yesterday by a vote of 94 to 22. “I want to congratulate ourselves as parliamentarians,” said Carole Poirier, of the Parti Quebecois. “Quebec is a beautiful society, and again today Quebec has just shown that we are really, really a different society.” Read more…

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Assisted suicide: the issue we can’t afford to get wrong

May 6th, 2014 Comments off

Good facts are absolutely essential for good ethics.

by Margaret Somerville

Globe and Mail columnist Jeffrey Simpson recently wrote a pro-euthanasia column entitled “Assisted suicide – the issue we can’t ignore”. If he’s correct, it’s also the issue where we can’t afford to get our facts wrong. So, looking at his column, where might some people be doing so? Responding to that question can provide important insights in relation to euthanasia, in particular how pro-euthanasia advocates present “facts” to support their case. Read more…

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Until death do us part

May 6th, 2014 Comments off

I am haunted by the thought of loving intimacy replaced by a lethal injection.

by Audrey Cole

When Stephen Fletcher tabled his Private Member’s Bills in the Canadian House of Representatives, I started to think about how people die and how utterly important it had been for me to be with my late husband Fred in that process. And I also thought about how much it would have meant to me were our roles to have been reversed. Read more…

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Belgium: accelerating down the slippery slope

April 17th, 2014 Comments off
BY MICHAEL COOK

Involuntary euthanasia is acceptable medical treatment, according to a recent official statement by the Belgian Society of Intensive Care Medicine. Although voluntary euthanasia is legal is Belgium under some circumstances, involuntary euthanasia is basically illegal. Read more…

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Hard cases make bad euthanasia laws

April 8th, 2014 Comments off
BY PAUL RUSSELL

The pro-euthanasia lobby often promotes media reports of people facing difficult prognoses who wish to end their lives rather than face inevitable deterioration. Such persons often become, for a short while, celebrities for a macabre cause. The media attention can even become addictive and provide, a distraction from their suffering or a raison d’etre. Read more…

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Quebec gears up for a momentous election

March 28th, 2014 Comments off
By supporting both euthanasia and secularism, the Parti Québécois threatens to tear Canada apart.

Margaret Somerville

We form a society by buying in to shared values; they are the glue that binds us together and informs our identity as individuals and a community. The Parti Québécois (PQ) wants to establish a separate society from Canada and its opportunity to try to do so depends on how Quebecers vote in the April 7 election. I suggest Quebecers’ choice will be heavily influenced by the values they most want upheld, when no politician stands for all their values and they must choose which should take priority. Read more…

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A recession is no time for assisted suicide, says disabled British peer

March 17th, 2014 Comments off
BY MICHAEL COOK

Moves to legalise assisted suicide in Britain are a threat to the disabled during a time of economic hardship, says Baroness Campbell of Surbiton, a disabled peer. She told the London Telegraph that it was “a dangerous time” to consider to consider changes to legislation when people on welfare were being described as scroungers who are a burden on society. Read more…

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Why euthanasia slippery slopes can’t be prevented

March 13th, 2014 Comments off
BY MARGARET SOMERVILLE

I have been receiving emails from people, including some with disabilities, who are angry about my opposition to legalizing euthanasia. The people with disabilities are not dying; they just do not want to continue living in the state in which they find themselves. It’s clear they believe they would be able to have access to euthanasia were it to be legalized. Read more…

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Euthanasia of newborns under the microscope

March 10th, 2014 Comments off
BY FELIPE E. VIZCARRONDO

Euthanasia is defined as the act of intentionally ending the life of a terminally ill and suffering person in a quick and painless manner for reasons of compassion and mercy. Read more…

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