Dying Man Paid to Live-Stream His Assisted Suicide?

What We Are Becoming: Dying Man Paid to Live Stream His Assisted Suicide? » Secondhand Smoke | A First Things Blog: A terminally ill man with brain cancer will die in front of millions of people online this evening. Nikolai Ivanisovich, 62, will be given the lethal injection by a doctor at a clinic in Switzerland this evening. And he's apparently being paid to do it!

Dutch GPs pressured to euthanize patients

Euthanasia Prevention Coalition: Half of Dutch GP's have felt pressured by relatives to euthanize a patient.: An article in today's DutchNews.nl reports that nearly half of the GP's in the Netherlands have felt pressured by relatives to lethally inject a patient while 20% are willing to euthanize a person who is simply 'tired of living.'

Related: Poll of Dutch doctors shows broad acceptance of euthanasia

How Exercise Can Keep the Brain Fit

How Exercise Can Keep the Brain Fit - NYTimes.com: Scientists have yet to prove that exercise can ward off serious problems like Alzheimer’s disease. But what about the more mundane, creeping memory loss that begins about the time our 30s recede, when car keys and people’s names evaporate? Can activity ameliorate its slow advance — and maintain vocabulary retrieval skills, so that the word “ameliorate” leaps to mind when needed?

MP says BBC’s assisted suicide reporting is ‘totalitarian’

MP says BBC’s assisted suicide reporting is ‘totalitarian’ | News | The Christian Institute: The chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group has likened the BBC’s biased reporting of assisted suicide to “the practices of a totalitarian state.” Jim Dobbin MP said public debate should not be “subverted by slanted reporting.” And he said the BBC’s reporting of assisted suicide is reminiscent of attempts to “control debate and manipulate opinion.”

British National Health Service Extends Rationing to Surgeries

British National Health Service Extends Rationing to Surgeries | LifeNews.com: A new report in The Independent reveals how hip replacements, cataract surgery and tonsil removal are among the many operations that two-thirds of health trusts in England are now putting on a “non-urgent” list in an attempt to help save the government-run health care program $20 billion over the next four years. The newspaper reveals one third of health trusts have already expanded the list of rationed procedures in the last 12 months and others are expected to follow suit.

Personal Faith, Not Positive Thinking, Is Key for TBI Victims

Personal Faith, Not Positive Thinking, Is Key for TBI Victims, Suggests Study, Christian News: A sense of meaning and purpose in life (existential well-being) was not a “unique predictor” for any outcome. However, “a sense of connection to a higher power” (religious well-being) was, in fact, a unique predictor for life satisfaction, distress and functional ability. In other words, it does not help to have a positive outlook alone. Personal faith in God is apparently the key.

Related:
Traumatic brain injury doubles risk of later dementia
Traumatic brain injury effects 'long lasting
Brain injury survivor has a new life mission

At the Bottom of the Slippery Slope

At the Bottom of the Slippery Slope | The Weekly Standard: Frances’s friends had known she was periodically suicidal and had intervened to help her through the darkness. The Hemlock Society had pushed Frances in the other direction, giving her moral permission to kill herself and then teaching her how to do it.

Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: What in the World is Going On?

Euthanasia Prevention Coalition: Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: What in the World is Going On?: Legislation to legalize euthanasia and/or assisted suicide has been rejected in France, Israel, England, Scotland, Australia, Canada, Bulgaria, etc. In the U.S., where there have been well over 100 legislative proposals to legalize physician-assisted suicide since 1994, California, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, and more have recently rejected it.

Medical Students May Support Overbroad View of Conscience Rights

Medical Students May Support Overbroad View of Conscience Rights » Secondhand Smoke | A First Things Blog: "I am a strong believer in medical conscience rights–properly defined and narrowly construed. Apparently, a poll of medical students in the UK found strong support for their right as doctors to refuse to treat certain patients. I worry that is too broad an interpretation–at least for non elective care."

Beck, Norway, Hitler, and me

Alan Douglas: "Next time you urge on that recovering vet, person who had a stroke or someone who is physically challenged, do so in a way that encourages them to succeed, to accept help and to work around failure. For those of us who have experienced life's challenges the lesson to learn is the difference between kindness and weakness."

Support Group: Parenting a child with cancer

Support Groups. - Parenting – CarePages Discussion Forums: "My daughter was diagnosed with Pre Cursor B Cell ALL on March 10, 2011. She is 17 and . . . doing well but is very depressed. She misses her friends (they all have kind of moved on with their lives) and school. I am trying to get her into a support group for kids her age dealing with cancer. I think Gabrielle needs to see she is not the only one going through this and needs to meet kids who are going through the same thing. Any help you can offer would be great!"

Editor: Click the link to see how others have responded, and to add your comments.

2 Separate Cancers, Breast & Lung: CarePages Discussion Forums

2 Separate Cancers, Breast&Lung - Cancer – CarePages Discussion Forums: "The hardest part in all this for me is not knowing what comes next. I am very scared but I continue to keep a positive attitude that everything will work out well. I am very fortunate that I am surrounded by terrific friends."

Editor: To respond, click the above link.

Rob's story of spinal cord injury and recovery

Rob: Rob knows a lot about hope and courage. A car accident in January 2003 left this former triathlete and extreme sport fanatic a quadriplegic. He was near death many times in the weeks following his accident. When he transferred to a rehabilitation center six weeks later, he was told he'd never be able to move.

'I now can walk about 300 ­ 400 feet with a walker and a brace on my leg,' says Rob. 'I think that's due largely to our refusal to let anyone or anything take away our hope.'

Discussing Faith When Your Loved One Is Ill

Discussing Faith When Your Loved One Is Ill - CarePages.com: Discussing religion or spirituality with someone who is seriously ill can be tricky. You have to first make sure they open to the topic.

Editor: This article is non-committal when it comes to Absolute Truth, but it contains some wisdom, such as the suggestion about asking open-ended questions -- “What do you think about your situation?” or “How do you make sense of what is happening?” These types of questions encourage people to state what they believe and allow you to get to know them better.

Optimism Can Enhance Your Long-Term Health

Optimism Can Enhance Your Long-Term Health: Participating in religious or spiritual activities can also keep your brain humming along more smoothly. Being spiritual or religious can also perk up your mental outlook. British researchers found seniors with chronic diseases who attend religious services or who pray on their own showed a greater level of optimism about their overall health than those who did not.

You don't necessarily have to leave your house or attend formal religious services for your brain to soak up the benefits of spirituality, however. The concentration and focus required to pray anywhere — in your home, your car, or your shower — and to live a life that's in line with your spiritual beliefs, is really what has the most positive influence on your brain over the long term.

Teen who refused a lifesaving heart transplant tells of her U-turn

Hannah Jones, 16, who refused a lifesaving heart transplant tells of her U-turn | Mail Online: A schoolgirl who went to court to claim her right to die only to have a change of heart has celebrated her 16th birthday and gone to her secondary school prom.

Hannah Jones was just 13 when, left drained by debilitating surgery to cure a fatal heart condition worsened by a lengthy cancer battle, she denied a transplant. Her decision stunned the world when she calmly stated she would rather die than undergo more hospital trauma and simply wanted to live her last days in peace.

New euthanasia ruling worrying as M case continues

New euthanasia ruling worrying as M case continues: The provision of water, food and reasonable medical treatment to patients who are not dying is a human right underpinning the fundamental right to life, yet the English high court has discriminated against disabled people by denying them that right. Whether and to what extent a person has brain-damage is irrelevant to their membership of the human family.'

Patients First Network, an initiative of SPUC Pro-Life, operates a helpline for people who fear their loved ones may be in danger of euthanasia.

Get to Know: Saving Down syndrome

Saving Down syndrome: "Conservationists for Down syndrome - Saving the endangered Kiwis." At savingdowns.com "we advocate for the life of people with Down syndrome from conception to natural death. We are a New Zealand based group of parents and siblings of people with Down syndrome. We have formed in response to the New Zealand Government's new state funded eugenic antenatal screening programme that targets and identifies unborn children with Down syndrome for selective abortion."

Latest from Caring Right at Home

New Attention to the Role of Home Care A national association believes the right to be cared for at home is “America’s last great civil rights battle.” Read on »

Predicting Alzheimer’s Disease Today, brain imaging and blood tests allow for earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, and may even predict who will develop the disease. Read on »

Car Designers, Architects Put Themselves in Seniors' Shoes A new empathy-building exercise helps young engineers and architects experience old age. Read on »

Locked-in survivor speaks out

"No one has the right to switch off a human life... I should know." Daily Mail

Order a Caregiver Kit from Hospice of Michigan

Who is a Caregiver?

A caregiver is anyone who provides informal, unpaid care for someone they love. There are more than 65 million caregivers in the United States, and you may be one of them.

• 66% of caregivers are women 
• 40% are employed 
• 37% have children or grandchildren living with them 
• 25% are low-income 

Caregivers spend an average of 20 hours a week caring for their loved one. And those who work as well as provide care for a parent are more likely to have poor health themselves. Many working caregivers report missed opportunities for promotions, business travel, relocation and education.

Since Hospice of Michigan began caring for patients more than 30 years ago, we have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with caregivers. We recognize that they need our attention and our help. That's why we created the Caregiver Kit, which offers resources and many helpful tools for those who are caring for a loved one. At Hospice of Michigan, we are caregivers too, and we are here to support you.

The Caregiver Kit

Hospice of Michigan's Caregiver Kit is designed to give you the tools you need to help your loved one and to make your burden a little lighter.

The kit includes:

• A simple Stress Assessment tool with tips to help you manage it 
• Practical tips, tricks and tools to ease the burden of basic care 
• Information about how to talk to your physician 
• A pain scale to evaluate pain 
• A comprehensive list of caregiver resources 

To request your free copy of The Caregiver Kit, please call 888-247-5701 today or CLICK HERE to place your request online. 

Patient Pain and Caregivers

One day we received a call from a caregiver in Big Rapids. Her loved one was a 35-year-old man who had been living in excruciating pain for more than three years. The caregiver could no longer endure watching him suffer. She called us.

Within the first three hours of admitting the patient, we reduced his pain from a 10 or "Worst Possible" on a 10-point rating scale, to 3 (Low to Moderate).

This is the kind of story that makes our day at Hospice of Michigan. When we manage a patient's pain, in addition to helping that patient, we also help caregivers assess the situation that their loved one is in. We provide tools and valuable information to make their role as caregivers easier and more peaceful for them as well as their loved ones.

‘Allowed to die’ - a quick lesson in media manipulation

‘Allowed to die’ - a quick lesson in media manipulation | LifeSiteNews.com: What does it mean to be “allowed to die”? And what, exactly, are we talking about when we refer to “minimally conscious” people? What if poll questions were phrased this way: "Should vulnerable patients be deliberately starved and dehydrated to death when their lives are deemed worthless by hospital ethics committees?"

UK eugenic abortion stats released – thousands killed for Downs, cleft lip, club foot, etc.

UK eugenic abortion stats released – thousands killed for Downs, cleft lip, club foot, etc. | LifeSiteNews.com: After a five-year legal battle, ProLife Alliance succeeded in obtaining detailed statistics about eugenic abortions from the UK's Department of Health. In total, nearly 18,000 babies were aborted between 2002 and 2010 on the grounds of suspected disability. 1,189 were killed after the upper legal gestational age limit of 24 weeks. The figures show that these include 482 killed for Down’s syndrome in 2010 alone. In the same year, 181 abortions were attributed to musculoskeletal problems such as club foot, while 189 unborn children killed for anencephaly and 128 for spina bifida.

Babies aborted for cleft lip are ‘lives that should not be lost’

Babies aborted for cleft lip are ‘lives that should not be lost’ | News | The Christian Institute: A woman whose life was marred by a facial deformity for 18 years has warned that the 26 babies aborted for cleft lip and palates over the last decade are “lives that should not have been lost.” Joanna Jepson, who is chaplain at the London College of Fashion, was responding to Government figures revealing the number of babies aborted over disabilities.

Mother in court to end her ‘conscious’ daughter’s life

Mother in court to end her ‘conscious’ daughter’s life | News | The Christian Institute: A mother’s application to end the life of her incapacitated daughter is being heard by the [UK] Court of Protection, in a case which could shift the law on euthanasia. It is significant because the daughter has a degree of consciousness – which means she can respond to touch, move an arm and can put her tongue in and out. The mother is seeking permission to withdraw food and water from her brain-damaged daughter.

Assisted Suicide and Rationing Pushed As “Pragmatic”

Assisted Suicide and Rationing Pushed As “Pragmatic” Way to Pay for Vermont Single Payer » Secondhand Smoke | A First Things Blog: "I have said for almost as many years . . . that eventually killing (ending life) would come to be seen as a splendid way to save money in health care. I used to have HMOs in mind in making that argument. But now, it seems that single payer systems may be the greater danger."

An inspiring story about faith, hope and love through ‘locked in syndrome’

Martin Pistorius–an inspiring story about faith, hope and love through ‘locked in syndrome’ |: The Sunday Times tells the story of Martin Pistorius, a South African man who ended up paralysed and comatose following a throat infection at the age of 12. His awareness began to improve four years later and by the age of 19 had fully returned.

However it was a further five years before a therapist noticed that he was trying to communicate. The penny eventually dropped that he had been aware of everything going on around him for almost ten years whilst everybody had assumed he was unconscious.

Now, ten years later aged 36, he is married and runs a computer business despite being still in a wheel chair with limited limb movement and using computerised speech.

Stem cell 'memory' can boost insulin levels

Stem cell 'memory' can boost insulin levels: Researchers at Tel Aviv University are capitalizing on the 'memories' of stem cells generated from adult cells to bring new hope to sufferers of juvenile or type 1 diabetes, which affects three million people in the United States. Adult-derived stem cells could pave the way for new treatment of diabetes.

First patients treated in new human embryonic stem cell study

First patients treated in new human embryonic stem cell study - The Checkup - The Washington Post: Researchers have treated the first two patients in the second government-authorized attempt to evaluate a therapy created using human embryonic stem cells in the United States. They administered about 50,000 cells Tuesday into one eye of a volunteer suffering from Stargardt Macular Dystrophy, a progressive form of blindness that usually begins in childhood, and another with Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the developed world.

Some doctors insist on brand-name drugs even when cheaper generics are available

Some doctors insist on brand-name drugs even when cheaper generics are available - The Washington Post: Three words to watch out for next time you get a new prescription: “Dispense as Written.” Scrawled across the prescription form in your doctor’s hand — or, more likely, ticked off on a check box — the words may seem innocuous enough. But they’re costing you.

Italian lower house votes to ban euthanasia

Italian lower house votes to ban euthanasia | LifeSiteNews.com: In a 278-205 vote recorded in secret, the Italian Chamber of Deputies voted to approve a bill which prohibits “all forms of euthanasia and all forms of assistance or aid for suicide.”

The law provides for the creation of Anticipated Declarations of Treatment (DAT), which are also known as “Living Wills.” DATs will allow patients who are unconscious or otherwise unable to communicate to refuse treatments that are “disproportionate or experimental.”

However, under the bill the withholding of food and fluids is prohibited in all circumstances. It states that nutrition and hydration “cannot be the object of the DAT” and “must be maintained until the end of life, with the exception of cases in which the same proves to be no more efficacious in providing the patient in the terminal phase with the nutritional factors necessary for the essential physiological functioning of the body.”

The measure now goes to the Senate, where it is also expected to be approved.

Obama's not-quite-true story

Kathleen Parker: It is too much to say that Obama told an intentionally tall tale to mislead the public. But it is also incorrect to say that he told a true story. According to Janny Scott, a New York Times writer and author of the book “A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama’s Mother,” Ann Dunham’s cancer treatments were covered by her employer’s insurance policy. She was denied disability insurance, which would have helped Dunham pay her deductible or unreimbursed medical costs.

Doctors perform surgery on unborn baby

Doctors perform surgery on unborn baby - FOX5 - KVVU - Las Vegas, News, Weather and Video: Baby Faith Hagler was born on July 4, but it wasn't the first time doctors saw her. Surgeons in Texas performed a C-Section in May to operate on little Faith while she was still in the womb. The surgery was to repair a spinal cord defect, a result of spina bifida. Once the surgery was completed, the pregnancy continued.

Reason Is the Enemy of the Euthanasia Movement

Reason Is the Enemy of the Euthanasia Movement | Crisis Magazine: Nick Tonti-Filippini is chronically ill with a progressive rheumatoid auto-immune disease that destroyed his kidneys and causes inflammation around the lungs, inner chest walls and heart, ischaemic heart disease and peripheral neuropathy. "I have been dependent on dialysis for 20 years and I have undergone 15 angioplasties and the placement of eight stents to recover some blood flow after the failure of coronary bypass surgery." Nonetheless, he says, euthanasia and assisted suicide are not the answer to his illness. In support of his contention he offers three arguments.

New ‘Dr. Death’ admits to assisting the deaths of 300 in U.S.

New ‘Dr. Death’ admits to assisting the deaths of 300 in U.S. | LifeSiteNews.com: Dr. Lawrence Egbert, the medical director for the Final Exit Network euthanasia advocacy organization, has been dubbed the new “Dr. Death,” after he admitted to the media that he and his organization have helped direct the deaths of nearly 300 people across the U.S.

Abandoning the Disabled to Assisted Suicide in the UK

Abandoning the Disabled to Assisted Suicide in the UK » Secondhand Smoke | A First Things Blog: Assisted suicide is still a crime in the UK. But the Public Prosecutor of England and Wales has stated that if, after a complete investigation, it is determined that family or others who assist suicides did it for an altruistic reason, there will be no prosecution. Indeed, the death could even by accomplished by the assister, and nothing will be done.

What is the message of that directive? That the assisted suicides of people with disabilities and serious illnesses don’t matter as much as those of others–so long as the motive is “compassion.” And now, police in Scotland have so absorbed that insidious message that at least in one case, they aren’t even bothering with the police investigation.

Rationed health care

Generous to a Default: In yesterday's House Budget showdown, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) took the opportunity to flesh out one of the most lethal aspects of the President's health care plan: Medicare's Independent Payment Advisory Board, or IPAB. 'Lethal,' because it could lead--not only to the death of patients, but also to the death of innovation. This Board, made up of 15 unelected members of the President's choosing, will be the sole authority over what kind of care--if any--we receive.

Delays Frequent When Surrogates Make DNR Decisions

Delays are Frequent When Surrogates Make DNR Decisions - Health Blog - WSJ: The study, published in the July issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, found that when a surrogate had to evaluate whether or not to sign a DNR, the decision process took significantly longer than when patients decided for themselves. That’s important because the patients who had designated a surrogate were sicker and the decision whether to resuscitate might arise sooner. Among the patients who died, those with a surrogate had a shorter time period between writing the DNR order and time of death compared to patients who made their own decisions.

At the end of life, Oregon and Washington residents want less medical intervention

At the end of life, Oregon and Washington residents want less medical intervention | OregonLive.com: A new poll helps explain Oregon’s less medically intense approach to caring for people who are dying. Residents of the Pacific Northwest are more likely to believe that enhancing quality of life for seriously ill patients is more important than extending life for as long as possible. Pacific northwesterners are more likely to say the health care system spends too much money trying to extend the lives of seriously ill patients. They’re less worried that comfort care interferes with curative treatment.

Doctors keeping very sick babies off life support

Doctors keeping very sick babies off life support | Reuters: A study of babies in intensive care suggests that doctors are getting better at recognizing situations where infants are sure to die or have severe brain damage -- and are often holding back on life support when that's the case.

The findings 'reflect increasing awareness by the medical community of the need to limit interventions of minimal or very questionable benefit, and particularly if those interventions potentially include significant pain or suffering to the patient,' said Dr. Renee Boss, a neonatologist at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, who wasn't part of the new research. Over the past 30 years, Boss said, doctors have gotten better at keeping very premature babies and babies with severe birth defects alive.

But more recently, those survival rates have flattened out -- possibly because 'the treatments that we have now simply have reached their maximum potential for increasing survival,' Boss told Reuters Health, forcing doctors and families to address cases where survival, or survival with a positive outlook, doesn't seem likely.

About 60 percent of infants died when doctors took them off ventilators or otherwise stopped giving life support, and the remaining 20 percent occurred when medical staff withheld life-prolonging treatment altogether.

Deaths that happened when doctors decided not to start giving treatment became more common over the course of the study, rising by about one percent each year. That was especially true in the very premature group, according to findings published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Dr. William Meadow, a neonatologist at the University of Chicago Medical Center, pointed out that these patterns might look different at another intensive care unit. For example, at his hospital, most very sick babies who are in "stable" condition -- meaning they aren't obviously dying while on life support, but might have extensive brain damage -- don't have that care taken away. He said that's because poor, religious parents at his hospital seem to be more okay with the idea that their child might survive, though remain very impaired.

Cracks start to show in ‘vegetative state’ diagnosis

Cracks start to show in ‘vegetative state’ diagnosis | LifeSiteNews.com: A Discover magazine article published online July 6 explained that PVS often fails to account for a broad swath of traumatic brain injury patients who are deemed to be “still in there” - a conclusion one science reporter called “haunting.”

Discover’s Kat McGowan examined the outcome of years of experiments by Dr. Joseph Giancino, director of rehabilitation neuropsychology at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, and Nicholas Schiff, a Weill Cornell Medical Center neurologist, as they probed the distinction between reflexes and “real cognition” in patients who appear to have little communion with the outside world.

“These are human beings who seem to have lost their humanity,” Giacino told the magazine. “The question is, is that really the case?” Several studies, one as late as 2009, have found that as many as 41 percent of PVS patients had some level of awareness, and the evidence keeps building. However, the bright prospects may be dimmed by prejudice against the disabled.

Nurses in churches: Growing number of nurses now assigned to church congregations

Nurses in churches: Growing number of nurses now assigned to church congregations - Orlando Sentinel: A growing number of congregations are hiring nurses to help inspire churchgoers to eat better, exercise, manage chronic medical conditions and in general regard their physical bodies as a gift from their Creator.

Brain cells made from skin could treat Parkinson's

Brain cells made from skin could treat Parkinson's - health - 06 July 2011 - New Scientist: People with Parkinson's disease might one day be treated with brain cells made from their own skin. Two teams of researchers have independently worked out how to turn skin cells into specialised neurons that make dopamine. This neurotransmitter, which is vital for mobility, is depleted in the brains of people with Parkinson's.

Indian Girl Commits Suicide to Donate Organs to Family Members

Indian Girl Commits Suicide to Donate Organs to Family Members » Secondhand Smoke | A First Things Blog: "in India, a 12-year-old girl killed herself for that very purpose. From the Times of India story:

For days, Mumpy would listen quietly as the elders discussed how only an eye surgery could save her father’s vision and a kidney transplant her brother’s life. But both surgeries were beyond the family’s meagre means. So, Mumpy hit upon a plan, which to her 12-year-old mind seemed the answer to all troubles. She would kill herself, which would save the dowry, too, and her organs would give her loved ones back their lives. Mumpy did stick to her plan. But the suicide note in which she had scribbled down her wishes was found the day after she was cremated.

Symposium on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide a success

The Third International Symposium on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide - a tremendous success | LifeSiteNews.com: The Third International Symposium on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide in Vancouver (June 3 - 4) surpassed its goals. The DVD’s of the Symposium will be available in early July for $50 for the complete set.

Fertility drugs lead to embryo problems

Fertility drugs may raise the risk of older women having babies affected by Down’s syndrome, warn doctors. Research shows that using powerful drugs to boost the number of eggs a woman produces may lead to problems in embryo development for women aged 35 and over. These could result in failure to get pregnant, or losing the baby, and more rarely the birth of children with conditions such as Down’s. Daily Mail

COURT OF APPEAL RULES ON LANDMARK END OF LIFE CASE.

Euthanasia Prevention Coalition: COURT OF APPEAL RULES ON LANDMARK END OF LIFE CASE.: The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition applauds the unanimous decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal to uphold a lower court decision which requires that doctors obtain consent from substitute decision-makers before unilaterally withdrawing life-support where such a decision is anticipated to result in the death of the patient.

Let disabled people choose death

Let disabled people choose death, says MSP | News | The Christian Institute: People born with disabilities who ‘lose the will to live’ would be eligible to end their lives under controversial new legislation proposed for the Scottish Parliament. This is the second attempt by Margo MacDonald MSP to legalise assisted suicide. Her first bill was roundly rejected by the Scottish Parliament. But the Independent MSP now intends to table a new bill which critics have branded “utterly irresponsible.”

21 dementia sufferers killed under Dutch euthanasia law

21 dementia sufferers killed under Dutch euthanasia law | News | The Christian Institute: Dementia sufferers in Holland are being killed by doctors under the country’s controversial euthanasia laws, but the practice remains controversial amongst medics. Last year 21 patients with early stage dementia, including Alzheimer’s, were killed by lethal injection.

Italian man goes to prison for euthanizing his mother

Italian man goes to prison for euthanizing his 91-year-old mother | LifeSiteNews.com: A 68-year-old man who suffocated his 91-year-old mother to death has been sentenced to 14 years in prison by a local judge. Angelo Massobra says he killed his mother, Natalia Rognone, because he was “tired of seeing her lying in bed, mentally ill and suffering terribly.” He claimed she had asked to be killed.

Swiss government rules out tighter restrictions on organised assisted suicide

Swiss government rules out tighter restrictions on organised assisted suicide. - swissinfo: The government will not introduce specific regulations on organised assisted suicide, but will extend measures to boost palliative care and suicide prevention.

Doctors vote for the ban on euthanasia

Medical Conference: Doctors vote for the ban on euthanasia | tagesschau.de: The Medical Assembly in Kiel has voted for a ban on euthanasia. The physician must therefore not give any support to terminally ill patients commit suicide also.

Hearing from God, part 2

To claim to have received direct revelation of some sort from God is a weighty matter. It’s a claim Old Testament prophets staked their lives on, literally (“But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not

commanded him to speak…that prophet shall die.” Deut. 18:20).Read more from Greg Koukl

Thousands of UK Abortions on Disabled, Down Syndrome Babies

Shock: Thousands of UK Abortions on Disabled, Down Syndrome Babies | LifeNews.com: The numbers reveal thousands of babies victimized by abortion merely because they were mentally or physically disabled — including 500 abortions done on unborn children who have Down syndrome. In total, 2,290 abortions were done on disabled babies with 147 done after 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Prenatal screening a crime against humanity

Down syndrome advocates to international court: prenatal screening a crime against humanity | LifeSiteNews.com: A group of advocates for individuals with Down syndrome has complained to an international human rights court that New Zealand’s prenatal screening program effectively targets disabled children for systematic eradication through abortion.

‘Brain dead’ Quebec woman wakes up after family refuses organ donation

‘Brain dead’ Quebec woman wakes up after family refuses organ donation | LifeSiteNews.com: 76 year old Madeleine Gauron was hospitalized for an inflammation of the gums, which required a brief operation. During her recovery, hospital staff gave the elderly woman solid food, which she had been unable to consume in her family home for some time, and left her unattended. Choking on the food, she fell into a coma, after unsuccessful resuscitation.

Medical staff contacted her family, explaining to them that their mother was “brain dead,” with no hope of recovery. Citing Gauron’s eyes as particularly viable, the doctors asked if the family would agree to organ donation. While supporting the possibility of donation, her shocked family first demanded further medical tests to prove Gauron was really dead.

The next day, the family was astonished to learn that Gauron had awakened. Shortly afterwards, she sat up in bed and ate yogurt. “If we had decided to donate her organs, they would have killed her,” said her son.

The Birth of Optogenetics

The Birth of Optogenetics | The Scientist: An account of the path to realizing tools for controlling brain circuits with light.