Friday, April 27, 2012

Critical organ donation warnings and guidance in new pamphlet: “Do not do an Apnea test!”

Critical organ donation warnings and guidance in new pamphlet: “Do not do an Apnea test!” | LifeSiteNews.com: Dr. Paul Byrne has been on a personal mission for many years to warn the public about the alarming facts and dangers of the $20 billion dollar-a-year organ transplant industry. Dr. Byrne has addressed serious concerns regarding so-called “brain death,” the apnea test, and organ transplantation. He also introduced a new 29-page booklet containing crucial information to assist the public in making informed decisions about organ donation.

Editor: He makes this interesting comment about ventilators --
“The ventilator can be effective only in someone living” emphasizes Byrne. “The ventilator pushes air into the lungs; the air goes out (exhaled) only when and because the living body pushes it out. This does not occur in a cadaver/corpse/dead body.”
Related: Rebuttal and response

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Thursday, April 26, 2012

'Thumbs-up' from man on life-support revives family's hope

'Thumbs-up' from man on life-support revives family's hope - Toronto - CBC News: The lawyer of a family fighting to keep a man on life-support says a new diagnosis vindicates what they've been saying all along, that Hassan Rasouli is conscious and aware. The Rasouli family believes that a “thumbs-up” gesture Hassan made from his Toronto hospital bed proves he is conscious.

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The Three Stooges Euthanasia Subplot

The Three Stooges Euthanasia Subplot » Secondhand Smoke | A First Things Blog: "I don’t recall the original Stooges ever trying to kill anyone. Yet, our contemporary updated boys–pure in heart and innocent to the ways of the world–don’t even blink an eye that it might be wrong to kill somebody because they are sick and want to die. . . .

"At the end of the movie two stuntmen appear to tell kids that the hammers with which the characters hit each other are rubber and warn them not to poke their friends in the eyes. Yet, these same children have been sent a not subtle message that euthanasia is just fine and dandy.  I don’t even think it was intentional. It is just the culture-of-death smog permeating everything. Nyuk.Nyuk.Nyuk."

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27 ways to comfort a sick friend

27 ways to comfort a sick friend: We all want to be there when a friend or loved one needs us most. Why not step outside the box and use these creative ways to offer help, a boost or just some much-needed distractions?

Hey! These suggestions sound like the essence of LIFT!

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How to pass the time in the hospital

How to pass the time in the hospital: Staying busy can be strong medicine for someone facing a long or extended hospital stay. Here are some ideas to keep boredom at bay. Use them for yourself or suggest them to someone in need. These tips also work well for someone recovering at home.

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Deborah Dokken – An advocate for parents of gravely ill children

Deborah Dokken – An advocate for parents of gravely ill children: When Deborah Dokken gave birth to her daughter Abigail, she knew her life was changed forever. Like most first-time parents, Deborah and her husband, Tom, were thrown into the daunting role of constant caregiver, nurturer and protector. Abigail was born prematurely, however, and their parenting took place in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), where they watched their daughter struggle to survive.

Deborah soon realized that she not only wanted to make sure Abigail received the best possible care in the NICU, she also wanted be a participant, working in concert with her daughter's physicians, nurses and specialists. Although many of the hospital's caregivers acknowledged the importance of family involvement, however, there were some who made it difficult.

Related: Get to Know: The Initiative for Pediatric Palliative Care

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Get to Know: The Initiative for Pediatric Palliative Care

Initiative for Pediatric Palliative Care (IPPC): Curriculum: IPPC retreats offer a unique opportunity for nurses, physicians, social workers, chaplin's, child life specialists and allied health professionals to learn side-by-side with parents of children with life threatening conditions.

Editor: I don't know what their stance is on abortion or euthanasia.

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Desperate for any advice or suggestions for helping my terminally ill daughter

Desperate for any advice or suggestions for helping my terminally ill daughter - Foundations and Causes – CarePages Discussion Forums: A mom explains their family's need for a care: "I don’t want to burden you with a long, drawn out story but I want to explain in depth so that you can truly understand the crises we’re going through."

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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Dad rescues ‘brain dead’ son from doctors wishing to harvest his organs

Dad rescues ‘brain dead’ son from doctors wishing to harvest his organs – boy recovers completely | LifeSiteNews.com: A young British man owes his life to an insistent father who would not allow his organs to be removed, despite assurances from four doctors that his son could not recover from the wounds suffered in a recent car accident.

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Partially paralyzed person can control robot using brain signals

Partially paralyzed person can control robot using brain signals, Swiss scientists show - The Washington Post: Swiss scientists have demonstrated how a partially paralyzed person can control a robot by thought alone, a step they hope will one day allow immobile people to interact with their surroundings through so-called avatars. Similar experiments have taken place in the United States and Germany, but they involved either able-bodied patients or invasive brain implants.

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Facing up to the Ethical Dilemmas in the Healthcare Debate


Time: Who decides how much to do? Does everyone deserve the same care? Is medical progress always a good thing? Is there ever a case for discouraging the development of a technology that is socially disruptive?

Preventing Nighttime Slips and Falls

Preventing Nighttime Slips and Falls - Right at Home Senior Home Care: One-third of adults over age 65 fall each year, and falls are the leading cause of injury death among seniors. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20 to 30 percent of people who fall suffer moderate to severe injuries such as fractures, head traumas and lacerations. The following steps can reduce the risk of nighttime tumbles and injuries.

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New Insights About Osteoporosis and Body Weight

New Insights About Osteoporosis and Body Weight: May is National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month.

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Exercise Is the No. 1 Prescription for Arthritis

Exercise Is the No. 1 Prescription for Arthritis: Not so long ago, seniors who were diagnosed with arthritis were told to take it easy and "rest their joints." But we now know that advice was based on an incomplete understanding of the importance of physical activity in building up the muscles and surrounding tissue that support the joints.

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Can Good Nutrition Protect the Brain?

Can Good Nutrition Protect the Brain?: We have long known that eating a healthy diet promotes overall good health, which in turn supports brain health. With the aging of the baby boomers predicted to result in an "Alzheimer’s epidemic," many researchers are focusing on the effects of specific nutrients that may protect against memory loss.

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Home Care Supports Senior Oral Health

Home Care Supports Senior Oral Health: When we consider the many medical advances contributing to the record longevity of Americans today, it's easy to overlook the importance of modern dental care. And yet, medical historians tell us dentistry ranks close to the development of vaccines and antibiotics in contributing to increased life expectancy. More and more adults are living into their later years with their natural teeth. Denture design and technology also have improved.

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Dementia Caregivers Face Communication Challenges

Dementia Caregivers Face Communication Challenges: A new survey reveals what family caregivers fear most—first, their loved one's physical decline; and second, that Alzheimer's will take away their loved one's ability to communicate. The survey found that communication decline is a major source of stress, and also interferes with caregivers’ ability to fulfill their responsibilities as a caregiver.

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House calls making a comeback?

Federal Program - Independence at Home Demonstration - Right at Home Senior Home Care: A new federal program called the Independence at Home Demonstration, created by the Affordable Care Act, will test the effectiveness of providing healthcare to thousands of chronically ill Medicare patients in their own homes, allowing them to remain there instead of potentially entering long-term care facilities. The three-year pilot program, launched January 1, 2012, was developed with the intent to keep medical costs down by helping high-risk patients with multiple illnesses avoid being hospitalized.

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Tuesday, April 24, 2012

How Psychedelic Drugs Can Help Patients Face Death

How Psychedelic Drugs Can Help Patients Face Death - NYTimes.com: Charles Grob, a psychiatrist and researcher at Harbor-U.C.L.A. Medical Center was administering psilocybin — an active component of magic mushrooms — to end-stage cancer patients to see if it could reduce their fear of death. When the research was completed in 2008 — (and published in the Archives of General Psychiatry last year) — the results showed that administering psilocybin to terminally ill subjects could be done safely while reducing the subjects’ anxiety and depression about their impending deaths.

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April is National Volunteer Month: Celebrate!

Michael Haberman: National Volunteer Month: Celebrating the "New" Volunteerism: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 64 million people volunteered at least once between September 2010 and September 2011. The Corporation for National and Community Service says it's collectively dedicated 8.1 billion hours to a wide variety of organizations. That donated time and expertise is valued at $173 billion. Talk about economic impact!

What are you doing to celebrate your LIFT volunteers?

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Monday, April 23, 2012

Why Does Cancer Pain Go Untreated?

Why Does Cancer Pain Go Untreated? - ABC News: Pain is one of the most-feared and worst symptoms of cancer. As disease progresses, pain can become completely debilitating for cancer patients. As many as one-third of cancer patients may be receiving inadequate treatment to control their pain, even though many medicines are available to help, new research suggests.

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Nanomaterials offer hope for cerebral palsy

Nanomaterials offer hope for cerebral palsy : Nature News & Comment: By tacking drugs onto molecules targeting rogue brain cells, researchers have alleviated symptoms in newborn rabbits that are similar to those of cerebral palsy in children. Cerebral palsy refers to a group of incurable disorders characterized by impairments in movement, posture and sensory abilities.

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Swiss Prepare to Ration Health Care

Swiss Prepare to Ration Health Care | NRL News Today: The Swiss are preparing the ground to ration health are. They don’t have enough doctors and many people can’t afford their share of the cost of treatments. Then, a judge limited the money that could be spent on a patient’s care!

Editor: Dangerous, in a land with legal assisted suicide!

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Friday, April 20, 2012

Dealing with a Disability in Marriage

Ken and Joni on Focus on the Family | Blog | Joni and Friends: If you know of a couple struggling with challenges in their marriage, encourage them to listen in – Ken Tada (Joni's husband) shares some heartwarming insights, especially for men (insights that will inspire couples, no matter what trials they're facing).

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Thursday, April 19, 2012

Enjoy every moment

Stephanie Christian Garcia posted this card on Facebook, and wrote, "When Grandmom came home from the hospital and the unknowns of caring for her seemed daunting, my mother printed and framed this quote. It hung at the entrance to Grandmom's rooms as a touching reminder each time we passed through the door. I am so thankful for the moments we were given."

Five Hawaii doctors say they’ll offer assisted suicide help to terminally ill patients

Five Hawaii doctors say they’ll offer assisted suicide help to terminally ill patients - NY Daily News: The only problem — it isn’t legal.

Dr. Robert “Nate” Nathanson, 78, is willing to risk prison and the loss of his medical license in order to write lethal prescriptions for dying patients. Nathanson has co-founded the Physician Advisory Council for Aid in Dying with four other doctors who want to make a push to make it legal for Hawaiians to die with dignity.

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Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Pushing People to Say “No”

National Advance Medical Planning Day: Pushing People to Say “No” » Secondhand Smoke | A First Things Blog: Today is National Sign an Advance Directive Day, or something like that. And the stories are out trying to stimulate us to action. As I have noticed when proposals to legalize assisted suicide are reported, they are all the same. It’s cookie cutter journalism: Start with a horror story.  Then switch to how that horror story could be avoided, if only–with assisted suicide by assisted suicide, with advance directives, signing an advance directive refusing care.

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Death of Assisted Suicide Legislation Leaves Proponents Reeling

Death of Assisted Suicide Legislation Leaves Proponents Reeling | NRL News Today: Proponents of assisted suicide in Vermont suffered a major setback, losing the vote and falling flat when trying to defend their sneaky back-handed maneuver. At times supporters were left stammering and completely unable to defend the legislation, even asking for a recess to regain composure.

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Preventing Home Accidents

Preventing Home Accidents - Bob Vila: Preventing Home Accidents is filled with 263 pages of useful information, advice, tips and checklists devoted to home safety basics (inside and out), electrical and chemical hazards, fire prevention, indoor air quality, tool safety, and emergency first-aid. Each chapter concludes with a Recommended Practices checklist for topics covered, along with a helpful resources section for more information. A more complete Master Inspection Schedule in the back of the book will help you determine ways to make safety a priority in your home.

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Gene hunt is on for mental disability

Gene hunt is on for mental disability : Nature News & Comment: Medical geneticists are giving genome sequencing its first big test in the clinic by applying it to some of their most baffling cases. By the end of this year, hundreds of children with unexplained forms of intellectual disability and developmental delay will have had their genomes decoded as part of the first large-scale, national clinical sequencing projects.

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Too Much Medicine, and Too Few Checks

Personal Health: Too Much Medicine, and Too Few Checks - NYTimes.com: Overmedication of the elderly is an all too common problem, a public health crisis that compromises the well-being of growing numbers of older adults. Many take fistfuls of prescription and over-the-counter medications on a regular basis, risking serious and sometimes fatal side effects and drug interactions.

An interdisciplinary panel of 11 experts in geriatric care and pharmacology has updated the so-called Beers Criteria, guidelines long used to minimize such drug-related disasters in the elderly. After reviewing more than 2,000 high-quality research studies of drugs prescribed for older adults, the team highlighted 53 potentially inappropriate medications or classes of medication and placed them in one of three categories: drugs to avoid in general in the elderly; drugs to avoid in older people with certain diseases and syndromes; and drugs to use with caution in the elderly if there are no acceptable alternatives.

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End-of-life care: Pain control carries risk of being called a killer

End-of-life care: Pain control carries risk of being called a killer - amednews.com: The growing use of hospice and palliative care is creating more opportunities for misunderstandings, experts said. New developments in end-of-life care — aggressive pain and symptom management (even to the point of unconsciousness), along with a greater willingness to withdraw advanced, life-sustaining treatments such as mechanical ventilation, dialysis, and artificial hydration and nutrition — still strike many people as wrong.

The distinction between aggressive pain control or the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments and euthanasia is still lost on many patients and families. Doctors who care care for dying patients should take into account the public’s lagging understanding of end-of-life treatments, take time to explain their intricacies and make use of ethics consultation services.

Related:

“Prevalence of Formal Accusations of Murder and Euthanasia against Physicians,”Journal of Palliative Medicine, March (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22401355/)

“Opinion 2.201 — Sedation to Unconsciousness in End-of-Life Care,” American Medical Association Code of Medical Ethics, adopted June 2008 (www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/medical-ethics/code-medical-ethics/opinion2201.page)

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Tuesday, April 17, 2012

New Kind of Emergency Room for Elderly

New Kind of Emergency Room for Elderly - ABC News: Monitors beeping, loud voices, and people scurrying about are just a few of the things people associate with a busy emergency department. Many people may consider these factors a nuisance, but for older patients, these are things that may be downright frightening and could even affect their health. A new trend in emergency department design is seeking to optimize the environment in which older patients are treated.

Referred to as "geriatric" or "senior" emergency departments, these facilities have been popping up across the country since the first one was opened at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Md. in 2008. They are usually small areas, away from the hustle and bustle of the main emergency department. Private rooms, simple layouts, natural lighting, more volunteers, and soothing music are among the many features Holy Cross and other hospitals across the country are adding, all aimed at creating a calm and comforting environment.

Editor: Sounds nice. Why couldn't it be like that for all of us?

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Frustrated ALS Patients Concoct Their Own Drug

Frustrated ALS Patients Concoct Their Own Drug - WSJ.com: Some patients with fatal Lou Gehrig's disease, frustrated by the slow pace of clinical drug trials or unable to qualify, are trying to brew their own version of an experimental compound at home and testing it on themselves. This effort has important implications for both people's health and scientific research.

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Beware 'suicide contagion'

NRLC: The latest figures for Oregon show that cases of assisted suicide have gone from 16 in 1998 to 71 in 2011, an increase of 450% (see chart). Switzerland has seen a 700% increase in assisted suicides over the same period. Swiss authorities have recorded a steady rise of assisted suicides in recent years, from 43 in 1998 to 297 in 2009. Earlier figures are not available, even though assisted suicide has been legal in Switzerland since 1942.

The experience of both countries demonstrates that when assisted suicide is legalised there will inevitably be incremental extension. A major factor fuelling this increase is suicide contagion – the so-called Werther effect. This is particularly dangerous when assisted suicides are backed by celebrities as they are here and given high media profile as they are frequently by the BBC.

“We're all the same. We all need God”

“We all need God” – Ryan Pittman « The Works of God: Ryan Pittman, a young man with Down syndrome, gives his testimony of faith in Jesus. The entire video is pretty special as well. He has served as a missionary to Peru! May we all work harder to find and use the gifts that God himself has given to each of us, for his glory and for our joy.



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Massachusetts groups rally against assisted suicide proposal

Massachusetts groups rally against assisted suicide proposal :: Catholic News Agency (CNA): Efforts are underway to fight a Massachusetts ballot initiative that would allow doctors to assist patients in ending their lives. “There’s nothing dignified about suicide,” said the Massachusetts Alliance Against Doctor-Prescribed Suicide, “and there’s nothing compassionate about encouraging it or presenting it as a rational alternative.”

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Last Will & Embezzlement


Imagine the Elder Exploitation in an Assisted Suicide World: The abuse wouldn’t just be about property.

Monday, April 16, 2012

Dr. Phil Show: “Mercy Killing" for People with Disabilities

Dr. Phil Show: “Mercy Kill" People with Disabilities | LifeNews.com: This week on the popular Dr. Phil Show, a mother named Annette Corriveau was featured. She’s special because she wants the right to be able to kill her children. She is the mother of two severely disabled adult children, and she feels that the moral thing to do would be to kill them by lethal injection, to end their “suffering.”

Also on the show? Attorney Geoffrey Fleiger, who defended Dr. Jack Kevorkian. The most disturbing part of all? Dr. Phil offered a weak rebuttal to her argument, but he still went on calling this an act of mercy to her children. He then polled the audience to see how many of them agreed with this mother. Almost every single member of the audience did.

Only one woman spoke out for those children. She was given all of a minute, tops, to make her case for why murdering people with severe disabilities is abhorrent and wrong. And in that minute, she was able to pretty much hit the nail on the head: that you can’t kill your children just because it’s too much work for you to keep them alive.

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Friday, April 13, 2012

Autism: Myths That Hide the Truth

Autism: Myths That Hide the Truth - YouTube: Autism is on the rise. But its causes remain unknown, and a cure is yet to be found. Common misunderstandings include the notions that children with autism are not able to learn, or that their behavior is simply the result of poor discipline. In this excerpt, see myths dispelled and the role of the church in the lives of families affected by autism.

Watch the full video at Joni & Friends.

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Vermont senate removes assisted suicide language from bill

Burlington Free Press: For nearly two hours Thursday afternoon, the Vermont Senate focused on legislation that would allow people with fewer than six months to live to opt for a lethal dose of medication. From the start, it was clear the legislation wouldn’t pass — and it didn’t, failing on a procedural vote. The point, though, was just to have the debate, supporters said. The Senate Health and Welfare Committee had earlier this week attached the end-of-life legislation to a bill that would prohibit those under age 18 from using tanning salons.

Locked-in syndrome sufferer speaks of his zest for life

Christian Institute: Bram Harrison is unable to move, except for his eyes. Several years ago a doctor asked him what they should do if, for whatever reason, his heart stopped. His response was that he wanted to live, just as he wants to live now.

At the age of 20 Mr Harrison was involved in a cycling accident. He was not wearing a helmet and fractured his skull, damaging his brain. He was left paralysed and unable to speak and the only part of his body he can deliberately move are his eyes and his eye-lids. Yet his mind remains active.

Dementia cases worldwide will triple to over 115 million by 2050

WHO: Dementia cases worldwide will triple to over 115 million by 2050 - The Washington Post: Some 35.6 million people were living with dementia in 2010, but that figure is set to double to 65.7 million by 2030, the U.N. health agency said Wednesday. In 2050, it expects dementia cases to triple to 115.4 million.

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Podcast: Choosing Life - Part One

BBC - Podcasts - Heart and Soul: faith perspectives: In the first episode of two programs about the assisted dying debate, Mark Dowd hears from Alison Davis. For ten years Alison wanted to end her life but then found a reason to live in the face of disability and constant pain.

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Thursday, April 12, 2012

Bioethicist argues PVS diagnosed patients should not be kept alive

Bioethicist argues PVS diagnosed patients should not be kept alive | LifeSiteNews.com: If an American bioethicist gets her way, all patients evaluated as being in a “permanent vegetative state” (PVS) would by default have artificial nutrition and hydration withdrawn unless they have made a prior wish to be kept alive.

In the March 2012 issue of Bioethics, Dr. Catherine Constable argues that “in the absence of clear evidence that the patient would opt for this existence over death, keeping him alive by any means of assistance is ethically more problematic than allowing him to die.” Constable’s article however, does not appear to adequately confront recent research indicating that many patients have been misdiagnosed as PVS and have in fact had functioning, fully conscious brains.

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Vermont introduces assisted suicide bill through the back-door

Vermont introduces assisted suicide bill through the back-door | NRL News Today: Assisted suicide legislation, S103, had a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee in February, but proponents failed to persuade the members of the Judiciary Committee to pass it out of committee. But a well-funded campaign to legalize assisted suicide in has now attached language to legalize assisted suicide to a bill regulating the use of tanning beds by minors in the Health and Welfare Committee.

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Why Do Americans Balk at Euthanasia Laws?

Why Do Americans Balk at Euthanasia Laws? - Room for Debate - NYTimes.com: Why is euthanasia more controversial in the United States than, for instance, in the Netherlands? What would need to change before the U.S. would legalize physician-assisted suicide?

NRLC commentary

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Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Postmodernism and Disability?

Joni & Friends: Everyone seems to be talking about the dangers of postmodern thought and its influence on our world, but how is it impacting special-needs families? What difference does it make to a person with a disability? Your elderly parent with Alzheimer's? Or your granddaughter born with multiple disabilities? Listen in on Joni Eareckson Tada's perspective on this special interview recently aired on Chuck Colson's Breakpoint.

When we think of the pro life movement, abortion is usually the first topic that comes to mind. But people with disabilities are also targets of an increasingly utilitarian society that's turned its back on biblical truth. During this half-hour interview, BreakPoint welcomes a tireless and brilliant defender of disability dignity, Joni Eareckson Tada, the recipient of this year's William Wilberforce Award.

What Good Grief Looks Like When a Daughter Dies

What Good Grief Looks Like When a Daughter Dies | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction: The beginning of "good grief" starts with the premise of a good God. Otherwise, all bets are off. If God is almighty and malevolent, then there is no solace to be found in him. If God is the author of sin, evil, suffering, the Fall, and death, then the Bible makes no sense when it tells us that God tempts no one, that God's will is that none should perish but have everlasting life, and that death is the very enemy of God and humankind that Jesus, who is life, came to abolish and destroy.

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Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Second Thoughts grow on Assisted Suicide

Second Thoughts grow on Assisted Suicide | NRL News Today: People already have the right to refuse unwanted life-extending treatments, and they have the option of using advance directives to determine their care when they can no longer express their wishes. But death that results from withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment has always been separated by a bright line from active measures to cause death. Assisted-suicide proponents seek to blur this line, while opponents want to hold the line against increased medical authority to end life.

The Massachusetts Medical Society and the Massachusetts Hospice and Palliative Care Federation testified against the ballot initiative. The Medical Society has stated that “allowing physicians to participate in assisted suicide would cause more harm than good.”

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Monday, April 9, 2012

Dutch, Belgians mark decade of 'mercy killings'

AFP: Dutch, Belgians mark decade of 'mercy killings': Ten years after they became the first countries to legalise euthanasia, the Netherlands and Belgium now provide assisted suicide to 4,000 people a year. Most have been cancer sufferers but there are now also some with Alzheimer's disease, following a new interpretation of the law.

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Medically Discriminate Against the Elderly!

Medically Discriminate Against the Elderly! | NRL News Today: We keep being told that Obamacare will not lead to health care rationing.  But bubbling in the Mainstream Media editorial pages and the medical journals, rationing is all the rage.

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Thursday, April 5, 2012

The Role of the Media in Shaping the UK Debate on ‘Assisted Dying’

The Role of the Media in Shaping the UK Debate on ‘Assisted Dying’: This  paper reviews the legislative background, the major stakeholders and the alignment of the various media in the  UK  debate on ‘assisted dying.’

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Respect the Future

NY Times: On March 29, Charles Darwin Snelling killed his wife [who had Alzheimer's] and then himself. The comments responding to [the] news article on this event make for fascinating reading. The majority support or sympathize with Snelling’s double-killing.

Many of the correspondents have cared for a loved one with Alzheimer’s. “It is like a slow horror show,” a woman from Texas wrote. These writers felt nothing but sympathy for the pain and despair Snelling must have endured. Several argued that people in these circumstances should be able to end their spouse’s life legally, so they don’t then feel compelled to end their own. Others were impressed by the Romeo-and-Juliet-style ending that Snelling created. “This was as fine an ending as the Snellings’ love story deserved,” a man from Virginia wrote. “Their bodies gave out — their hearts never did.”

. . . Others, more likely women than men, were upset by Snelling’s decision. A woman from Canada who has spent 25 years nursing Alzheimer’s patients, argued that none of us have the right to decide that another person’s life is worthless. Some argued that the nurturing process at the end of life, like the nurturing process at the beginning, requires patience and that those who are desperate should seek help, not a firearm.

Related Washington Post article

Editor: Interestingly, this article shows that Swiss women are more likely than men to request assisted suicide. 

Swiss assisted suicides rise sevenfold in 11 years

Swiss assisted suicides rise sevenfold in 11 years | News | The Christian Institute: The number of assisted suicides for Swiss residents has risen by 700 per cent in the space of 11 years, according to new figures. In what is believed to be a first, Switzerland’s Federal Statistics Office has published official statistics showing how many people ended their lives by assisted dying between 1998 and 2009. Almost 300 Swiss residents died in this manner in 2009, compared to just 43 in 1998.

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Push for the Right to Die Grows in the Netherlands

NY Times: Under the Netherlands’ 2002 Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide Act, doctors may grant patients’ requests to die without fear of prosecution as long as they observe certain guidelines. The request must be made voluntarily by an informed patient who is undergoing suffering that is both lasting and unbearable. Doctors must also obtain the written affirmation of a second, independent physician that the case meets the requirements and report all such deaths to the authorities for review. . . . Mobile teams were needed because many general practitioners, either for moral reasons or perhaps because of uncertainty about the law, refused to help suffering patients to die after it had become too late to find another doctor.

Even in the Netherlands, some think Right to Die-NL may now be going too far. In addition to the mobile teams, the organization is among those pushing to give all people 70 years old and over the right to assisted death, even when they are not suffering from terminal illness. . . .

The Dutch patients’ organization N.P.V., a Christian group with 66,000 members, strongly criticizes the current application of the law, saying the practice of euthanasia has been extended to encompass patients with dementia and other conditions who may not by definition be competent to request help in dying.

Elise van Hoek-Burgerhart, a spokeswoman for the N.P.V., said in an e-mail that the idea of mobile euthanasia teams was “absurd,” and that there was no way the mobile-team doctors could get to know a patient in just a few days. Moreover, she added, research shows that 10 percent of requests for euthanasia from the elderly would disappear if palliative care were better. She also noted that the law requires review committees to sign off on every reported case of euthanasia, but that 469 cases from 2010 had still not been reviewed, meaning it was not clear how well doctors were adhering to the official guidelines.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

The Groningen Protocol — Euthanasia in Severely Ill Newborns

The Groningen Protocol — Euthanasia in Severely Ill Newborns — NEJM: "Dilemmas regarding end-of-life decisions for newborns with a very poor quality of life and presumably unbearable suffering and no hope of improvement are shared by physicians throughout the world. In the Netherlands, obligatory reporting with the aid of a protocol and subsequent assessment of euthanasia in newborns help us to clarify the decision-making process. This approach suits our legal and social culture, but it is unclear to what extent it would be transferable to other countries."

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Drinking the Pro-Death Kool-Aid

Drinking the Pro-Death Kool-Aid - Bobby Schindler - Townhall Conservative Columnists: Some bioethicists have defined human beings as human “non-persons,” based on their ability to interact in “meaningful” ways – a benchmark that is subjective in every way. If someone doesn’t meet this criterion, theirs is a life no longer worth living. Indeed, personhood theory is being taught to our future physicians and health care professionals in some of our most prominent universities.

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Physician-Assisted Suicides in Oregon Increasing in Number with Less Information

PCCEF - Articles: The Public Health Department of the Oregon Health Authority released their report for physician-assisted suicides for the 2011 year. Their report is available online. Physicians for Compassionate Care Education Foundation is concerned with multiple areas of the report. Among their concerns are:
  • There were more prescriptions and deaths than in any previous year, indicative of an increase in hopelessness and despair among a vulnerable population with serious illness.
  • As in previous years, there was virtually no formal evaluation for underlying depression, anxiety or other serious mental health issue. Only one of the 71 patients was referred for psychiatric evaluation. Are we failing to recognize and address the despair that is frequently found in patients near the end of life? What are we doing to protect these vulnerable Oregonians?
  • As in previous years, pain has not been a major concern; only one third of patients had inadequate pain control or concern about it. The most commonly expressed concerns of those dying from physician-assisted suicide were unchanged from previous reports: less able to engage in activities making life enjoyable, losing autonomy, and loss of dignity.
  • In only 6 cases was the prescribing physician present at the time of ingestion, thus very little is known or reported regarding events at the time of ingestion of the medications. 
  • With each passing year, Oregonians know less and less about what is really happening with assisted suicides in the state. The proper practice of all aspects of medicine requires adequate oversight and peer review. 

Euthanasia on the rise in Netherlands and Belgium

News-Insurances: Ten years on from becaming the first countries to legalise euthanasia, the Netherlands and Belgium now provide assisted suicide to 4,000 people a year. While most are cancer sufferers, a new interpretation of the law is extending the treatment to those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease as well.

‘Mercy killing’ by lethal injection is allowed in the Netherlands for patients who are fully mentally alert but whose suffering has become “unbearable and unending” due to incurable disease. About a third of all the requests deemed to be “serious” are honoured by doctors, the ministry said. “The concept of ‘unbearable suffering’ has become much clearer” over the years, said Eric van Wijlick, policy maker at the Royal Dutch Society of Doctors.

Six roving medical teams — each with a doctor and a nurse — were recently set up to assist people to die at home when their own local doctors refused to give them lethal injections. Their intervention has already been requested 100 times since the teams were set up in March, De Jong said. But this has raised questions in the Dutch medical association.

Euthanasia has become the central point of conversation between a doctor and a patient who is suffering when it should be seen as a “last resort,” Wijlick said.

Belgium followed the Dutch example later in 2002 with a law legalising euthanasia after a long debate between Christian and secular parties. There were 1,133 mercy killings in Belgium in 2011, representing 1.0 percent of deaths in the country, its Commission for the Evaluation and Control of Euthanasia reported.

Caregiver Lunch and Learn

Scheduled for Thursday April 5. We have a speaker scheduled at noon. Claire Torp from the American Red Cross will be speaking about fall prevention and what you can do at home to keep yourself and your loved one safe.

On Thursday April 19 from 6:30 to 7:30 we will have Ms. Carla Sorenson from Holland Home speaking on stress reduction for caregivers. This meeting is free and open to the public.

On Tuesday April 24 at 7:00, Kendra Schumaker MSW, CSW will be speaking on The Blessings of Caregiving: One Woman's Story at the Thornapple Covenant Church which is located at 6595 Cascade Rd. SE (near the corner of Cascade and Burton). This support group is free, open to the public, and will offer a time for sharing of concerns.

SarahCare Adult Day Center
Metro Health Village
2024 Health Drive, Suite B
Wyoming, MI 49519
Phone: 616.530.6700
www.sarahcare.com

Monday, April 2, 2012

Spain’s main conservative and socialist parties join in rejecting euthanasia

Spain’s main conservative and socialist parties join in rejecting euthanasia bill | LifeSiteNews.com: The conservative People’s Party (PP), and the Spanish Socialist Worker’s Party (PSOE), have joined their votes to thwart the introduction of legislation that would permit euthanasia and assisted suicide.

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Euthanasia: a right to die

Euthanaisa: a right to die: Voice of Russia: President of Russia’s Patients Rights Protection League Alexander Saversky thinks that a commission of physicians and relatives must be set up in each individual case for an ultimate decision that must also be approved by an executive, for example, a governor.

"We will thereby assert that we have done everything possible for that person who experiences terrible suffering and that we cannot do more. Only then can euthanasia be considered as a last resort. If a patient can press the button himself, he should be given it. If not, several people should press the button simultaneously so that neither of them could blame each other. But there must be no doctors among those people."

Dmitry Aivazian, a lawyer with the Patients Rights Protection League echoes that there can be no uniform euthanasia rules and that each such case is unique and must be approached individually.

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National Assembly report (Canada) reads like a pro-euthanasia manifesto

National Assembly report reads like a pro-euthanasia manifesto | NRL News Today: The commission adopts the strategy used by advocates of legalizing euthanasia of confusing it with interventions that are not euthanasia and are ethically and legally acceptable. For instance, it tells us that in accepting, as we do in some cases, the withdrawal of life-support treatment to allow a person to die, we are already practicing euthanasia; therefore, legalizing euthanasia is just a small step forward. These are false and misleading analogies and a false and misleading line of argument.

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Attempt to relax UK law on assisted suicide fails

Attempt to relax the law on assisted suicide fails | News | The Christian Institute: An attempt to undermine the law against assisted suicide has been unanimously rejected by the House of Commons. In stark contrast the Commons gave unanimous backing to an amendment encouraging the development of specialist palliative care services.

Related: The “Right to Die”—a misanthropic green light to defeatism

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Prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome: a systematic review of termination rates (1995–2011)

Prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome: a systematic review of termination rates (1995–2011) - Natoli - 2012 - Prenatal Diagnosis - Wiley Online Library: Evidence suggests that termination rates are lower than noted in a previous review (67%–85%) that was based on less contemporary studies and had an international focus. Ten studies on Down syndrome published between 1980 and 1998 determined that 92% of pregnancies were subsequently terminated.

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I Couldn't Love You More

I Couldn't Love You More :: 9781414367392 :: Jason Ingram :: Matt Hammitt :: Tyndale House Publishers: When Matt and his wife, Sarah, were halfway through her pregnancy, they discovered their son would be born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), a rare congenital defect. A portion of the proceeds from the book goes to the foundation the Hammitts have started to help parents with children like their son Bowen who have this heart condition.

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