Is brain death - death? New Canadian brain-death guidelines

ALEX SCHADENBERG: Is brain death - death? New Canadian brain-death guidelines.: There have been many concerns about whether organ donors are dead before their organs are removed, but the current Canadian guidelines appear to make it more likely that death occurs from the removal of organs rather than waiting for death to occur and then removing organs from a dead donor. National Post article; McGill Journal of Law and Health article

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Suicide Pushers Impact UK Statistics

Suicide Pushers Impact UK Statistics » Secondhand Smoke | A First Things Blog: "They must be so proud–the ghouls who give people moral permission to kill themselves and then teach them how to do it with helium. Now, enough people are doing themselves in with this method that the increase is reflected in UK death statistics."

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Debate over euthanasia in Australia

from the desk of Paul Russell: Paul and Philip Nitschke - debate in Adelaide: Pro-lifer Paul Russell recently debated Australia's Dr. Death. He said, "Euthanasia and assisted suicide legislation cannot be made safe. What we’re talking about is legislating to allow people to kill other people. Unless you’re posing a serious and present threat to my life, I can’t kill you. That’s a good thing. We all enjoy this protection in law equally, every one of us.
But, now we’re saying that it’s okay for someone else to kill you. That is the fundamental issue: we will be making an exception to the Criminal Code that changes the laws on homicide. That is serious stuff. We’d be creating a right for someone else to kill us or, to put it another way, a right to be killed."

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Mercy killings, suicide: 'Social challenges' to be faced as U.S. ages

Mercy killings, suicide: 'Social challenges' to be faced as U.S. ages - latimes.com: Murder or mercy killing? One story that dominated headlines this week raised that question in a particularly dramatic fashion: An Ohio man is accused of shooting to death his ailing wife of 45 years, possibly as part of a "death pact" promise to prevent her from suffering.

In the coming years, many other Americans will be wrestling with similar questions about how, and when, to end their own lives or the life of a loved one. "This is going to become one of the great social challenges of the next 20 years," predicted Arthur Caplan, one of the nation's foremost bioethicists.

Editor: In Our Neurotic Fear of Suffering, Wesley Smith notes that back when people "actually did die in agony, there was little agitation for euthanasia."

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No plans to establish Fiji death clinic

No plans to establish Fiji death clinic: Govt: Prominent Australian right-to-die campaigner Philip Nitschke said today he wants to set up an assisted suicide clinic in Fiji and that the government in Suva was seriously considering it. However, in a statement, government said there are no plans to establish such a facility in Fiji.

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Medical Journals Show Increasing Support for Euthanasia

Medical Journals Show Increasing Support for Euthanasia | LifeNews.com: The sacred trust of the doctor-patient relationship is being strained by a new ethical model. Physicians are being urged to place the “greater good” above the needs of their individual patients. A disregard for the sanctity of human life as well as a utilitarian philosophy that judges the value of a patient to society is becoming more mainstream in the medical profession. This is evidenced by the increasing number of articles in respected medical journals that call for approval of assisted suicide and euthanasia, euphemistically called “assisted dying.”

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Our Neurotic Fear of Suffering

Our Neurotic Fear of Suffering | First Things: Wesley J. Smith writes, "Thanks to tremendous breakthroughs in modern medicine, suffering has been pushed largely into the shadows. Surgeries no longer kill from the pain. Hospice and palliative care offer tremendous relief for even the most painful chronic and terminal diseases. The problem today isn’t primarily one of preventing agony, but rather, our sometimes inadequate delivery of efficacious and timely palliation.

"Ironically, our many medical triumphs and the consequential receding of serious suffering from everyday experience created a concomitant terror of travail that threatens the morality of society. For example, when people actually did die in agony, there was little agitation for euthanasia. Yet today, when writhing demises are entirely preventable—even if it occasionally requires sedation—many support voluntary killing as the best solution to incurable disease and disability.

"That paradox used to make me wonder: Why euthanasia now, when there is less 'need' for such drastic action than ever before in human history? "

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Beyond Suffering Online Courses

Joni and Friends: Christian Institute on Disability Have you ever suffered physically, emotionally or spiritually and wondered why? Do you have family members or friends with disabilities and struggle to know what to say or how to act around them? 

People with disabilities are considered one of the world's largest under-represented groups and the church is largely unprepared for the burgeoning disabled population. One of the primary goals of the Beyond Suffering Course is to address this issue by preparing leaders in ministry, education, medicine and science to become involved in this life-changing ministry. 

Beyond Suffering is now being offered online in three formats through the Christian Institute on Disability: 

1. A 16 Week Certificate Course (starting September 4, 2012), 

2. An Independent Study Program, and 

3. A 5 Day Training Seminar for students who have completed the Certificate Course and seek to become Certified Leaders of Beyond Suffering. 

Register today and become a beacon of hope for the disability community!

Mom fights Texas hospital’s removal of food and water from 12-year-old son

Zach McDaniel suffered a severe head injury two weeks ago when he was caught in the crossfire of an alleged drug dispute in Abilene, Texas. He was placed on life support under heavy sedation at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth. McDaniel has been heavily sedated and reportedly has yet to regain consciousness, but was able to breathe on his own when the ventilator was removed.

Texas Right to Life Legislative Director John Seago told LifeSiteNews.com that Cook doctors had begun pressuring McDaniel’s family to consider allowing the boy’s organs to be removed only hours after his brain surgery commenced. But it was when Zach’s family was told in a possible miscommunication that part of his brain was missing - a fact later contradicted by brain imagery - that they became suspicious, Seago said, and “started slowing down the organ donation conversation.”

Is Your Life a Puzzle?

Is Your Life a Puzzle? | Blog | Joni and Friends: "I was a 19-year-old quadriplegic, and I was just beginning to dig into God's Word to try to figure out the puzzle of my suffering. What did my search of Scripture show me? Wisdom is not the ability to figure out the puzzle pieces of your life and how they fit. Rather, wisdom is trusting God even when things don't fit; even when lots of the pieces remain missing."

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Euthanasia Already Happening In NZ Hospitals, according to Prime Minister

Euthanasia Already Happening In Hospitals, Says... | Stuff.co.nz: Prime Minister John Key says euthanasia already happens in our hospitals - and if he was terminally ill, he would consider it. Doctors disagreed with him, saying his view of the situation was too simplistic.

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Caregiver burnout: 10 ways to recharge and refocus

A Better You | Helpful Tips | CarePages.com: Caring for others can take so much time, work and effort that stress and anxiety can often get the best of you. Studies show that female caregivers, in particular, have more emotional and physical health problems.The key to avoiding burnout is using regular tools to keep yourself in check.

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Man with locked-in syndrome 'amazingly happy', says wife

BBC News - Man with locked-in syndrome 'amazingly happy', says wife: Michael Cubiss has locked-in syndrome, which means he's paralysed and can't talk. A High Court decision not to allow doctors to end the life of fellow sufferer, Tony Nicklinson, without fear of prosecution had a profound impact on Michael and his wife Wendy. The Oxfordshire couple contacted BBC Breakfast because they wanted to show that living with locked-in syndrome can be positive.

Related: Right-to-die man Tony Nicklinson dead after refusing food

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Theology of disability devotional series

Daily Devotionals | Words of Hope: Steve Laman writes -- "Our disabilities and hardships can either drive us to the feet of Jesus or drive us away from him. I am grateful that my parents never turned their backs on the Lord when they learned that I was born with cerebral palsy. When I was old enough they began to teach me the hope that the Bible has for those of us who have disabilities and for all who suffer. In this series I pray that we can discover this hope." Follow this series August 1-16.

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Help for Those in Pain or Depression

Help for Those in Pain or Depression | Blog | Joni and Friends: Joni says, "For years I've been longing to create something personal and powerful to help people dealing with pain or deep discouragement, and now, I'm so glad I can offer two brand-new resources – one is a DVD/Bible study called How Can God Help You Deal with Chronic Pain, Disability & Illness; the other DVD/Bible study is God's Comfort When You Are Discouraged and Fear the Future.

"These videos are from an interview I did on The John Ankerberg Show with Dr. Michael Easley, professor emeritus of Moody Bible Institute (he has degenerative disc disorder). I'm convinced these excellent DVDs and Bible studies will help anyone wrestling with pain or discouragement. So if you are struggling with pain, or you know someone who needs encouragement, these DVDs and studies are for you, 'For God hears the cry of the afflicted' (Psalm 10:17)."

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Muslim man's family in right-to-life hospital court battle

BBC News - Muslim man's family in right-to-life hospital court battle: Claire Watson, appearing for the trust, said his physical condition would deteriorate over time and he would develop wasting, skin sores and muscle tightening which would cause pain if he is capable of feeling. "Rather than there being the prolongation of life, there would be the prolongation of death and lack of dignity."

Patient L suffered severe brain damage following a third cardiac arrest in mid-July and relatives say it is too early to determine whether he is in a "permanent" vegetative state, arguing they have observed "some degree of responsiveness." A Do Not Resuscitate notice was placed in his notes without consulting the family in contravention of the trust's own policy.

Editor: Death is death. It can't be prolonged, as life can.  And "lack of dignity" is a judgment call.

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Obamacare’s Threat of Centralized Control

Obamacare’s Threat of Centralized Control » Secondhand Smoke | A First Things Blog: "I don’t like much about Obamacare. But most urgently, I oppose its imposition of anti-American centralized control–in the sense that it is the antithesis of the Founders’ governing philosophy–and hopeless complexity over a huge sector of the American economy, as much about the seizure of raw power as it is about restraining costs. That’s the NHS model.  No, not in the method of its funding but the flawed presumption that bureaucrats somehow know best."

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Users of Assisted Suicide are Seniors with Money

"Choice" Is An Illusion: Users of Assisted Suicide are Seniors with Money: Users of assisteds suicide are "overwhelmingly white, well educated and financially comfortable." They are also age 65 and older. In other words, users are older people with money, which would be the middle class and above, a group disproportionately at risk of financial abuse and exploitation.

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Grief Is Like a Boulder on My Chest

Grief Is Like a Boulder on My Chest - The Gospel Coalition: Nancy Guthrie says grieving does not mean we have lost our faith.

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Should the Autistic Be Denied Organ Transplants?

Should the Autistic Be Denied Organ Transplants? » Secondhand Smoke | A First Things Blog: An autistic man has been denied a heart transplant, apparently because of his mental disability. From the AP story:

In a letter, dated June 13, 2011, Dr. Susan Brozena wrote: “I have recommended against transplant given his psychiatric issues, autism, the complexity of the process, multiple procedures and the unknown and unpredictable effect of steroids on behavior.” His mother said she was taken aback by the decision and noted that her son, who is diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder, was upset by the decision, but optimistic that a transplant could come. “He just needs a fighting chance and the same rights to medical care as others his age,” she said in a statement. “Autism is not a terminal disease and we cannot allow it to become one.”

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Paralysed man who wanted ‘right to be killed’ loses case

Paralysed man who wanted ‘right to be killed’ loses case | News | The Christian Institute: High Court judges have ruled that doctors cannot kill a severely paralysed man, in a landmark euthanasia case. The ruling has been welcomed by pro-lifers, who say legalizing euthanasia would put vulnerable people at risk.

Tony Nicklinson’s ‘locked-in’ condition means his mind is active but he cannot move most of his body. He communicates by blinking. Mr Nicklinson was seeking euthanasia, and not assisted suicide. The High Court also ruled against a second man, known only as ‘Martin’, who asked for the right to call on others to help him die.

Lord Justice Toulson, who was sitting with two other judges, noted that the cases of Mr Nicklinson and Martin were “deeply moving”, but it was not for the court to change the law in this area.

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Docs criticise religious parents for prolonging life support

Docs criticise religious parents for prolonging life support | News | The Christian Institute: Doctors writing in the Journal of Medical Ethics have strongly criticized religious parents who refuse to agree to the withdrawal of medical treatment from their critically ill children. They said fundamentalist Christians with African roots were a particular problem because they expressed “expectation of miraculous intervention.” The doctors are calling for a review of the legal system so that parents’ religious beliefs carry less weight.

But a legal expert from Oxford University has accused the doctors of reducing children’s best interests to essentially medical criteria. Charles Foster said the doctors “seem to think that because we are becoming an increasingly ‘secular society’ there is some sort of democratically ordained mandate to impose secular values on everyone.”

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Euthanasia is a Cultural Addiction

Euthanasia is a Cultural Addiction » Secondhand Smoke | A First Things Blog: The Netherlands opened the doors to euthanasia way back in 1973. Since then, it has fallen off a vertical moral cliff with the killing agenda having spread to the pediatric wards, the mentally ill, and now stalking the elderly “tired of life.”

But even that isn’t enough. The cultural death addiction is now spreading, to the point that people want to be able to do each other. That process is moving ahead with Hemlock Society type advocacy of assisted suicide proselytizing. From the Radio Netherlands story:

A special website has been launched in the Netherlands for people who assist family or friends to commit suicide and want to tell their stories anonymously, or simply ask questions. Assisted suicide carried out by lay people is currently punishable by law.

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Sanctity of life law "gone too far"?

Sanctity of life law has gone too far | BMJ: In a recent court case involving removal of "artificial" nutrition and hydration, a judge said, “[given] the importance of the sanctity of life, and the fatal consequences of withdrawing treatment, and the absence of an advance decision that complied with the requirements previously specified by the common law and now under statute, it would in my judgment be wrong to attach significant weight to those statements made prior to her collapse.” Medical ethics professor Raanon Gillion thinks two aspects of this judgment are "profoundly disturbing."

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Doctors debate physician assisted suicide in MA

• Dr. Marcia Angell: Ballot question to allow physician aid in dying respects patient wishes - Boston Medical News - White Coat Notes - Boston.com:
• Dr. Barbara Rockett: Physician-assisted suicide “in direct conflict” with doctor’s role

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Palliative Medicine Society goes on the front foot

Palliative Medicine Society goes on the front foot | NRL News Today: “We should focus on excellence of hospice and palliative care not euthanasia.” The Australian and New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine believes that the practice of euthanasia and assisted suicide are outside the discipline of Palliative Medicine. The Society endorses the New Zealand Medical Association’s Position Statement on Euthanasia, and similarly the World Medial Association’s which state that euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide are unethical. This position is not dependent on euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide remaining unlawful. Even if they were to become legal, or decriminalised, the NZMA would continue to regard them as unethical.

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4 ways to relieve chronic pain without pills

Chronic Pain - Exercise, Weight Loss, and Meditation for Pill-Free Pain Relief - RealAge:  Plus 5 myths about chronic pain.

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An epidemic of special needs kids heads for a crisis of care

An epidemic of special needs kids heads for a crisis of care - Newsweek and The Daily Beast: The special-needs population is growing. Government funding is shrinking. The coming crisis for millions of parents.

Editor: An epidemic? Children with disabilities are like a disease? What a poor choice of wording!

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Assisted Suicide Backers Confident They'll Win in Massachusetts

Assisted Suicide Backers Confident They'll Win in Massachusetts | LifeNews.com: “We’re confident … that we’ll be successful in November,” said Stephen Crawford, communications director of the pro-assisted suicide “Dignity 2012” campaign. Media coverage of the debate has been decidedly in favor of the proposal. According to Loughman, the press has used the word “medication,” which should cure, instead of the descriptive, “lethal dose.”

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What does it mean to carry your cross?

Joni & Friends: I have looked at my wheelchair as my cross to bear, but is it? What exactly isthe cross I am to take up daily? What about you? Is your cross your arthritis, a dead end job? Is your cross to bear an unhappy marriage, or recurring headaches? Are these the things the Lord had in mind when He told us to take up our cross daily and follow Him?

Well, I think the answer to that question can be found in the cross of Christ, because when He took up His cross, He was taking on the sins of the world; He was bearing our transgressions; He was willing to be nailed to the cross and die for our sins. And friend, that right there helps shape our view on what it should mean to take up our cross daily. It basically means to die to the sins that Jesus died for on His cross. In other words, my cross to bear is not my wheelchair, it’s my rotten attitude about my wheelchair; it’s the fear and the anxiety, the anger I sometimes have when everything about my disability seems to go wrong at once. It’s the occasional doubts I have about God being in control. These are the things I must die to, because these are the sins Christ died for. So when I take up my cross daily, I purpose to be like Jesus. I want to die to sin and live for God.

Complete Guide to Caring for Aging Loved Ones

Christianbook.com: Complete Guide to Caring for Aging Loved Ones: Edited By: Henry Holstege, Robert Rickse By: Focus on the Family: 9781414301600: Whether you're facing the prospect of caring for an aging loved one or are currently in the midst of it, here's the help and hope you need to manage the practical, emotional and spiritual aspects of caregiving. This long-overdue reference deals with important topics like understanding your multiple roles as caregiver, finding quality medical, financial and legal advice, and many other end-of-life issues. Paperback.

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Surgeons balk at withdrawing life support after medical errors

Surgeons balk at withdrawing life support after medical errors - amednews.com: They feel responsible for their patients’ welfare and want to see them pull through after high-risk procedures, according to a new study.

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