LIFT List

100% Chance of Being Loved

2012-02-03T09:25:00.000-05:00

100% Chance of Being Loved | NRL News Today: Despite being told Reid would “probably die within a year,” Marie said their goal was “to help Reid be as healthy as possible and live his life to the fullest in his home, surrounded by the people who love him.” They were told “phrases like ‘let nature take its course,’ and ‘we can put a DNR in his file before he goes home and then if something happens…’”

Marie added, “Now our sweet Reid is four years old. He may be differently-abled from healthy kids, but he is full of constant wonder and joy!”

When Marie was unexpectedly pregnant again, a geneticist encouraged them to have an amniocentesis because Marie carried the gene that could cause her baby to have MTM like his older brother, Reid. The geneticist suggested they could “keep their options open.”

Marie refused the amniocentesis and declared to all the people in that room, “Our son may have a 50 percent chance of having Myotubular Myopathy, but he has a 100 percent chance of being loved.”

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Assisted suicide should be illegal throughout Europe, human rights body rules

2012-02-03T08:31:00.000-05:00

Assisted suicide should be illegal throughout Europe, human rights body rules - Telegraph: In a declaration that will have legal implications in its 47 member states, the Strasbourg-based organisation announced that such practices “must always be prohibited.”

The move will represent a significant setback to assisted dying campaigners who want Britain to follow Holland, Belgium and Switzerland in allowing doctors to help end the lives of their patients.

The explicit condemnation of euthanasia was inserted into a non-binding resolution entitled: “Protecting human rights and dignity by taking into account previously expressed wishes of patients.”

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My Trisomy 18 son is not alive because of a miracle. He is alive because we chose life for him.

2012-02-02T14:53:00.000-05:00

LifeSiteNews: It was a great surprise to everyone when a national review of pediatric cardiac surgeries in 2004 revealed that 35 children with Trisomy 13 and 18 had obtained cardiac surgery and survived - at a rate of 91%! So much for universally “lethal” and “incompatible with life”!

The internet has allowed parents of these relatively rare conditions to network like never before. . . . Many parents who receive such a diagnosis will search online for more information. It won’t take long before they discover that there are many happy living children who have families who love to care for them.

My son, Lane, was diagnosed with Full Trisomy 18 at three days old. Prior to getting the results of the FISH test, the hospital told me that Lane’s heart condition could be repaired. However, after the results came back, the hospital then informed me that there wasn’t anything more the hospital could do for my son. So I took Lane home at nine days old on hospice, but Lane had another plan. He continued to get stronger every day, and so as his strength and fight improved…so did my fight to do anything I could to give my son the best quality of life

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Joni's Remedy for Pain

2012-02-02T13:19:00.000-05:00

A Verse for Pain | Radio | Joni and Friends: When you’re in pain and when you’re wanting to do everything to decrease anxious feelings or stress, God’s Word gives us good sound advice. Because when we are told to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, wonderful things happen. Like what? And what does it have to do with alleviating physical pain? Well, listen to what the prophet Isaiah said, “And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.” That’s from Isaiah 32:17 and don’t you love it?!

Mother of Mentally Disabled Girl Holds Hope for Kidney Transplant

2012-02-02T09:49:00.000-05:00

Mother of Amelia Rivera, Mentally Disabled Girl, Holds Hope for Kidney Transplant at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia - ABC News: Chrissy Rivera, the mother of the 3-year-old girl who was initially told by a doctor at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia that he would not recommend a kidney transplant for her mentally disabled daughter, is "hopeful" the hospital will help after an outcry of indignation online.

More than 37,000 online supporters petitioned after Rivera had blogged about a doctor who called her daughter "mentally retarded" and said he would not recommend transplantation.

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IVF parents seeking payout for depression

2012-02-02T09:12:00.000-05:00

IVF parents seeking payout for depression: Debbie and Lawrence Waller are suing the IVF specialist who oversaw the conception of their son Keeden, because he suffered a massive stroke four days after birth that caused severe brain damage.

Keeden, 11, cannot walk or talk, and suffers dangerous seizures on a regular basis. Mr and Mrs Waller say the stroke was the result of a rare blood clotting condition that Keeden inherited from his father. They say they told the specialist, Dr Christopher James, about the condition but he did not warn them of the 50 per cent risk that it would be passed on.

In addition to seeking compensation for Keeden's life-long care, the Wallers are suing for mental stress under the legal heading of ''nervous shock.''

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This issue of Caring Right at Home

2012-02-01T13:02:00.001-05:00

Caring Right at Home newsletter

Supporting Spouse Caregivers
Delirium Complicates Recovery for Senior Patients
Caring for Senior Cancer Patients
Best of the Blog

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“Quality of Life” Up to Patient, Not Bean Counters

2012-02-01T12:13:00.000-05:00

“Quality of Life” Up to Patient, Not Bean Counters » Secondhand Smoke | A First Things Blog: Quality-of-life questions are becoming increasingly important in medical care, especially when it comes to helping patients make decisions about treatments.

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Strategies for Caregivers

2012-01-31T15:09:00.001-05:00

Strategies for Caregivers | Hospice of Michigan: Caregivers need to take care of themselves beginning at day one of caring for a sick loved one. Multiple studies have documented the emotional and physical impact of caregiving for a loved one who is at the end of life.

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Caregiving at Least 8 Ways

2012-01-31T15:08:00.001-05:00

Caregiving at Least 8 Ways | Hospice of Michigan: According to the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, there are more than 65 million caregivers in the U.S. Some may not identify themselves as “caregiver,” yet they provide physical, emotional or financial support for a loved one who is ill. Understanding the different caregiver roles creates opportunities for caregivers to access support.

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Who is a caregiver?

2012-01-31T15:07:00.002-05:00

HOM’s Case for Caregivers | Hospice of Michigan:

A caregiver is anyone providing informal, unpaid care for someone they love – a member of their family, a friend, a partner.
The typical caregiver is a 49-year-old woman who is caring for her widowed 69-year-old mother who does not live with her.
66% of caregivers are women
40% are employed
37% have children or grandchildren living with them
They offer an average of 20 hours a week of care to their loved one.
This care is unpaid.
25% of caregivers are low-income
In Michigan, the annual economic value of the unpaid labor exceeds $10 billion.

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Get to Know: Isaiah's Promise

2012-01-31T08:45:00.000-05:00

Home Page: Support for Parents Continuing Their Pregnancy After a Poor or Fatal Diagnosis

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‘Incompatible with Life’ is a judgment not a diagnosis

2012-01-31T08:43:00.000-05:00

‘Incompatible with Life’ is a judgment not a diagnosis | LifeSiteNews.com: Healthcare professionals use terminology to convey information about a patient’s diagnosis. Unfortunately, when explaining the diagnosis, objective, factual, information gets mixed in with opinion and value judgments. This can lead to an understanding on the part of the parents of an unborn child that their child no longer exists in the eyes of the medical profession and there is no reason to continue the pregnancy.

Parents are not only stunned to learn that their unborn child has a poor prenatal diagnosis but the parents also come away with the perception that their child’s condition has usurped its right to life – any life, no matter the duration.

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Is it morally wrong to take a life? Not really, say bioethicists

2012-01-30T10:01:00.000-05:00

BioEdge: Is it morally wrong to take a life? Not really, say bioethicists: Is it morally wrong to kill people? Not really, argue two eminent American bioethicists in an early online article in the Journal of Medical Ethics. Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, of Duke University, and Franklin G. Miller, of the National Institutes of Health believe that “killing by itself is not morally wrong, although it is still morally wrong to cause total disability.” Ultimately their aim is to justify organ donation after cardiac death (DCD).

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Doctors call for a moratorium on donation after cardiac death

2012-01-30T10:00:00.000-05:00

BioEdge: Doctors call for a moratorium on donation after cardiac death: Several paediatricians writing in the latest issue of Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine have called for a moratorium on donating organs after cardiac death (DCD) until a number of troubling issues have been resolved.

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Assisted suicide is cheaper than caring, warns doctor

2012-01-30T09:49:00.000-05:00

Assisted suicide is cheaper than caring, warns doctor | News | The Christian Institute: An experienced doctor who works with terminal patients has asked whether assisted suicide is just a cost-saving exercise.

Dr Elizabeth A Burroughs, in a letter to a national newspaper, said: “Quality palliative care costs money; assisted suicide is a cheaper option. But how long would it be before pressure was being placed on the terminally ill to ‘do the decent thing’?” Dr Burroughs also commented: “In 30 years as a GP, I was asked by at most a handful of terminally ill patients to hasten their deaths. In 17 years working in hospices I cannot recall ever having received such a request from a patient, although I have had more than one from relatives.”

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Second bid to change the law on assisted suicide

2012-01-30T09:48:00.000-05:00

MSP in second bid to change the law on assisted suicide | News | The Christian Institute: Margo MacDonald’s last attempt to legalise assisted suicide in Scotland was soundly rejected in 2010 by 85 votes to 16. Now the Lothians MSP has launched a consultation on a proposed new Bill which would allow those suffering from a terminal illness to end their lives.

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Govt opposes paralysed man’s bid for euthanasia

2012-01-30T09:47:00.000-05:00

Govt opposes paralysed man’s bid for euthanasia | News | The Christian Institute: The High Court case [UK] of a paralysed man who wants a doctor to be allowed to kill him should be dismissed, the Ministry of Justice has said. The Government says there are “compelling reasons” for the court not to get involved in Tony Nicklinson’s case, saying that only Parliament can make such a decision. A medical ethics expert cautioned that cases such as Mr Nicklinson’s are “extremely rare and hard cases make bad law."

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Promoting “Pro Life” Interpretation of Advance Directives in Europe

2012-01-30T09:35:00.004-05:00

Wesley J. Smith: The Council of Europe has passed a resolution promoting advanced directives in the EU. Some are claiming this as a victory against voluntary euthanasia. Perhaps. But, I like this part the most because it explicitly instructs that a dependent patient’s care is not to be determined by general community values–often anti elderly and disabled–and how, in cases of doubt, advance directives are to be interpreted:

7.8. surrogate decisions that rely on general value judgements present in society should not be admissible and, in case of doubt, the decision must always be pro-life and the prolongation of life. From “Protecting Human Rights and Dignity by Taking Into Account Previously Expressed Wishes of Patients:”

Researchers replicate Alzheimer's disease neurons with stem cells

2012-01-27T08:53:00.001-05:00

FoxNews: To create the neurons, the researchers extracted fibroblasts—cells from the skin—of two patients with familial Alzheimer’s, two patients with sporadic Alzheimer’s and two people with no known neurological problems. The researchers then reprogrammed the fibroblasts into stem cells, which then differentiated into working neurons. The neurons may prove to be a crucial tool for studying the causes of Alzheimer’s, as well as developing and testing drugs to treat the disease.

As America ages, millions try to juggle ailing parents’ caregiving needs from afar

2012-01-27T08:47:00.000-05:00

As America ages, millions try to juggle ailing parents’ caregiving needs from afar - The Washington Post: The National Institute on Aging estimates around 7 million Americans are long-distance caregivers. Aside from economic factors that often drive people far from their hometowns, shifting demographics in the country could exacerbate the issue: Over the next four decades, the share of people 65 and older is expected to rapidly expand while the number of people under 20 will roughly hold steady. That means there will be a far smaller share of people between 20 and 64, the age group that most often is faced with caregiving.

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Major victory for life in Europe: ‘Euthanasia must always be prohibited’

2012-01-26T09:59:00.000-05:00

Major victory for life in Europe: ‘Euthanasia must always be prohibited’ | LifeSiteNews.com: Yesterday, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a resolution stating: “Euthanasia, in the sense of the intentional killing by act or omission of a dependent human being for his or her alleged benefit, must always be prohibited.”

The purpose of the resolution, entitled “Protecting human rights and dignity by taking into account previously expressed wishes of patients”, defines the principles that should govern the practice of “living wills” or “advance directives” in the 47 States of the Council of Europe.

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Depression’s Criteria May Be Changed to Include Grieving

2012-01-26T08:16:00.000-05:00

Depression’s Criteria May Be Changed to Include Grieving - NYTimes.com: The new report, by psychiatric researchers from Columbia and New York Universities, argues that the current definition of depression — which excludes bereavement, the usual grieving after the loss of a loved one — is far more accurate. If the “bereavement exclusion” is eliminated, they say, “there is the potential for considerable false-positive diagnosis and unnecessary treatment of grief-stricken persons.” Drugs for depression can have side effects, including low sex drive and sleeping problems. But experts who support the new definition say sometimes grieving people need help.

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British man with "locked-in syndrome" fights for right to die

2012-01-25T11:37:00.000-05:00

British man with "locked-in syndrome," Tony Nicklinson, fights for right to die - HealthPop - CBS News: Does former rugby player Tony Nicklinson deserve the right to die? Seven years after suffering a paralyzing stroke that left him immobile and unable to speak, the 57-year-old recently asked Britain's High Court to allow a doctor to give him a lethal injection without facing any penalty. Nicklinson petitioned the court to ensure that whoever ends his life won't be jailed and charged with murder. This week, the court will hold its first hearing on the case.

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After the death of Jack Kevorkian, a new public face of American assisted suicide

2012-01-24T15:46:00.000-05:00

After the death of Jack Kevorkian, a new public face of American assisted suicide - The Washington Post: Lawrence Egbert, a retired anesthesiologist from Baltimore, has helped about 300 people commit suicide, but, he says, “I never get used to it.”

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We have to try harder, say Belgian euthanasia doctors. We’re only #2

2012-01-23T10:29:00.000-05:00

BioEdge: We have to try harder, say Belgian euthanasia doctors. We’re only #2: A group called the Life End Information Forum (LEIF) was formed in 2002 in Belgium as soon as euthanasia was legalised. Since the new law required a second, confirming opinion if someone requested euthanasia, there was a need for experienced doctors. “Consulting a LEIF physician contributes to the careful practice of euthanasia,” say the researchers. Disappointingly only 35% of those who had received a euthanasia request since LEIF became active had made use of LEIF.

They recommend that the government and medical associations actively promote LEIF, that the LEIF specialists be paid for consultations, and that LEIF promote its services “as widely as possible.” Although LEIF has been “relatively successful”, it seems apparent that the Belgian researchers were a wee bit dejected by the contrast with a very active end-of-life consultation service in the neighbouring Netherlands.

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Euthanasia campaigner Dr Philip Nitschke faces death probe

2012-01-23T09:37:00.000-05:00

Euthanasia campaigner Dr Philip Nitschke faces death probe | Herald Sun: An investigator has been appointed to determine whether it was "good medical practice" for Dr Nitschke to attempt to legally import the death drug Nembutal as a sedative for the 61-year-old woman, who had spoken of ending her life to escape "an awful death."

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Focus on care, not assisted suicide, say MPs

2012-01-20T11:31:00.000-05:00

Video: Focus on care, not assisted suicide, say MPs | News | The Christian Institute: “Rather than legislating for an abrupt end to life, we need to find better ways to help care for the dying”, an MP has said as he led a debate on palliative care in Parliament.

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Administration doesn't want incentive for more bone marrow for deathly ill

2012-01-20T10:13:00.000-05:00

Administration doesn't want incentive for more bone marrow for deathly ill: Payment to donors: The Obama administration has asked a federal appeals court to reconsider its ruling that most bone marrow donors can be compensated for providing life-saving marrow cells harvested from their bloodstreams.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously on Dec. 1 that bone marrow filtered from a donor's blood was a blood part, not an organ part, and could be legally sold.

But in a petition for rehearing by a full 11-judge panel of the court, U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said the three-judge panel had ignored the clear intent of Congress to prevent money from influencing donation decisions.

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Weak and Loved

2012-01-19T14:23:00.000-05:00

Weak and Loved: It was a time of abundant, noisy blessings for Emily Cook. Five children, age 5 and younger, energetically consumed her food, her time, and her heart. Then, in the fall of 2008, this loud and happy life was shattered by a deafening silence. Bouncy four-year-old Aggie was stopped in her tracks by a seizure--It was to be the first of many.

This story includes no clichés or easy answers, and it is not an attempt to answer complicated questions of human suffering. Rather, it is a demonstration of God's faithfulness toward one sick child and her imperfect mother: both weak, but both loved. Aggie had a brain tumor that disrupted her young life; her mother’s sin and selfishness disrupted her best attempts to care for her. Written from the perspective of a mother who suffers with her child, Weak and Loved allows readers to experience the struggles of faith and encouragement of God. Readers will enter the difficult, earthy, and sometimes humorous world of a sick child, and be pleased to find the beauty of God's love in Christ even there.

Follow Emily's blog

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Using Computer Models to Ration Health Care?

2012-01-19T10:26:00.000-05:00

Using Computer Models to Ration Health Care? » Secondhand Smoke | A First Things Blog: Could a computer program predicting how long a patient has to live be put to pernicious heatlhcare rationing effect, similar to the “quality adjusted life year” (QALY) that was used by NICE to ration medicine in the UK?

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True Palliative Care Involves a Respect for Human Life

2012-01-19T10:05:00.000-05:00

True Palliative Care Involves a Respect for Human Life | LifeNews.com: Physicians in Massachusetts grasp a fundamental distinction that proponents of assisted suicide elide. That is the difference between choosing to cause death and choosing instead to provide comfort, knowing, but not intending, that death might be hastened as a result.

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Alleviating Suffering 101 — Pain Relief in the US

2012-01-19T09:58:00.000-05:00

Alleviating Suffering 101 — Pain Relief in the United States — NEJM: The magnitude of pain in the United States is astounding. More than 116 million Americans have pain that persists for weeks to years. The total financial costs of this epidemic are $560 billion to $635 billion per year, according to Relieving Pain in America, 1 the recent report of an Institute of Medicine committee that we cochaired. And these figures don't include pain in children or people in long-term care facilities, the military, or prison.

Subscription required to read the article

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Pushing Euthanasia as the Rule

2012-01-19T09:56:00.000-05:00

Pushing Euthanasia as the Rule | NRL News Today: The Belgian medical establishment’s enthusiastic embrace of euthanasia has been breathtaking and appalling to behold. Now a study is out stating that a euthanasia counseling service is being underutilized by Belgian doctors.

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1st annual conference on medical advances in prenatal diagnoses

2012-01-19T09:09:00.001-05:00

The Council on Poor Prenatal Diagnoses & Therapeutic Intervention conference will bring together professionals from many different specialty areas, including genetic researchers, ob/gyn physicians, developmental pediatricians, hospital nursing staff, medical genetic counselors and medical students. Other invited participants and guests include peer ministry providers, social service support professionals, advocates for persons with disabilities and public policy specialists.

An agenda for the day will be available soon. Our host for the day, the Family Research Council (FRC), has limited space, so this first Conference is by invitation only. However, FRC will be webcasting all general sessions that day, which can be viewed via www.frc.org. For more information, contact Jeanne Monahan at Family Research Council, (800-225-4008) or Peg Kolm at (240-994-0603).We welcome your interest and expertise in this effort, and hope you can join us on January 21.

Assisted suicide still a no-go in Aloha State

2012-01-18T14:37:00.000-05:00

Assisted suicide still a no-go in Aloha State (OneNewsNow.com): In spite of proponents' unique approach to legalize it, Hawaii's ban on doctor-assisted suicide remains in place. Supporters of assisted suicide tried to use a 1909 law that permits the use remedies not typically authorized for terminally ill patients, but Hawaii Attorney General David Louie has responded in a legal opinion that the state law "does not authorize physicians to assist terminally ill patients with dying."

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Miracle met Tim Tebow

2012-01-18T14:34:00.000-05:00

Miracle fan set to meet Tim Tebow - BostonHerald.com: Zack McLeod will be visited by a gridiron god met quarterback Tim Tebow before Saturday night’s divisional playoff game against the AFC East champion Patriots, courtesy of the Christian Baptist icon’s W15H Program and Florida-based Dreams Come True.

“This might sound odd, but I think Tim Tebow is doing the same thing on a national scale that our son Zack does on a very small scale — directing people’s attention toward God. Both are captivated by God’s love for them and can’t help but broadcast it to the world,” McLeod’s father told the Herald yesterday.

Although his son can barely speak, and will likely never recover enough to finish his education, hold a job or live alone, Pat McLeod said the former cornerback — much like Tebow — is “continually on his knees praying.”

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Unaccountable healthcare 'experts'

2012-01-18T14:14:00.001-05:00

Unaccountable healthcare 'experts' (OneNewsNow.com): buried deep within the healthcare law's 2,801 pages of foggy prose is a provision to create a panel of bureaucrats with final authority on what treatments will and will not be paid for by Medicare, the federal insurance program that serves nearly 48 million seniors and disabled individuals. It's called the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), a 15-member committee whose cost-cutting edicts are not subject to review by the courts or the people.

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Woman says daughter denied transplant because of mental disability

2012-01-18T08:52:00.000-05:00

South Jersey woman says daughter was denied transplant because of mental disability — NewsWorks: For doctors, transplant eligibility for those with mental disabilities is seen in shades of gray, not the same black and white. When determining eligibility for kidney transplants for mentally disabled adults, doctors would consider whether patients could take their post-transplant medication reliably, or have a support system to ensure they would. For kids, that kind of care is always the job of the parents. So the question becomes one of quality of life: how much better would life be for the child if he or she got the transplant rather than going on dialysis?

In her blog, the mother quotes this exchange with the doctor:

“So you mean to tell me that as a doctor, you are not recommending the transplant, and when her kidneys fail in six months to a year, you want me to let her die because she is mentally retarded? There is no other medical reason for her not to have this transplant other than she is MENTALLY RETARDED!”
“Yes, [said the doctor]. This is hard for me, you know.”

Controversial UK commission backs assisted suicide

2012-01-17T16:12:00.000-05:00

BioEdge: Controversial UK commission backs assisted suicide: The UK should legalise assisted suicide, says a report by a private group headed by former lord chancellor Lord Falconer. The Commission on Assisted Dying, which, despite its official-sounding name, was funded by a right-to-die activist, argues that it is possible to craft a law which will allow people with terminal illness to die without danger of coercion, provided that strict safeguards were observed.

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Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body

2012-01-13T12:03:00.000-05:00

Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body: The woman — in her 80s — hadn't spoken in months. The nursing home staff figured she had lost the ability. But after six silent months of regular massage sessions, massage therapist Dawn Nelson heard a soft voice utter: "That feels good."

Nelson, author of From the Heart Through the Hands and creator of the program "Compassionate Touch For Those in Later Life Stages," says massage has improved quality of life for many older, not-so-mobile clients. In addition to boosting circulation, easing stress and relieving aches and pains, all important physiologically for people who don't move around much, massage bestows a basic human need the elderly often go without: touch."

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Assisted Suicide’s Deadly Threat to Elderly

2012-01-13T09:01:00.000-05:00

Assisted Suicide’s Deadly Threat to Elderly » Secondhand Smoke | A First Things Blog: The Sunday Times has a good editorial out opposing the legalization of assisted suicide in the UK, which is now in the midst of a big policy push seen there every few years. It is worth reading the whole thing, but Wesley Smith focuses on two points that are especially salient.

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When caregiving, don't let elderly parents push your buttons

2012-01-12T09:32:00.000-05:00

When caregiving, don't let elderly parents push your buttons | PennLive.com: Q: Whenever I sit down to work on a caregiving problem with my parents, they push my buttons and it ends on a sour note. Can you help me sort this out? Blogger Linda Rhodes offers some advice.

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Though our son never breathed outside the womb, his life was worth living

2012-01-12T08:41:00.000-05:00

Though our son never breathed outside the womb, his life was worth living | LifeSiteNews.com: At my next doctor’s appointment, he looked puzzled and asked me what I was here for. When I told him I was there for my prenatal check-up, he said, “What for? You do know your baby isn’t going to survive, right?”

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Washington May Not Put Assisted Suicide on Death Certificates

2012-01-11T16:28:00.000-05:00

Washington May Not Put Assisted Suicide on Death Certificates | LifeNews.com: In Washington, doctors who assist suicides are currently legally required to lie on death certificates. Rather than list the actual cause of death–assisted suicide–they are instead required to list the underlying disease–even though it didn’t factually. This is a profound corruption of civic processes.

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Bringing Death into the Light was Never Crazy

2012-01-10T16:13:00.000-05:00

Bringing Death into the Light was Never Crazy | First Things: For a society that has experienced death as a hidden thing—something that happens behind a closed door or within the depths of a womb via suction hose—bringing death out into the light might seem “crazy” and “weird,” especially to a perpetually adolescent mind that has no concept of the sort of victory that can be found there.

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My Brother's Life: Very Valuable Despite Down Syndrome

2012-01-10T08:24:00.000-05:00

My Brother's Life: Very Valuable Despite Down Syndrome | LifeNews.com: Cal Thomas was seven years old when his brother Marshall was born. "A year or two later when the diagnosis [of Down syndrome] was made, I bought a popular book written by Dale Evans and gave it to our parents. It was called Angel Unaware. The title was taken from a verse in the New Testament which says, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (Hebrews 13:2) Evans’ book was about the Down syndrome child she had with her husband, Roy Rogers."

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‘Biased’ assisted suicide report under fire from critics

2012-01-06T13:29:00.000-05:00

‘Biased’ assisted suicide report under fire from critics | News | The Christian Institute: The report, which was produced by the UK Commission on Assisted Dying, says that adults who are thought to have less than a year to live should be able to ask doctors for drugs which would end their life. But Dr Peter Saunders, campaign director of the pro-life group Care Not Killing, said: “This investigation was unnecessary, biased and lacking in transparency, and its report is seriously flawed. It is being spun as a comprehensive, objective and independent review into this complicated issue. It is anything but.”

Related: 'Strong case' for assisted suicide in UK

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Target ad worth a thousand words

2012-01-05T11:53:00.003-05:00

The stylish young man in the orange shirt is Ryan, who happens to have been born with Down syndrome. This wasn’t a “Special Clothing For Special People” catalog. There wasn’t a call-out somewhere on the page proudly proclaiming Target’s pride over featuring a model with Down syndrome in their ad. And they didn’t even have him to model a shirt with the phrase, “We Aren’t All Angels” printed on the front. Noah's Dad blog

Handful of states promise physicians online access to advance directives

2012-01-05T08:27:00.000-05:00

amednews: Handful of states promise physicians online access to advance directives :: Jan. 3, 2012 ... American Medical News: By connecting the advance directive to an information exchange, a physician could access it without having to contact family or caregivers, or find out a patient's login and password to current online registry programs. That connection would allow a physician to follow through on the patient's wishes without any obligation to contact anyone. When physicians will have that access depends on when each state has its information exchange up and running.

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An Oregon study points to better end-of-life care planning

2012-01-05T08:25:00.000-05:00

An Oregon study points to better end-of-life care planning | OregonLive.com: Oregon researchers found that 18,000 people, or 72 percent of those in the registry, did not want CPR. But many wanted other treatment, including hospital care. About 55 percent wanted the option of antibiotics for infections. Nearly one-quarter considered a temporary feeding tube appropriate.

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Exercise and Alzheimer's Disease

2012-01-04T13:42:00.001-05:00

Exercise and Alzheimer's Disease: No matter what our age or health condition, physical activity is good for the body, mind and spirit.

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Top 10 Resolutions for Family Caregivers

2012-01-04T13:42:00.000-05:00

Top 10 Resolutions for Family Caregivers: Family caregivers are just about the busiest people around! But it's worthwhile to set aside a few minutes for creating resolutions that will make 2012 more meaningful and less stressful.

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Euthanasia: There is Always A “Next Step”

2011-12-16T15:02:00.000-05:00

Euthanasia: There is Always A “Next Step” » Secondhand Smoke | A First Things Blog: Euthanasia is not just a lethal act, but a deadly ideological appetite–one that is never satiated. Once killing is unleashed as a solution to suffering, activists will always want more.

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Ventilator Alarms Linked to Patient Deaths

2011-12-15T08:18:00.000-05:00

Ventilator Alarms Linked to Patient Deaths - ABC News: More than 100 people have died in the past six years as a result of problematic alarms on ventilators, which are designed to beep warnings to caregivers when something goes wrong with the machine or the patient’s breathing.

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When care is worth it, even when the end is death

2011-12-14T08:27:00.001-05:00

You’ve probably heard that we spend a lot of money on patients who die. It’s true: about one-tenth of the money spent on direct care goes to people who die each year. Among Medicare patients, the figure is much higher, about one-quarter.

You may be shocked by those statistics. What health care system would squander so many dollars on patients who don’t benefit? Or maybe you’re saddened. No humane system would subject patients to painful interventions and procedures that serve no purpose.

The idea that we waste money on terminal patients has caught on; the simplicity of the conceit makes it appealing to policy makers. And the data to support it keep coming, because it is easy for researchers to measure how much is spent on patients before they die.

. . . [C]aring for the sick means caring for people who may die. Providing care means reducing the chance they may die — not eliminating it. . . . [T]he policy conceit that spending money on patients who die is a waste overlooks the core purpose of health care — to prevent or forestall illness, disability and death among patients at risk of those outcomes.

It also overlooks a key correlation in health care. When people get sicker, they need more intensive — and expensive — health care services. But when they get sicker, they are also more likely to die. When I met my patient, I took him to the intensive care unit, the second-most-expensive place per minute in any hospital. The other place he went, twice, was the operating room — the most expensive place.

Healthy people, who are unlikely to die, are also very unlikely to find themselves in those settings. Thank goodness. Thus, spending will always be concentrated on people who are the sickest. When one examines spending on patients who die, dollars will be concentrated there, too.

. . . The more nuanced reality is that some aggressive treatment delivers value and is appropriate, even though some patients who receive such care die; other treatment is too aggressive and should be curtailed no matter what the short-term outcome. . . . The important thing is that it’s not all of one and it’s not all of the other.

Today the medical profession lacks a shared understanding of which patients are which. That gap must be addressed. It will be an excruciating task, and it will be politically noxious. Someone will again accuse officials of forming death panels. But leaving the distinctions to individual doctors leads to inequities, harm to patients, distrust in medical care and lawsuits; ignoring the problem should not be an option, either. NY Times

Research reveals shifting attitudes towards euthanasia

2011-12-13T15:29:00.000-05:00

Research reveals shifting attitudes towards euthanasia - The Irish Times - Thu, Dec 01, 2011: Anthony Ozimic of the UK’s Society for Protection of the Unborn Child said euthanasia was underpinned by a pessimism about the value of life and the ability of society to respond adequately to the sick and the vulnerable. More on the conference

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Liverpool pathway to death

2011-12-13T15:27:00.000-05:00

It’s Clegg who is isolated in the face of Cameron’s refusal to be subservient to Merkel and Sarkozy - Telegraph: A letter to the editor relates how a family was told "that Mother had been placed on the 'care pathway of the dying' and that she would not be given any food or water but would have regular sedation. We asked if she could be transferred to a private ward to be more comfortable in her final hours. . . . Her physician confirmed she was indeed terminally ill and no medication would be appropriate, only care. To everyone’s surprise, she began to improve." Mom lived to see her 100th birthday!

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Euthanasia Prevention Coalition makes oral arguments in assisted suicide case.

2011-12-13T13:00:00.000-05:00

ALEX SCHADENBERG: Euthanasia Prevention Coalition makes oral arguments in assisted suicide case.: The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition is an Intervener in the Carter vs. Attorney General of Canada case that seeks to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada. On December 14, the EPC legal counsel, Hugh Scher, will present legal arguments before the BC court.

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Why People Are Atheists and Why We Suffer

2011-12-13T12:57:00.000-05:00

Why People Are Atheists and Why the Answers in Genesis Ministry Is So Important—Part 1 | Dr. Georgia Purdom's Blog: Famed atheist PZ Myers has had a series of recent posts on his blogs written by people explaining why they became atheists. Today’s excerpts focus on the issue of death and suffering.

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Sign of things to come? Britain’s austerity budget threatens cherished National Health Service

2011-12-13T08:13:00.000-05:00

Health Squeeze: Britain’s austerity budget threatens cherished National Health Service - The Washington Post: When David Evans needed a hernia operation, the 69-year-old farmer became so alarmed by the long wait that he used an ultrasound machine for pregnant sheep on himself, to make sure he wasn’t getting worse.

It was only after repeated calls from himself, his doctor and his local member of parliament that the hospital performed the surgery, nearly a year after it was first requested. Under government guidelines, he should have started getting treatment within 18 weeks.

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UK hospitals warned over 'do not resuscitate' orders

2011-12-12T14:47:00.000-05:00

NHS hospitals warned over 'do not resuscitate' orders | Society | The Guardian: Hospitals have been ordered to improve the way they record their decisions on whether or not to resuscitate patients amid fresh evidence of a failure to create a proper dialogue about those decisions with patients and relatives.

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The Xinjiang Procedure: Organ "donations" from political prisoners in China

2011-12-12T13:23:00.000-05:00

The Xinjiang Procedure | The Weekly Standard: With the acceleration of Chinese medical expertise over the last decade, organs once considered scraps no longer went to waste. It wasn’t public knowledge exactly, but Chinese medical schools taught that many otherwise wicked criminals volunteered their organs as a final penance.

Right after the first shots the van door was thrust open and two men with white surgical coats thrown over their uniforms carried a body in, the head and feet still twitching slightly. The young doctor noted that the wound was on the right side of the chest as he had expected. When body #3 was laid down, he went to work.

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Massachusetts Medical Society Reaffirms Opposition to Physician-Assisted Suicide

2011-12-12T13:11:00.000-05:00

Massachusetts Medical Society | MMS Physicians Reaffirm Opposition to Physician-Assisted Suicide: The Massachusetts Medical Society, the statewide association of physicians with more than 23,000 members, today voted to reaffirm its opposition to physician-assisted suicide, with its House of Delegates voting by a wide margin to maintain a policy the Society has had in effect since 1996.

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Don’t weaken euthanasia law based on rare cases, says doctor

2011-12-12T09:42:00.000-05:00

Don’t weaken euthanasia law based on rare cases, says doctor | News | The Christian Institute: Tony Nicklinson, 57, suffers from ‘locked-in syndrome’ and wants a doctor to end his life. He is paralysed from the neck down after having a stroke in 2005.

But Dr Peter Saunders of the Care Not Killing alliance warns against weakening the law because it would endanger the lives of some of the nation’s most vulnerable members. He said we “need to realise that cases like Nicklinson’s are extremely rare and that hard cases make bad law. The overwhelming majority of people with severe disability – even with ‘locked-in syndrome’ – do not wish to die but rather want support to live."

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Mother, nurses charged in teen's death

2011-12-09T15:02:00.000-05:00

Mother, nurses charged in teen's death: Makayla Norman was just 14-years-old when she died in March. At the time she was just 28 pounds. The coroner said malnutrition played a big factor in Makayla's death. She suffered from cerebal palsy and required constant care, which investigators said she did not get.

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Guardianship Attorney Indicted for Bilking $800,000 from Incapacitated Wards

2011-12-09T15:01:00.000-05:00

Guardianship Attorney Indicted for Bilking $800,000 from Incapacitated Wards: A forensic examination revealed that more than $800,000 of proceeds belonging to Kenneally’s wards was diverted into orthrough the personal bank accounts of Tara Howie, a former paralegal of Kenneally’s guardianship practice.

Kenneally repeatedly overpaid bills on behalf of her wards, causing the issuance of refund checks that were ultimately diverted. To further conceal the theft scheme, mandatory accountings filed by Kenneally failed to disclose the existence of checks that were ultimately deposited into Howie’s personal accounts.

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Why do they look the other way?

2011-12-09T14:58:00.000-05:00

Why do they look the other way? : Reader's Forum - Tampa Bay Newspapers: "This past Friday we did a wellness check on a member (as she had missed our meeting and dine out), only to find that she had mail in the box for a few days. I got no response from pounding on the door so we called 911. The police then found her inside and she had passed away a few days earlier.

"What does this say about our society? That we cannot look after our neighbors? Are we in such a rush that we do not notice anything anymore? How sad this is that a wonderful woman died this week at home alone."

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Desperate mom wins fight for son's care

2011-12-09T14:57:00.000-05:00

Desperate mom wins fight for son's care | The Clarion-Ledger | clarionledger.com: After lying in a hospital bed for nearly two years with a severe brain injury, Mike Barnes of Mount Olive is finally receiving the rehabilitative care his mother fought for.

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Euthanasia Is Heroin

2011-12-09T14:56:00.000-05:00

Euthanasia Is Heroin » Secondhand Smoke | A First Things Blog: Wesley Smith once called euthanasia, “heroin.” "My point was – and is – that once a culture starts mainlining mercy killing, it will always wants more. And now a Dutch euthanasia advocacy groups wants to create mobile euthanasia clinics."

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Joni: Lessons from cancer

2011-12-09T14:05:00.001-05:00

"Never should we think we suffer for nothing, suffer alone."

New prenatal blood test developed in Grand Rapids

2011-12-08T09:07:00.000-05:00

Risk of Down syndrome prompts couple to seek out new prenatal blood test developed in Grand Rapids | MLive.com: The new prenatal blood test for Down syndrome was developed by the Center for Molecular Medicine, a Grand Rapids-based subsidiary of biotechnology company Sequenom Inc. It was released in October in about 20 U.S. cities and will be made available nationwide after Jan. 1.

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Does the slippery slope to euthanasia make sense?

2011-12-06T09:10:00.000-05:00

Does the slippery slope to euthanasia make sense? | NRL News Today: An argument is not like a bus where you can get off at any stop you, once you have accepted the premises you have to follow it to the end of the line. If voluntary euthanasia were accepted as a legitimate form of medical assistance in dying, then it would also be acceptable for noncompetent patients. An advocate of legalizing voluntary active euthanasia either must bite the bullet and also accept non-voluntary active euthanasia or must concede that if non-voluntary active euthanasia is regarded as too dangerous or unpalatable, then this is a valid and cogent reason for rejecting voluntary active euthanasia as well.

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Massachusetts Docs Reaffirms Opposition to Doctor-Prescribed Death

2011-12-06T09:05:00.000-05:00

Massachusetts Medical Society’s House of Delegates Overwhelmingly Reaffirms Opposition to Doctor-Prescribed Death | NRL News Today: Over the weekend, the Massachusetts Medical Society’s House of Delegates voted overwhelmingly to retain the Society’s long-standing opposition to physician assisted suicide. The final tally was 178 to 56.

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Alzheimer's damage reversed by deep brain stimulation

2011-12-06T08:40:00.001-05:00

Alzheimer's damage reversed by deep brain stimulation - health - 23 November 2011 - New Scientist: Brain shrinkage in people with Alzheimer's disease can be reversed in some cases - by jolting the degenerating tissue with electrical impulses. Moreover, doing so reduces the cognitive decline associated with the disease.

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How practices can make room for mobility

2011-12-06T08:40:00.000-05:00

amednews: How practices can make room for mobility :: Nov. 28, 2011 ... American Medical News: More than 40 million Americans have a disability, and about 24% of them use mobility aids. Experts offer tips to improve care for these patients.

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Canada Revisits Old Debate On Assisted Suicide

2011-12-06T08:39:00.000-05:00

Canada Revisits Old Debate On Assisted Suicide | Fox News: Confined to a wheelchair, in constant pain and unable to bathe without help, a 63-year-old grandmother has forced the issue of assisted suicide into Canadian courts for the third time in two decades.

Gloria Taylor has Lou Gehrig's disease, a rapidly progressive, invariably fatal neurological affliction. "It is my life and my body and it should be my choice as to when and how I die," she said before going to the British Columbia Supreme Court last Thursday to challenge Canada's ban on assisted suicide, a crime carrying a sentence of up to 14 years in prison.

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Championing good health for people with disabilities

2011-12-05T11:30:00.000-05:00

Championing good health for people with disabilities : The Lancet: Dec 3, 2011, marks the International Day of Persons with Disabilities—a time to celebrate the diversity and contribution that people with disabilities make to society and to draw attention to their unmet needs.

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Pro-death group: "careful dying assistance in cases of completed life"

2011-12-05T11:29:00.000-05:00

The self-chosen death of the elderly: "The purpose of this document is to describe the public debate in the Netherlands and to summarize the proposals for careful dying assistance in cases of completed life."

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Basic human rights of older people are abused in home care

2011-12-05T11:25:00.001-05:00

Basic human rights of older people are abused in home care | BMJ: A highly critical report from a year long inquiry into the home care system in England has found evidence of “serious, systemic threats to the basic human rights of older people” who receive home care services.

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Hungarian police investigate 70 suspicious hospital deaths

2011-12-05T11:25:00.000-05:00

Hungarian police investigate 70 suspicious hospital deaths - Telegraph: Hungarian police are investigating 70 suspicious deaths at a Budapest hospital following claims that patients were given lethal drug overdoses.

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NHS must come clean over use of 'death pathway'

2011-12-02T11:24:00.000-05:00

NHS must come clean over use of 'death pathway' - Telegraph: A leading doctor has called for the [UK] NHS to reveal the true extent of the use of the controversial 'death pathway' after a report found up to half of families are not informed of its use.

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Tony Nicklinson deserves sympathy but hard cases make bad law

2011-12-02T09:29:00.000-05:00

Tony Nicklinson deserves sympathy but hard cases make bad law | NRL News Today: Tony Nicklinson, 57, is paralysed from the neck down after suffering a stroke in 2005. He cannot speak or move anything except his head and eyes and communicates through nodding his head at letters on a perspex board or by using a computer which responds to eye movements.

The Melksham man sums up his life as ‘dull, miserable, demeaning, undignified and intolerable.’ His lawyers want a doctor actively ending his life to have a ‘common law defence of necessity’ against any possible murder charge.

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Majority of Irish medical students back euthanasia

2011-12-02T09:23:00.000-05:00

Survey finds majority of Irish medical students back euthanasia | Irish News | IrishCentral: Irish society is moving towards an acceptance of euthanasia if a new survey of medical students is a barometer of national opinion. Almost 60 percent of those who took part in the research project were in favour of euthanasia, currently banned in Ireland.

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Grim reaper on wheels

2011-12-02T09:14:00.000-05:00

Grim reaper on wheels: Dutch right-to-die group wants ‘mobile euthanasia teams’ | LifeSiteNews.com: The Dutch euthanasia advocacy group, “The Right To Die” (NVVE), is proposing a plan where “mobile teams of doctors and nurses … can help people to die in their own homes,” according to DutchNews.nl.

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And we wonder why medical costs are so high!?!

2011-12-02T08:41:00.000-05:00

U.S. medical 'trash' saving lives abroad - CNN.com: Doctors will often prepare for surgical procedures by opening instrument and supply kits that contain up to 100 items. Many of these items, such as scalpels, needles or sponges, go unused; they're just not needed for that particular procedure. But because of government or hospital regulations in the United States, they are frequently thrown away, even when they are still wrapped.

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Do We Really Spend More and Get Less?

2011-12-01T14:24:00.000-05:00

Do We Really Spend More and Get Less? | John Goodman's Health Policy Blog | NCPA.org: The conventional wisdom in health policy is that the United States spends far more than any other country and enjoys mediocre health outcomes. This judgment is repeated so often and so forcefully that you will almost never see it questioned. And yet it may not be true.

Indeed, the reverse may be true. We may be spending less and getting more.

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What Do You Think ‘Caused’ Your MS?

2011-12-01T14:11:00.000-05:00

What Do You Think ‘Caused’ Your MS? - Multiple Sclerosis Blog: “Isn’t there a cure?” “You take drugs to help that?” “Does MS run in your family?” “Didn’t I just hear about a new MS treatment or drug on the news?” “What are your symptoms?” “What causes MS?”

These questions may have something to do with fear because MS is a disease of which so much is known yet so little is understood.

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Down syndrome: Attack the disease, not the babies

2011-11-30T13:55:00.001-05:00

I am writing this column -- to try to persuade as many as I can to not easily accept the common treatment of Down syndrome and condemn those diagnosed with it to death. How hopeful am I? I am not brimming with optimism. . . . I now call upon Dr. Jerome Lejeune, discoverer of trisomy 21, the defective chromosome in Down syndrome. In The Lancet, one of the leading medical magazines in the world, he wrote on Jan. 5, 1980:

"The whole history of medicine is at hand to answer any … death-doctor. Those who delivered humanity from plague and rabies were not those who burned the plague-stricken alive in their houses or suffocated rabid patients between mattresses. … Victory against Down syndrome -- curing children of the ill-effect of their genetic overdose -- may not be too far off, if only the disease is attacked, not the babies." Nat Hentoff

Help with depression, not suicide

2011-11-30T13:43:00.000-05:00

Help with depression, not suicide: An Oregon doctor writes about a 76 year-old patient with cancer -- "I referred him to an cancer specialist for evaluation and therapy. He was an avid hiker and as he went through his therapy, he became less able to do this activity and became depressed. . ..

"He expressed a wish for assisted-suicide to the cancer specialist, but rather than taking the time and effort to address his depression, or to contact me as his primary physician and as someone who knew him, she asked me to be the second opinion for his suicide. I told her that I did not concur and that addressing his depression would be better than simply giving him a lethal prescription. Unfortunately, two weeks later my patient was dead from an overdose prescribed by this doctor.

"In most jurisdictions, suicidal ideation is interpreted as a cry for help. In Oregon, the only help my patient got was a lethal prescription intended to kill him."

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Even Barney Frank Distrusts Death Panels

2011-11-30T13:22:00.000-05:00

Liberal Barney Frank Even Hates Death Panels: The Daily Caller reported today that Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) now favors repealing the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), a death panel-like operation of unelected bureaucrats tasked with allocating limited resources to Medicare patients.

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Doctors in the UK who provide medical reports for patients seeking assisted suicide abroad could be prosecuted

2011-11-30T13:19:00.000-05:00

Christian Medical Comment: MDU warns that doctors who provide medical reports for patients seeking assisted suicide abroad could be prosecuted: The Medical Defence Union Journal has published a case study to emphasise the point that doctors who supply medical records to patients who are intending to commit suicide could well be prosecuted.

The article lists 16 criteria which make prosecution more likely in any case of assisted suicide. One of these is that ‘the suspect was acting in his or her capacity as a medical doctor, nurse, other healthcare professional, a professional carer [whether for payment or not], or as a person in authority, such as a prison officer, and the victim was in his or her care’

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Read the latest from Caring Right at Home

2011-11-30T12:47:00.001-05:00

As more people donate a kidney, a push to better track how donors fare long-term

2011-11-30T12:45:00.000-05:00

HEALTHBEAT: As more people donate a kidney, a push to better track how donors fare long-term - The Washington Post: Specialists insist the surgery rarely brings serious complications for the donor. What’s less certain is the risk of any long-term health consequences, in part because transplant centers can lose track of donors after they go home.

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Heart patients prefer longevity over quality of life

2011-11-30T12:44:00.000-05:00

Heart patients prefer longevity over quality of life - TODAY Health - TODAY.com: When an elderly person's chronic disease is impossible to cure, many doctors might assume that patient would chose to improve the quality of his or her remaining life rather than to extend it as is. Those doctors would be mistaken most of the time, according to a new study.

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The Eyeless “I” of Assisted Suicide

2011-11-30T10:52:00.000-05:00

The Eyeless “I” of Assisted Suicide, Fighting it in Canada | LifeNews.com: As the 17th Century poet and divine, John Donne wrote “No man is an island entire unto itself. Every man is a part of the continent, a part of the main. … any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” Only independence and autonomy — the eyeless “I” — sees self and self alone. Interdependence and the interconnectedness of community call for consideration for others — especially the weakest. I do not have a right to ask or demand something that may hurt others.

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Help with Hard Questions

2011-11-29T11:08:00.000-05:00

Help with Hard Questions - The Hastings Center: The Hastings Center’s Help with Hard Questions series is designed to help you think through bioethical problems raised by advances in medicine and technology in a way that leads you to solutions that are consistent with your values.

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In Emergency Rooms, Less Pain Medication for the Elderly

2011-11-28T15:33:00.000-05:00

In Emergency Rooms, Less Pain Medication for the Elderly - NYTimes.com: A seven-year nationwide study of emergency room patient data has found that 49 percent of patients over age 75 were given pain medication, compared with slightly more than 65 percent of those under age 75.

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Washington State lawyer suggests expanding euthanasia/assisted suicide to those not terminally ill

2011-11-28T14:09:00.000-05:00

Washington State lawyer suggests expanding euthanasia/assisted suicide to those not terminally ill | LifeSiteNews.com: Currently Washington’s law allows doctors to prescribe lethal medication upon request to a competent, terminally ill patient, but Olympia attorney Brian Faller wants it to include people who are not terminally ill, and those not mentally or physically able to request life-ending medication.

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DIY euthanasia workshop allowed in Edinburgh

2011-11-28T14:00:00.000-05:00

DIY euthanasia workshop allowed in Edinburgh - SCO News: Dr Philip Nitschke, from Australia, shared his controversial advice with an audience in Edinburgh as part of his UK tour instructing people on the ways in which they can end their lives in a ‘peaceful and reliable way.’

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