Kansas Governor Signs Bill Making Assisted Suicide a Crime

WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - Jennifer Dennis is one of several mothers who testified in Topeka this year in favor of a bill to make it a crime to encourage someone to take their own life, after her son William lost his life to suicide after being encouraged by people in an online forum.

Wednesday morning, Gov. Laura Kelly signed the bill into law.

"I felt like, for the first time that people get it, that they understand there's a problem, the suicide rates are a problem," Dennis said. "And that this was such a positive win for the state of Kansas."

As the bill made its way through the statehouse, many more stories surfaced of families who went through the same thing.

Kristi Khan of Colby lost her son, Kai, who was transgender. He'd also been on this same website.

"When I reached out to the detective on my son's case and said, 'Did you see all this?' and he's like, 'Well, it's not against the law,'" Khan said. "So I am beyond thrilled to see that Kansas is doing this. And I'm hoping that other states will see this and follow suit."

My Personal Experience With Assisted Suicide

By Margaret Dore

In another life, most likely in 1980 when I was 23 years old, I talked three young men down from suicide.

What I think happened is that a final exit network type person had given them my phone number by mistake. This was before the age of caller ID.

I was contacted by each of the three young men over a period of time, each one wanting assistance to kill himself. 

I called a suicide prevention person to ask what I should do, i.e., with regard to the first one. The person told me to ask the suicidal person why? To engage him.  

So that’s what I did. I met each one at a local park, which I thought would be safe for me and asked him why, and then I tried to expand to other topics.  

The last one I got him laughing. He told me that he no longer felt like killing himself.

To the best of my knowledge they all lived, but I don't know for sure.

People in Distress Need Support, Not a Fast-Track to Death

The Connecticut General Assembly will again skip considering a bill that would provide a legal avenue for medical aid in dying, or physician-assisted suicide [or euthanasia], in the state. 

“I’m disappointed,” said state Rep. Josh Elliott, a Hamden Democrat who’s been a longtime legislative champion of the proposal. “But in this work you get used to it. No matter how refined your legislative agenda is, it always ends up functionally being throwing things at the wall to see what sticks. It didn’t stick this year — but now in my fifth term, I know that there is always next year.”

Elliott had introduced the bill this year alongside two colleagues, but it was not raised by the General Assembly’s Public Health Committee before a deadline to advance it further.

CT Insider reported in 2024 that Elliott and advocates planned to skip that year’s session in the hopes of taking it up again this year....

“Second Thoughts Connecticut was glad to hear that our state legislature continues to move cautiously when it comes to medical assisted suicide,” said Cathy Ludlum [pictured above] of Second Thoughts Connecticut, a group of disability rights advocates opposed to the legalization of assisted suicide.

“Legislators have wisely stopped it from coming here this year, and we are thankful,” Ludlum said. “People in distress need support, not a fast-track to death.”

Doctors, Disability Activists Split on Support for Controversial Procedure

byAndrew Adams

 

 

CHICAGO — Lawmakers are considering legalizing a controversial medical practice that proponents say could ease suffering for the terminally ill.

It’s sometimes called “assisted suicide,” although physicians and advocates for the practice prefer the term “medical aid in dying,” or MAID.

While Compassion & Choices — a group that advocates for medical aid in dying policies — found a majority of Illinois voters supported legalizing MAID in a 2023 poll, some critics call the process “barbaric.”

Proposed Oregon Bill Would Allow Non-Physicians to Legally Participate in Assisted Suicide & Euthanasia

By Leslie Wolfgang | February 18, 2025, 12:53pm 

An Oregon bill would expand the state’s current law to permit physician assistants and nurse practitioners to prescribe “medication” to help a person to commit suicide. 

Senate Bill 1003 changes the term “attending physician” to “prescribing provider,” and “consulting physician” to “consulting provider.” The term “provider” would be defined as a physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner under Oregon law. This bill represents the first time that non-physicians would be authorized to assist the killing of a person in the United States.  

Nurses participate in the euthanasia and assisted suicide of persons in Canada, where the country’s “Medical Assistance In Dying” (MAiD) rates are already high and continuing to increase. According to 2023 statistics, these practitioner-assisted killings account for 4.7%, or 1 in 20 deaths, in Canada.

The Extreme Legal Theory Behind Trump’s First Month in Office

By Michael Waldman, 02/20/25* 

Over President’s Day weekend, Donald Trump posted, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” This is a quote attributed to Napoleon — you know, the guy who crowned himself emperor. For a long time, the trope went that people who were delusional thought they were Napoleon. No one’s laughing now.  

Less incendiary but perhaps more consequential, yesterday Trump signed an executive order that purports to seize control of independent agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. These expert bodies fight monopolies, police bank safety, organize the broadcast industry, and more. They are central to the entire edifice of modern government, built up over the past 140 years, which ensures that the free market does not devolve into an abusive free-for-all. 

The new president’s power grab may get clothed in legalistic garb by the highest court in the land, and some academics and advocates will applaud the decision. Very soon, we will be hearing a lot about the “unitary executive theory.” 

The framers of the Constitution were vague about what the president could and could not do. They knew that George Washington would be the first, but beyond that, things were a bit fuzzy. Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson wrote in 1952 that what they intended “must be divined from materials almost as enigmatic as the dreams Joseph was called upon to interpret for Pharaoh.”

Commentary: Defensive Gun Uses Show Faulty Premise of California Gun Laws

Amy Swearer | Grace McNabnay | February 18, 2025

As wildfires raged last month in California, tens of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes, often with just minutes of warning. To make matters worse, looters took advantage of the chaos and lack of police resources, showing up in droves to ransack evacuated areas—sometimes as helpless residents looked on in horror as their doorbell cameras captured the looting in real time.

Fortunately for residents of at least some evacuated areas, a handful of their armed neighbors stayed behind to protect their homes and livelihoods from would-be looters—in some cases, bravely patrolling their streets with firearms in what certainly seemed to be open defiance of the state’s public carry laws.

But for countless others, the state’s restrictive gun laws undoubtedly complicated their ability to defend their homes, at the very least compounding their anxiety by raising questions about their legal rights in a state notorious for treating lawful gun owners as the enemy of public safety. Barriers like mandatory waiting periods, meanwhile, ensured that Californians who didn’t already own guns would be kept from exercising one of their most fundamental rights precisely when it mattered most. 

‘They Stole His Practice’: Medical Board Drops Case Against Canadian Doctor Who Questioned COVID Vaccines

https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/medical-board-drops-case-canadian-doctor-covid-vaccines/?utm_id=202502 

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia (CPSBC) earlier this month withdrew its case against a Canadian doctor who faced misconduct allegations over social media posts questioning the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and promoting ivermectin.

The charges against Dr. Charles Hoffe of Lytton, British Columbia [pictured here], an emergency room doctor with over 30 years of experience, had been lingering since 2022.

On Feb. 5, the CPSBC informed Hoffe’s attorney, Lee Turner, that it was withdrawing its disciplinary proceedings. According to The Epoch Times, CPSBC said the process had dragged on too long. According to Castanet Kamloops, CPSBC said the circumstances around Hoffe’s citation “materially changed.”

“The material change in circumstances is the fact that the emergency phase of COVID-19 has passed,” Castanet reported.

Kansas Legislature Overrides Governor’s Veto

Senator Beverly Gossage*

By: Sherman Smith 

TOPEKA — Senate and House Republicans voted Tuesday to override Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of legislation that bans gender-affirming care for minors, rejecting pleas from Democrats to turn attention instead to issues that would help Kansas families.

Republicans used their dominance in both chambers to summon the two-thirds majorities needed to override the veto with votes of 31-9 in the Senate and 85-34 in the House. The unscheduled votes caught Democrats off-guard.

Senate Bill 63 prohibits health care providers from providing surgery, hormones or puberty blockers to children who identify as a gender that is different from the sex they were assigned at birth. Health care providers who break the law will be stripped of their license.

It also prohibits the use of state funds for psychological treatment for transgender children, bans state employees from promoting “social transitioning” and outlaws liability insurance for damages related to gender-affirming care.

A national anti-LGBTQ+ group called Do Not Harm drafted the model legislation, which is billed as the “Help Not Harm Act.”

Kelly responded to the veto override by saying it was “inappropriate that the Legislature dictate to parents how to best raise their children.”

“It is unfortunate that the first bill the Legislature sent me this session is focused on putting politicians between Kansans and their private medical decisions instead of prioritizing solutions to issues like rising prices and the cost of groceries, which would benefit everyone,” Kelly said. “This divisive bill will undoubtedly have ripple effects that harm Kansas families, our businesses, and our economy and intensify our workforce shortage issue.”

After DEI Fight With Legislature, University Of Wyoming Launches Image Makeover

Sunday, February 16, 2025

The University of Wyoming is trying to improve its public image. 

The school has come under fire from the Wyoming Legislature over the past year for issues like diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs on campus. Now, the school is launching a “Wyoming First” agenda for teacher education and putting more effort into actively promoting its Wyoming-focused programs.

UW President Ed Seidel told Cowboy State Daily the school’s top priority is trying to figure out how it can help advance the state.

“We are really trying to make a statement to the state that we’re here for the state,” Seidel said. “It’s very important to us that people understand that we’re here for the whole state, no matter where you’re from, and that means every student, every town, every organization across the state.”

Last year, the Legislature cut funding for the school’s DEI office. In response, the UW Board of Trustees cut the office while still retaining some of its services.

The Canadian Experience Includes Some of the World's Most Permissive Policies Regarding Assisted Suicide & Euthanasia

The full article can be viewed here:  https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2025/02/13/new-hampshire-is-debating-legalized-assisted-suicide-heres-how-its-worked-out-elsewhere/   

Quebec became the first Canadian province to legalize assisted suicide in 2014. Since then, however, the Canadian Supreme Court has ruled it legal for all Canadians.

After multiple expansions, Canadian law includes some of the world’s most permissive policies on assisted suicide. Since 2021, a patient does not have to be terminally ill to receive the drugs in Canada, but rather may be experiencing a long and complicated condition – including disability alone – that impacts their quality of life. The law there also allows a provider to directly administer the drugs rather than require the patient self-administer. (When a provider administers the drug, it’s called euthanasia.) Some opponents have called these expansions part of a so-called slippery slope.

The practice has exploded there. Assisted dying now represents roughly 1 in 20 Canadian deaths, according to an annual report released in December by Health Canada with data from 2023, the most recent available. That’s 15,300 deaths, or 4.7% of deaths in the country. Most – roughly 96% – had a terminal illness, but a small minority – around 4% – fit into the category of illness with a natural death not “reasonably foreseeable.” The median age was 77.7.

In recent years, Canada’s assisted-suicide policies have garnered criticism for disproportionately being used by the poor and disabled.

Idaho House Passes Legislation to end Taxpayer Funding for Teachers Unions

February 13, 2025  

(Boise) – The Idaho House of Representatives yesterday passed legislation to end taxpayer funding for teachers unions. Introduced by Rep. Judy Boyle (R-Midvale) [pictured here] and Sen. Ben Toews (R-Coeur d’ Alene), House Bill 98 passed by a vote of 40-29. Nineteen Republicans joined all 10 of the chamber’s Democrats in voting against the proposal. If adopted, this Freedom Foundation-supported proposal would make teachers unions more accountable .... 

Freedom Foundation testimony in support of HB 98 before the House State Affairs Committee:

using public payroll systems and personnel to deduct union dues from teachers’ paychecks; contributing taxpayer funds to a teachers union; providing teachers with paid leave to engage in union operations and activism, unless the union reimburses the district for the value of the teacher’s time out of the classroom; paying teachers’ union dues for them with taxpayer funds; providing more of a teacher’s personal information to a union than is disclosable under the Public Records Act, unless the teacher authorizes the disclosure; requiring teachers to meet or interact with a teachers union if they do not wish to do so; and distributing communications or membership solicitations on behalf of a teachers union.

Argentina Announces Withdrawal From WHO

By Owen Evens

The Argentine government has announced its decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) in response to the “catastrophic” economic impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns.

In a statement shared on social media platform X on Feb. 5, the office of Argentine President Javier Milei [president's photo pictured here] stated that the COVID-19 lockdowns were one of the greatest economic catastrophes in world history, citing the severe and lasting impact on global economies as Argentina’s primary reason for pulling out.

“The WHO was established in 1948 to coordinate global health emergency responses, but it failed its most significant test: it promoted indefinite quarantines without scientific backing during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the statement reads in English translation.

“These quarantines caused one of the largest economic catastrophes in world history.”

Vaccines Were Supposed to End the Pandemic. Excess Death Figures Tell a Different Story.

https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/vaccines-supposed-end-pandemic-excess-death-figures-different-story/?utm_id=20250207

By Michael Tomlinson

In the ongoing struggle to write the history of the pandemic years, nothing is more important than mortality — did the world’s governments save us from mass mortality or not?

The grand strategy (which as I have said before was neither grand nor strategic) was to lock down the population of whole countries as an interim measure “until a vaccine becomes available.”

This was a novel (and completely unproven) strategy to defeat a supposedly completely novel virus, on the grounds that no human had ever encountered anything like SARS-CoV-2 before so no one would have any preexisting immunity to it.

But the clue is in the name — SARS-CoV-2 was named after SARS to which it was closely related, sharing approximately 79% of its genome sequence according to this paper in Nature.

Montana Senate Eliminates Legal Protections for Assisted Suicide

By Darrell Ehrlick

Currently, physician-assisted aid in dying in Montana occupies a legal gray area. A 2009 Montana Supreme Court ruling said a physician can raise a defense in a homicide case, saying that a patient consented and sought out the drugs, but the high court said that it was ultimately up to the Legislature to make the final decision on the legality of physician assistance in suicide.

On Friday, the Montana Senate passed Senate Bill 136, which would disallow patient consent as a defense to physician-assisted aid in dying [assisted suicide], effectively giving physicians no legal protection if they participated in administering drugs that would end a terminally ill patient's life.

The measure passed 29-20, with all Democrats voting against the measure.  Three Republicans joined the Democrats... 

Sen. Carl Glimm, R-Kila, has carried a similar bill in previous sessions, and pointed to physician assisted aid in dying, often referred to by opponents as "physician suicide," in other countries, such as Canada and European, calling them "slippery slopes."

"It will just keep growing and growing," Glimm said, citing cases where a veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder "was talked into suicide."...

Bill Seeking to Prohibit Legal Assisted Suicide Faces Third and Final Reading

Senator Glimm

By Alex Schadenberg

Montanans have a confusing legal situation concerning assisted suicide. 

In 2009, [Montana's] Baxter court decision declared that Montanans have a right to assisted suicide. The Baxter decision was appealed to the Montana Supreme Court where it was decided that there is not a right to assisted suicide in Montana[.]  ... [The Baxter court also] found a "defense of consent" meaning a Montana physician who assists a suicide must prove that there was consent [to death by the person who died.]

Senate Bill 136 legislatively declares that there is no defense of consent. ...