Proposed Federal Palliative Care Act Is a Springing Euthanasia Bill

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

In 2012, an article in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that many doctors object to physician-assisted suicide.[1] The article's authors, Dr. Lisa Lehmann and Julian Prokopetz, argued back that assisted deaths need not be physician-assisted.[2] They said that a central government mechanism should provide the assistance instead:

We envision the development of a central state or federal mechanism to confirm the authenticity and eligibility of patients' requests, dispense medication [the lethal dose], and monitor demand and use.[3] 

Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Counseling Suicide to Obtain Life Insurance

Justice Peter Davis

To view original article, click here

“However, one can imagine many circumstances arising where people in positions of trust and responsibility could succumb to the temptation to counsel suicide for personal gain.”

By Hope Australia

These confronting words were spoken last week by Justice Davis in the Supreme Court of Queensland, as he sentenced Graham Robert Morant to 10 years imprisonment for counselling his wife to commit suicide.

Virginia: Legislative Panel Punts on Assisted Suicide-Euthanasia Proposal

Del. Scott Garrett, MD

To view the original article, click here.

By Katie O' Connor, Virginia Mercury

A group of lawmakers shot down proposals to allow medical-aid-in-dying, also known as physician-assisted suicide [and euthanasia], in Virginia on Wednesday in a review of a series of legislative recommendations on health care.

Del. Kaye Kory, D-Fairfax, requested that the Joint Commission on Health Care study the medical-aid-in-dying debate, in which a patient with less than six months to live obtains lethal drugs through a physician to end his or her life.

Australia: Husband Who Aided Wife's Suicide to Obtain Her Life Insurance Sentenced to Prison

Graham Morant, AAP Dan Peled

By Melanie Vujkovic

Graham Robert Morant was last month found guilty on two charges — counselling suicide and aiding suicide — for persuading his wife Jennifer Morant, 56, to kill herself in her car in 2014 and helping her buy the necessary equipment from a hardware store.

The court heard Morant was the sole beneficiary of Ms Morant's three life insurance policies, which Justice Peter Davis concluded was the motivation for his actions.

Why the Site HospiceFraud Exists

An excerpt below from "Hospice Fraud." 

This is not a site that supports hospice haters. This is a site that inspires solutions. You can't totally eliminate care for the elderly, disabled or dying or you will just have euthanasia! You have to have some type of caring whatever you call it and originally hospice was the appropriate way of caring for people using the best of science to relieve suffering without killing.

Today, much greed in the industry and those who have found ways to make a lot of money off of human suffering have changed the landscape. Hospice patients are simply a money crop.

Press Release: "Proposed Federal Hospice Act Must Be Defeated to 'Stop the Waste, Bleeding and Heartache'"

https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/465588180/proposed-federal-hospice-act-must-be-defeated-to-stop-the-waste-bleeding-and-heartache

Washington DC

Dore: "Existing federal hospice programs, such as the Medicare hospice benefit, are plagued by fraud, poor quality care, rampant abuse, arguably murder, and a gross waste of taxpayer dollars. Enacting another federal hospice program, when existing programs are far from being under control, makes no sense and will only cause more of the same."

"If my doctor had believed in assisted suicide, I would be dead"

Jeanette Hall and her son, Scott, in November 2000

By Jeanette Hall

I live in Oregon where assisted suicide is legal. Our law passed in 1997 by a ballot measure that I voted for.

In 2000, I was diagnosed with cancer and told that I had 6 months to a year to live.  I knew that our law had passed, but I didn’t know exactly how to go about doing it. I tried to ask my doctor, Kenneth Stevens MD, but he didn’t really answer me. In hindsight, he was stalling me.

Memo to the U.S. Senate HELP Committee: Vote No on the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

For a summary sheet including a similar House bill (H.R. 1676), click here. For a pdf version of this memo, click here.

I.  INTRODUCTION

I am an elder law attorney and president of Choice is an Illusion, a nonprofit corporation opposed to assisted suicide and euthanasia.[1] Formed in 2010, Choice is an Illusion fights against assisted suicide and euthanasia throughout the U.S. and in other countries.[2] We also fight against hospice and palliative care abuse.

S. 693, the Palliative Care and Hospice Education & Training Act," amends the existing Public Health Service Act to require financial support for “Palliative Care and Hospice Education Centers.”[3] This is a new program, which will include direct patient care.[4]

Existing federal palliative care programs, such as the Medicare hospice benefit, are plagued by fraud, poor quality care and a gross waste of taxpayer money.[5] S. 693 must be rejected unless problems with existing programs are resolved; Congress must not throw good money after bad. The bill must also be rejected for the reasons set forth below. 

Australian Man Convicted of Assisting Suicide

An Australian man has been convicted of aiding his wife's suicide, after a court heard he had coveted payouts from her life insurance.

Jennifer Morant, 56, had suffered from chronic pain but was not terminally ill when she died in 2014, a court heard.

A jury found that Graham Morant, 69, counselled and aided his wife to take her life. He had denied both charges.

South Africa: Euthanasia Society President Charged with Murder of Disabled Man

EUTHANASIA-FREE NZ: MEDIA RELEASE

Click here to view.

Sean Davison, a New Zealand citizen who was convicted of assisted suicide in Dunedin, appeared in a South African court on Wednesday on a murder charge.

The charge is in relation to the death of Anrich Burger, 53, who became a quadriplegic after a motor vehicle accident in 2005. He was not terminally ill.

The Letter the Kansas City Star Refused to Print

Wrong on Suicide

Dear Editor

I am an attorney and president of Choice is an Illusion, a nonprofit corporation opposed to assisted suicide and euthanasia. Formed in 2010, Choice is an Illusion fights against assisted suicide and euthanasia throughout the US and in other countries. 

David Grube’s guest commentary claims that Oregon’s suicide rates “overall have gone down ... since its Death with Dignity Act went into effect in 1997.” This claim is false.

Australia: Man pleads not guilty to assisting his wife's suicide, as prosecutors claim he did so to access her life insurance

By Melanie Vujkovic, click here to view original article

A 69-year-old man who has pleaded not guilty to assisting his wife to kill herself in 2014 had "1.4 million reasons" to intentionally help her end her life because she had three life insurance policies, a court has heard.

Graham Robert Morant is on trial in the Supreme Court in Brisbane on two counts, including one of counselling and one of aiding Jennifer Morant, 56, to kill herself.

Roger Foley Challenges Canada's Euthanasia Law

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/denied-assisted-life-by-hospital-ontario-man-is-offered-death-instead-lawsuit

An Ontario hospital that wants to discharge a suicidal man [Roger Foley] with a crippling brain disease threatened to start charging him $1,800 a day, and suggested his other options included medically assisted death [non-voluntary euthanasia], according to a new lawsuit.

It also claims Canada’s new assisted dying laws are unconstitutional and should be struck down because they do not require doctors “to even try to help relieve intolerable suffering” before offering to kill a terminally ill patient.

Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in the Medicare Hospice Program Is ‘Repellent’

Joanne M. Chiedi

https://www.statnews.com/2018/08/28/medicare-hospice-fraud-waste-abuse/

By Joanne M. Chiedi

Like many Americans, I have a story about hospice care for a loved one. When my father was dying from complications of dementia and diabetes, hospice caregivers sat with him, provided pain relief, and helped him be comfortable. They also gave my mother peace of mind that her beloved husband was receiving kind attention in his final weeks. To this day, she refers to those hospice workers as angels.

Sadly, not every family’s story is a positive one.

Mexico Addresses Euthanasia

To read the entire article, click here

The Supreme Court has endorsed the right of Mexico City residents to use marijuana for medicinal purposes as established by the city’s constitution.

Eight of 11 judges ruled yesterday that the Constitutional Assembly of Mexico City, a body formed to create a new constitution for the capital, had not encroached on federal jurisdiction by including an article enshrining the right to use medicinal marijuana....

The Supreme Court also endorsed a range of other articles in the city’s constitution against which challenges had been filed, including the right to die with dignity, the right of access to water, the right to sexuality, the right for the local government to enter into agreements with international entities and the right for migrants not to be criminalized while in the capital regardless of their legal status.

With regard to the dignified death provision, the PGR argued that it effectively allowed for euthanasia and assisted suicide, which are prohibited under federal law and whose regulation is the exclusive domain of the federal government.

Northwest Montana Fair: Thank You to Our Volunteers!

Thank you to our volunteers who braved the smoke to join us at the 2018 Northwest Montana Fair in Kalispell.

We educated the public about problems with legalization, including how people with years to live are encouraged to throw away their lives, and fatal elder abuse.

Thanks especially, to everyone who worked the table, including Lucinda Hardy of Columbia Falls, Gail Bell of Bozeman and Linda Clark of Seattle. To read Lucinda's story, click here. To read Gail's story, click here.

We also heard from people who were considering assisted suicide for themselves. Two were older men who came to the booth about fifteen minutes apart. After learning more about the process, each signed our petition to the legislature to clarify the law, that assisted suicide is not legal in Montana.

Thank you again to everyone who made this event possible. Your time and monetary donations are invaluable.

Margaret Dore, President
Choice is an Illusion

Legal Assisted Suicide Encourages Other Suicide

https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article216928250.html

I am an attorney and president of Choice is an Illusion, a 501(c)(4) non-profit. Formed in 2010, Choice is an Illusion fights against assisted suicide and euthanasia throughout the United States and in other countries.

David Grube’s Aug. 5 guest commentary in The Star said Oregon’s suicide rates “overall have gone down ... since its Death with Dignity Act [legalizing assisted suicide] went into effect in 1997.” I disagree with this claim.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “Vital Signs” website, Oregon’s suicide rate went up 28.2 percent from 1999 to 2016. 

Legal assisted suicide encourages other suicide. Don’t be fooled.*

Australia Defeats Euthanasia

"[T]he title of their legislation
gave the game away."

By Denis Strangman

In a narrow vote the Australian Senate today (Thursday) defeated by 36-34 a move to permit the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory to enact laws on euthanasia and assisted suicide. Most of the Australian media was campaigning for the pro-euthanasia move. A lot of work went on in the background with the group established by Paul Russell (Hope) encouraging a joint-Party meeting for Senators and staff to hear from two experienced Doctors from Victoria.

Hey Kansas City Star: Oregon’s Suicide Rate Went Up 28.2%, Not Down! Correct This Error.

On August 4, 2018, the Kansas City Star published this false statement:

"National and state level data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Vital Statistics System suggest that suicide rates have varied slightly, but overall have gone down in Oregon since its Death with Dignity Act went into effect in 1997."

Per the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Oregon’s suicide rate WENT UP, NOT DOWN, 28.2 %

Prosecutors argue why Michelle Carter's texting suicide conviction should not be overturned

Michelle Carter

To view full article, click here

Bristol County Prosecutors have filed their response to the appeal of Michelle Carter, arguing that the Plainville woman was rightfully convicted of involuntary manslaughter for pressuring her boyfriend Conrad Roy III into killing himself.

Roy died in 2014 after he turned on a gas-powered water pump in his truck and allowed the cabin to fill with carbon monoxide, following a lengthy battle with depression.

But police found text messages on Carter's phone that led them to believe it was no simple suicide.

The Doctor Ordered Her Own Family to Physically Hold her Down

https://www.dailywire.com/news/34014/netherlands-elderly-woman-forcibly-euthanized-paul-bois

By Paul Bois, August 3, 2018

One inherent consequence that so-called "Death with Dignity" advocates seem to ignore is the possibility that doctors and family members will pressure people into euthanasia or assisted suicide for convenience.

A case in the Netherlands takes that one step further, as an elderly woman was euthanized against her will by family members eager to move on with their lives.

How to Help Those Considering Suicide

By Anna Kucirkova 

We are facing a suicide epidemic in the United States, and throughout the world.

Suicide rates are up by 30 percent across the nation since 1999, according to a recent report by federal health officials. That increase comes even as the CDC notes that only about half the people who died by suicide had a known mental health condition, which has long been considered the ‘cause’ of suicide.

These facts are critical for all of us to understand, as they point to the silent and misunderstood nature of suicide, which often falls under the unfortunate umbrella term ‘mental illness.’ 

An Open Letter to the Center for Disease Control

Thank you for your press release regarding increased suicide rates in the US. Please consider the following factors not mentioned in the release.

1. The release discusses rising suicide rates begining in 1999. Oregon's assisted suicide law, legitimizing and encouraging suicide, had gone into effect just two years prior, in late 1997.

Local media then glorified assisted suicide deaths, for example, of Lovelle Svart, who was filmed taking the lethal dose and then dying at a suicide party. Indeed, local media encouraged readers to both listen and watch as Ms. Svart drank the lethal dose.