Hawai`i Free Press: Assisted Suicide Up 50%; Previously Enacted Safeguards Have Been Relaxed Or Removed

To read news release (may require two clicks), please click here  
HONOLULU — More patients utilized the Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) program last year than in 2022, according to the 2023 Our Care, Our Choice Act (OCOCA) Annual Report, prepared by the Hawaiʻi Department of Health (DOH) Office of Planning, Policy and Program Development, July 1, 2024. 

To read the Act in its entirety, click here.

Last year, 91 patients received aid-in-dying prescriptions, which is 31 more than the 2022 total. The Office of Planning, Policy and Program Development said that this is also in line with national data trends and may be due to the increased accessibility that took effect June 1, 2023.

Delaware Legislation Legalizing Assisted Suicide & Euthanasia Awaits Governor’s Action

By Sarah Mueller 

Delaware Governor John Carney (pictured below) could soon decide whether to sign legislation legalizing medical-assisted dying.

Sometimes known as “physician-” or “medically assisted suicide,” the legislation would allow terminally ill people with less than six months to live to request and ingest medication to end their lives.

The House passed the bill 21-14, with four Democrats absent in April. The vote in the Senate originally failed 9-9, but passed days later 11-10.

This is the first time Carney, who is in his final year in office, will have to decide on this issue. He can sign the bill, veto it or allow it to take effect without signing it. Carney has 10 days to act on a bill after it is sent to him.

EIN Presswire Obstructed My Press Release

I am a lawyer licensed to practice in Washington State, now living in Montana. I have used EIN Presswire for years, but not on a large scale.

My most recent published release was on February 15, 2022.

In late June 2024, my web designer informed me that my remaining EIN press releases were due to expire in two weeks.

We also learned that the Delaware legislature had approved a bill legalizing assisted suicide and euthanasia. The governor, John Carney, was to the best of our knowledge undecided. We decided to use one of the press releases, to encourage him to reject the bill.

We prepared the press release, using language similar to our prior release.

Not Dead Yet: "Medical Aid in Dying" is a Marketing Term

Not Dead Yet is a national disability rights organization focused on combatting disability based healthcare discrimination, particularly in the context of advanced or terminal illness. We are extremely disappointed that HPNA [Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association] would consider adopting a “stance of engaged neutrality” regarding whether assisted suicide should be permitted or prohibited. We urge HPNA to reverse course.

Moreover, although the proposed position statement [download available here] claims neutrality, its content reads like a defense and sometimes an outright promotion of a public policy of assisted suicide. Although only 11 jurisdictions have legalized the practice, HPNA’s statement says, “All hospice and palliative nurses should develop competence and mastery regarding MAiD in the domains of education, clinical practice, research, advocacy, and leadership.” HPNA appears not to have considered the views of either palliative care experts or disability rights activists who oppose the practice. The statement includes only limited references and minimal tolerance toward nurses who object to the practice.

HPNA tries to explain why assisted suicide should be referred to as “medical aid in dying” or MAiD for short. These are marketing terms. As Dr. Ira Byock, a palliative care specialist has written, “‘aid in dying’ makes it sound like giving someone a lethal drug is an extension of hospice and palliative care. It is not.”

Population Mortality Worsens Over Pandemic Years, Data from Germany Suggests COVID-19 Vaccination is a Determinant

By Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH  

Mass COVID-19 vaccination around the globe has raised alarms in the public health community for many reasons. Of greatest importance is all-cause mortality and reduced longevity.

Kuhbandner and Reitzner from Universitat Regensburg and Universit¨at Osnabruck, respectively, integrated mortality data from all 16 German States and vaccination rates from the Robert Koch Institute for the pandemic years, 2020, 2021, and 2022. This was first reported to the public by TrialSite News. 

If COVID-19 vaccination really reduced rates of COVID-19 death and was safe as asserted by government agencies, then mortality rates should have gone down over the pandemic for two reasons:

Press Release: Bill Seeking to Legalize Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia Remains Undecided by Delaware Governor Carney (pictured below)

July 2, 2024 -- According to the American Medical Association, assisted suicide occurs when a doctor facilitates a person's death by providing the means or information to enable another person to perform a life-ending act. Euthanasia is the administration of a lethal agent to kill another person.

Persons assisting a suicide or euthanasia can have an agenda. Reported motives have included: financial gain; the “thrill” of getting other people to kill themselves; and wanting to see another person die.

The proposed Delaware Act (HB 140) has an application process to obtain a lethal dose of medication. Once the lethal dose is issued by the pharmacy, there is no required oversight. No witness, not even a doctor or other medical person is required to be present at the patient's death.