Things Are Not As They Seem
John A. Holt, TN-CBC Intern
Videos of Brittany Maynard, who ended her life on November 1, 2014, by physician-assisted suicide (PAS), have brought the discussion of PAS to national and even international levels. A less publicized case is that of Robert McLester.
Carol McLester did not know why her husband asked for the gun. Bed-ridden since his stroke thirteen months earlier, a retired Navy officer of the outdoorsy type would seem to be trustworthy with a pistol. Carol willingly delivered the gun, then walked into the kitchen to finish washing the dishes. A few minutes passed before a resounding BANG split the ...read more
Stamp of Approval — or Not
D. Joy Riley, M.D., M.A.
Hippocrates, the “father of medicine,” was honored by this commemorative stamp issued by Transkei in 1982. The Rod of Asclepius — the rod entwined by a serpent — as the symbol of medicine is included on the stamp as well.
Image: Hippocratic Medicine stamp from Australia, recognizing the General Assembly of World Medical Associations (~1968).
Asclepius, the Greek god associated with healing, is one of the gods referred to in the Hippocratic Oath. The Hippocratic Oath (probably not written by Hippocrates, by the way) in its ancient form included swearing to a number of gods and goddesses; forbade ...read more
Documentary — When Assisted Death is Legal: Episode II
BBC World Service: first broadcast 20 February 2013
Liz Carr visits The Netherlands, and the American states of Washington and Oregon in the second episode of the two-part radio documentary on euthanasia and assisted suicide.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p014q86x
Documentary — When Assisted Death Is Legal: Episode I
BBC World Service: first broadcast 19 February 2013
Liz Carr visits Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Belgium in this first episode of the two-part radio documentary on euthanasia and assisted suicide.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p014dkr1
Jumping to Dying
D. Joy Riley, M.D., M.A.
Executive Director
“Jump off!”
“Stop wasting our time, we’ve been here for ages, do us a favor!” the crowd gathered outside the McDonald’s restaurant shouted to the man 50 feet above them.
The 38-year-old, after eleven hours of police negotiation, relented and did not commit suicide. At least one witness was horrified at the crowd’s reaction. The March 2011 Daily Mail titled the story, “Sick Britain: The jeering crowds who urged suicidal man on McDonald’s roof to ‘jump off’.”
That was Britain in 2011. In the United States in 2012, we have our own ...read more
Physicians and P-AS: Some Things Just Don’t Go Together
In January, Oregon released their data from 2010 regarding the so-called “Death with Dignity Act.” The number of people opting for “physician-assisted suicide” (P-AS) has steadily increased since its inception in 1998. That year, twenty-three persons asked for and received prescriptions for life-ending medications. Fifteen of those died from the lethal dose of medication; six died from their illnesses, and two survived at least into 1999. Last year, a total of 65 people died through P-AS in Oregon. At least, that was the report as of 7 January 2011. The data set ...read more
Oregon: Death with Dignity Act Annual Reports
http://oregon.gov/DHS/ph/pas/ar-index.shtml
