Close Topic Options

Doctor of Death

I emphasized certain parts of the article.

Used by Permission

From:  The Pro-Life Infonet
Reply-To:  Steven Ertelt
Subject:   Aussie "Kevorkian" Will Make New Suicide
Machine
Source:   Associated Press; January 12, 2003

Aussie "Kevorkian" Will Make New Suicide Machine

San Diego, CA -- An Australian assisted suicide
advocate plans to build a new machine for people to
kill themselves with carbon monoxide after his
prototype was seized as he left his native country, he
told a euthanasia conference Sunday.

Philip Nitschke also said he intended to challenge the
Australian law banning the exportation of any device
that could be used to assist in suicide. He said
Australian customs agents in Sydney seized his COGen
machine Thursday as he prepared to leave for San Diego
to unveil the device before a national meeting of the
Hemlock Society.

``They were waiting for me. It's clear,'' he said.
``We'd been quite public about bringing the machine to
the U.S. to demonstrate it.''

Nitschke said the law cited in seizing the machine
could lead to ``ridiculous'' interpretations. ``Why
don't they take my belt and shoe laces?'' he said.

Nitschke said he and U.S. supporters intend to build
another suicide machine in the United States. The
device consists of a coffee-can-sized canister, an
intravenous drip bag and nasal prongs. Chemicals are
combined in the canister to produce carbon monoxide,
which is inhaled.

It has not been tested, but Nitschke estimated it
would render a person unconscious within minutes and
cause death in 30 minutes to an hour.

More than $11,000 was spent to develop the patented
device, which Nitschke said would cost about $100 per
unit to produce. He hoped to make it available free of
charge to members of organizations such as Exit, the
Australian pro-euthanasia group he helped found.

``We weren't planning to make money from it,'' he
said.

Derek Humphry, who founded the pro-assisted suicide
Hemlock Society, said he looked forward to seeing the
device. ``It has all the essential elements of being
simple, transportable and the patients use it
themselves. ... This type of machine cuts out the
legal risk.''

The new machine allows a person to kill himself
without assistance, circumventing laws against
assisted suicide, Nitschke said.

An earlier system developed by Nitschke included a
syringe that administered a lethal injection at the
push of a button on a laptop computer. The device was
used by four terminally ill people between July 1996
and March 1997 when a short-lived law permitted
voluntary euthanasia in Australia's Northern
Territory.

The device used by American euthanasia advocate Jack
Kevorkian worked with compressed carbon monoxide,
which is hard to obtain and transport, Nitschke said,
while his machine produces the toxic gas itself.

Kevorkian is serving a 10- to 25-year prison sentence
for murder in the 1998 injection death of Thomas Youk.

Speaking to about 200 people at the Hemlock Society
meeting, Nitschke called Kevorkian ``a hero.''

``Hell, he might have made some mistakes, but did he
move the movement forward? Of course he did,''
Nitschke said to enthusiastic applause.

The group of mostly senior citizens represents the
future of society's attitudes about euthanasia,
according to Nitschke and others who predict that as
the Baby Boom generation ages, there will be
increasing support for individual control over one's
manner of death.

``There's a wave of baby boomers hitting this period
of time,'' Nitschke said. ``They're used to getting
what they want. They're used to having political
clout.''

Nitschke's appearance drew protests from the
California Life Coalition, which called his invention
``ghoulish.''

``Instead of helping people overcome their problems,
he can only help to murder them,'' coalition director
Cheryl Sullenger said in a statement. ``Murder does
not solve anything and only creates more of the human
misery these people seek to avoid.''

Death Doctor

Okay, I cannot believe a government would actually bring into law the 'right' for you to kill yourself 'legally'. To top it off, they also publish the results each year!

Used by Permission:

From:  The Pro-Life Infonet
Reply-To:  Steven Ertelt
Subject:   Dutch Government Says Euthanasias Down to "Only" 1,900
Source:   Expatcia News; April 30, 2003

Dutch Government Says Euthanasias Down to "Only" 1,900

The Hague, Netherlands -- The euthanasia-control commissions in
the Netherlands, the first country to have legalized the
practice, yesterday reported an all-time low in the number of
euthanasia cases last year, counting 1,882. In 2001, the
commissions recorded 2,054 cases of euthanasia, and 2,123 the
year before.

In April of last year, euthanasia became legal in the
Netherlands.

The startling number of euthanasia cases has many Dutch residents
carrying wallet cards asking doctors to do all they can to save
their lives in case of an accident that leaves them unable to
make decisions for themselves in an ER or operating room.

The number of reported incidents of euthanasia has dropped by 15
percent during the past four years, but it is suspected the
actual "mercy killing" figure is double the amount of recorded
cases.

Some 12 doctors have been cited by the commissions in the past
four years for not complying with all the regulations, but to
date none have received a summons from the public prosecutor.

A leading pro-life advocate on end-of-life issues was saddened by
the report and told the Pro-Life Infonet the figures are likely
underreported.

"It is well known that many euthanasia cases are simply not
reported in The Netherlands," explained pro-life attorney Tom
Marzen."This may indicate an actual decline in the number of
euthanasias -- or simply more intentional or negligent failure to
report euthanasia cases."

This year's annual report by the commissions, published on April
29th, is the first since the new euthanasia law came into force.
The Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalise
euthanasia, but the practise was tolerated for many years prior
to this.

Under the new law, the specialist commissions rather than the
public prosecutor's department decide whether doctors have
compiled with the rules. This measure was intended to give
doctors more legal certainty.  But many doctors still do not
trust the commissions and get annoyed and worried when the
commission seeks additional information about specific cases.

The chairper for the national body encompassing the five
commissions, Reina de Valk, believes that this suspicion might
distort the official euthanasia figures. De Valk said the actual
number of cases might be double the recorded figure.

"Time is needed to win the confidence of doctors," she said.

The Health Ministry is currently examining ways to tackle the
number of unreported cases, newspaper De Volkskrant reported.

Meanwhile, the increased attention for prescribing painkillers
might also have helped reduce the number of euthanasia cases.

--
Find pro-life books, materials and merchandise at Life Cycle
Books. Go to https://www.lifecyclebooks.com

Doctor of Death History & Civil Business Politics

If you want to die legally, then you need to go to the Netherlands... :

Used by Permission:

From:  The Pro-Life Infonet
Reply-To:  Steven Ertelt
Subject:   Half of Dutch Euthanasia Cases Unreported
Source:   Expatica News; May 23, 2003

Half of Dutch Euthanasia Cases Unreported

Amsterdam, Netheralnds -- Dutch doctors are increasingly prepared
to report euthanasia cases to the regional death-on-request
review commissions - but just 54 percent of such deaths were
officially reported in 2001, a report revealed Friday.

The low percentage of reported euthanasia deaths was because
doctors wished to avoid the administrative hassle of reporting a
euthanasia case and were concerned they might have breached the
regulations, according to an NOS report.

But despite the high number of unreported cases, the 2001 figure
represented an improvement on previous study results, in which
doctors reported just 41 and 18 percent of all euthanasia cases
in 1995 and 1991 respectively.

And doctors are in general satisfied with the review commission
system and do not believe it should change, the report from the
VU medical centre and the Erasmus Medical Centre indicated,
newspaper De Volkskrant reported.

Euthanasia is legal in the Netherlands, on strict conditions
requiring the patient officially requests to die, is suffering
from extreme pain or a terminal illness and a second medical
opinion has been sought. Furthermore, doctors are required to
report euthanasia deaths to the regional review commissions which
investigate whether all regulations were met.

Meanwhile, Friday's report also revealed that family doctors are
more prepared to report euthanasia than specialists and nursing
home doctors because they can appeal for advice and information
from the SCEN-consulenten, an association of independent and
skilled colleagues. Specialists and nursing home medics cannot
ask for advice from the SCEN.

The 2001 investigation was carried out on behalf of the Health
and Justice ministries, a year before the Dutch government was
the first in the world to legalise euthanasia, the practice of
which previously came under a policy of toleration.

The study found that after years of continued increases, the
number of euthanasia deaths and assisted suicides stabilized in
2001 at 3,500 and 300 respectively, newspaper NRC Handelsblad
reported.

Doctors received 9,700 euthanasia or assisted suicide requests in
2001, but carried out only 3,800 euthanasia or assisted suicide
deaths, a figure which is much higher than official numbers due
to the fact that doctors only reported half of the nation's
euthanasia cases. On an annual basis, doctors also end the lives
of 900 people without the required request, the research
indicated.

The 3,800 euthanasia or assisted suicide deaths in 2001 totaled
just 2.7 percent of all deaths in the Netherlands. Researchers
surveyed 5,600 doctors to compile their findings and carried out
at-length interviews with 500 doctors.

Death Doctor

The way the world views suicide is too 'normal' for my taste. What are we coming to?

Used by permission:

From:  The Pro-Life Infonet
Reply-To:  Steven Ertelt
Subject:   Hospitals in Belgium Must Mandate Euthanasia
Source:   Expatica; June 13, 2003

Hospitals in Belgium Must Mandate Euthanasia

Brussels, Belgium -- The right to euthanasia must exist in all
hospitals, negotiators forming Belgium's new government said
Friday in a move to counter opposition by some Catholic hospitals
that have refused to permit assisted suicide on their premises.

The negotiators, who are forming a government after the My 18
general elections, have said that every hospital must have a team
of doctors prepared to apply euthanasia.  Euthanasia was made
legal, under certain conditions, in Belgium last year.

Doctors will be given a protected status for performing
euthanasia.

Pro-life groups are concerned about the implications this policy
will have both on people in Belgium and the state of assisted
suicide laws in the world at large.

"This is frightening and yet another argument for opposing
assisted suicide and euthanasia," commented Nancy Valko, a
leading monitor on end-of-life issues in the United States. "What
kind of doctors and nurses will be left in Belgium?"

The chairman of the Flemish liberal VLD party, Karel De Gucht
said euthanasia is the business of a doctor and a patient, and
that hospitals should not interfere.

In February a doctor who carried out euthenasia on a terminally
ill cancer patient in a Catholic hospital was dimissed by
managers who accused him of not following the legal correct
proceedure by the hospital management and dismissed. The doctor
denied that he had disobeyed the law

Death Doctor

Ok, well let me ask this?  I mean, I was raised that suicide was a sin, that if you kill yourself, there is no redemption (meaning you are not going to heaven).  My question is, do these people, that have a doctor terminate their life, (by their choice) believe that it's really not suicide?  I mean, both of my grandfathers were terminally ill, but they never had a doctor assist them in dying.  One just couldn't put our family through watching his health detoriate, and checked into one of those hospice hospitals.  He eventually passed away due to his illness.  My other grandfather was in a v.a. hospital when he passed away, due to his illness.  The illnesses were very bad and they were in alot of pain, but not once did they consider having a doctor to 'help' them die.  I always thought that a doctor took an oath to help preserve life or save people's lives.  It doesn't make any sense why these doctors' (that do these assisted suicides) morals are going right down the toilet.  :ch

Doctor of Death

Well I think that is the whole point, things like morals, oaths, standards and even the very conception of life is no more. 'Liberal' views which are as you said (Satanic) sinful by nature cause one to justify that their own willingness to do something is greater than the laws of God. Of course us using religion here would be laughable by those who promote this.

Doctor Death

:spock: Sad that these things seem to be on the rise, look t the following news brief...

Assisted Suicides on the Rise in Europe
Paris, France (LifeNews.com) -- Europe's permissiveness towards euthanasia is revealed in a new study showing that the number of assisted suicides there is on the rise. The study, published in the British weekly journal The Lancet, focuses on more than 20,000 deaths in six European countries, including Belgium, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. Approximately one-third of deaths involved doctors withholding treatment or prescribing drugs for the patient that would hasten death. Only two-thirds of the deaths were by natural causes.The number of euthanasia deaths may be higher as many doctors may be unwilling to report such illegal practices. Euthanasia became legal in Holland in April 2002, the first country to legalize it nationwide. In 2002, 1,882 cases of euthanasia were reported there, compared with 2,054 cases in 2001 and 2,123 the previous year.
https://www.lifenews.com/bio24.html

Doctor Death Politics Business Civil & History

It's really sad that doctors take the choice of life or death for these patients.  The doctor shouldn't be the one to choose.  Even if the patient did want to have the doctor assist them in dying, isn't that still a sin?  I mean, I was always under the impression the God would call you when it was your time to go and that suicide was a sin (because you were killing yourself).  So do these people think that they're not really killing themselves by having the doctor do it for them?  I still think that they should outlaw doctor assisted suicides.  I know if I was a doctor, I wouldn't be able to kill one of my patients just because they wanted to die.