GESTIÓN EN SALUD PÚBLICA: Assisted suicide push fails in New York

domingo, 10 de septiembre de 2017

Assisted suicide push fails in New York

Assisted suicide push fails in New York

Saturday, September 9, 2017

Bioedge

Assisted suicide push fails in New York

by Xavier Symons | 9 Sep 2017 | 1 comment

A New York Court has rejected a petition by three terminally ill patients to be allowed access to assisted suicide drugs.

The Court of Appeals made its ruling on Thursday after a protracted legal battle during which two of the plaintiffs passed away.

“The [New York] assisted suicide statutes apply to anyone who assists an attempted or completed suicide,” the court wrote in its unanimous decision. “There are no exceptions.”

Assisted suicide and euthanasia are currently illegal in New York, but the plaintiffs had argued that the law should not apply to those seeking merciful ends to incurable illnesses.

“We are very disappointed by the court’s decision,” said Edwin Schallert, a lawyer for the patients and doctors who brought the lawsuit. “It will prevent terminally ill New Yorkers from exercising an important option to achieve a peaceful death.”

Opponents of assisted suicide praised the Court's ruling.

"The decision is a significant victory for those who would be most at risk of abuse and most susceptible to pressure to take their own lives, including the isolated elderly, persons with disabilities and those who are depressed and overcome with hopelessness," said Kathleen Gallagher of the New York State Catholic Conference.

Assisted suicide and/or euthanasia is currently legal in six US States as well as the District of Columbia.

Saturday, September 9, 2017

Planned Parenthood is an organisation which inspires both love and loathing. One of its admirers is the Lasker Foundation, which has just presented it with the Lasker~Bloomberg Public Service Award for services to reproductive health.

Since many Laskers have gone on to win Nobels, PP is suddenly on the starting blocks for a Nobel Peace Prize. If it were only for its success in promoting contraception and abortion, it might be too controversial even for the Norwegian Nobel Committee. However, as a one-fingered salute to President Donald Trump, who has promised to defund PP, it could prove nearly irresistible. Read all about it below.

On a completely different topic, if you happen to live in Melbourne and are free on Thursday evening, there will be a launch of my book, The Great Human Dignity Heist, in Carlton. The details are on our Facebook page. It would be great to meet lots of BioEdge readers there.

Cheers,