euthanasia – World Congress for Freedom of scientific research

Pope demands that Belgian Catholic hospitals stop euthanasia

Earlier this year a group of Catholic hospitals and clinics for the mentally ill in Belgium announced that it would allow doctors to perform euthanasia on its premises. The group is linked to a religious order, the Brothers of Charity. Earlier this month Pope Francis issued an ultimatum: this must stop by the end of

Euthanasia rates rise by 10% in the Netherlands

Deaths by euthanasia increased 10% in the Netherlands in 2016, according to a new report published by the country’s Regional Euthanasia Review Committees (RTE). The report states that in 2016, 6091 patients were euthanised, up from 5516 in 2015. Most of the cases of euthanasia involved people with cancer, serious heart or lung problems or

Widow of Italian Right-To-Die Protagonist Turns Herself In

ROME — The widow of an Italian man who became a protagonist in Italy’s euthanasia debate turned herself into police on Friday after bringing another terminally ill man to Switzerland to die. Mina Welby told reporters outside the Tuscan police station that Davide Trentini had administered a fatal IV drip himself on Thursday in Switzerland

Canadian surgeons harvesting organs from euthanised patients

Taking advantage of the country’s new law, Canadian transplant surgeons have harvested organs from dozens of euthanasia patients. According to the National Post, 26 people in Ontario who died by lethal injection have donated tissue or organs. This involved mostly corneas, skin, heart valves, bones and tendons. The National Post’s report only covered Ontario. Bioethicists,

German Federal Court rules patients should have access to life-ending drugs

For more than a decade a 74-year-old man fought for legal access to fatal drugs for his paralyzed, now-deceased, wife. A German court has now ruled that her extreme suffering should have been taken into account. Germany’s federal court ruled on Thursday that people “in extreme circumstances” should have legal access to drugs to

South Africa overturns euthanasia ruling

outh Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeals (SCA) has overturned a ruling by a lower court granting a terminally ill patient the right to die, the Justice Ministry says, thereby upholding South Africa’s laws forbidding assisted suicide. In a groundbreaking ruling in 2015, South Africa’s High Court had granted a terminally ill man, Robin Stransham-Ford, the

Voluntary euthanasia: South Australian Parliament knocks back Death With Dignity euthanasia bill

Voluntary euthanasia has been knocked back in South Australian Parliament for the 15th time after a marathon late session in the House of Assembly overnight. Key points: MP’s conscience vote tied at 23 votes for and against Speaker uses casting vote to defeat bill Voluntary euthanasia bills defeated 15 times in SA The bill

Is Passive Euthanasia Finally Going to Be a Legal Reality in India?

By MINAKSHI BISWAS ‘Euthanasia’ and ‘end of life care’ are two contradictory subjects. Euthanasia is regarded as the only viable option when all end of life care mechanisms fall short of a better life for an individual who is terminally ill or in a vegetable-like state. Although a law on euthanasia is a prerequisite for people suffering

Almost 450 Quebec patients were euthanised last year

New Data released on assisted dying in Quebec indicates that requests for euthanasia doubled in the province in the second half of 2016. According to statistics compiled by the Protection of Conscience Project, 441 people in the region requested euthanasia in the second half of 2016, up from 266 in the first half of

Ontario doctors back out of euthanasia

Some Canadian doctors who agreed to carry out euthanasia have withdrawn their names only months after legalisation, according to the National Post. “I can’t tell you how many, but I can tell you that it’s enough that it’s been noted at a systemic level,” says Dr Jeff Blackmer, of the Canadian Medical Association. The figures