“Never suggest an inquiry unless you know the outcome beforehand.” A commonly used phrase in politics and, most likely, the kind of advice Sir Humphrey Appleby might have given Jim Hacker MP in the British political comedy, Yes Minister!

Whether a dictate of modern politics or not, the idea that one could ‘engineer’ the outcome of an inquiry towards a preconceived end must be a significant temptation for those who hold the levers of power. Though possibly nothing more than a utilitarian ‘shortcut’ to some ‘good end’ for some, the danger remains that contrary voices are not heard and that the public is hoodwinked into accepting a false outcome as being the result of a robust review.

I write with two reports in mind. Both focussed on what we might broadly call ‘end-of-life issues’ and both recommending the legalisation of assisted suicide.

The Royal Society of Canada, End of life Decision Making report was released last December… click here to read whole article and make comments

The two candidates in France’s presidential election are using euthanasia as one of the defining differences in the campaign. In a wide-ranging interview in Le Figaro, President Nicolas Sarkozy explained why he would not back it:

“Legalized euthanasia might lead us to dangerous excesses and would be contrary to our understanding of the dignity of human beings. The Leonetti law is perfectly balanced, establishing a principle, that of respect for life. It leaves room for a dialogue between the patient, his family and his physician. This demonstrates understanding and humanity. We do not have to legislate everything all the time.”

His opponent, François Hollande, a Socialist, recently revived France’s simmering  euthanasia debate in a TV interview. A spokesman told Reuters that the exact protocols had not been worked out yet. ~ cross posted from BioEdge. 

Not a good look” said euthanasia activist Philip Nitschke to an ABC news journalist. He was referring to the fact that Merin Nielsen, the man convicted last week in a Brisbane court of the assisted suicide of Frank Ward in 2009 was the sole beneficiary of Ward’s estate.

Nielsen will serve only six months of a three-year sentence, but Nitschke said it was ‘dreadful’ that he would serve anytime at all. “He’s a person who’s now a significant criminal in the eyes of the law...although he was acting out of concern for Frank Ward.”

Concern and compassion are worthwhile emotions, but the law can never be based on emotions because they are fickle, as this case clearly shows. The law can only be based upon the reality of an action or actions and their effect upon the safety, life and property of others. Certainly, the courts can exercise leniency in sentencing, as seems… click here to read whole article and make comments

China has admitted that it harvests organs from condemned prisoners, but very little information about the practice has emerged in the press. Executed prisoners are believed to account for two-thirds of all transplants, although the government apparently wants to promote a voluntary scheme.

But who are these prisoners? Even less information is available about this, although the Falun Gong, a persecuted indigenous group, claims that its members are being killed for their organs.

A frightening article in the Weekly Standard sheds some light on the situation. Investigative journalist Ethan Gutmann interviewed several Uighur refugees now living in the West who had witnessed the process of organ transplantation. They tell stories of ghastly abuses of political prisoners.

The Uighur ethnic minority live in Xinjiang, the vast, arid Western province of China. They are not Chinese but Turkic; most are Muslims and a few have joined terrorist groups. To… click here to read whole article and make comments

Choice is an Illusion, a non-profit opposed to assisted suicide, has launched a new website against the Massachusetts "Death with Dignity" Initiative. The initiative seeks to enact a physician-assisted suicide act in Massachusetts.

Margaret Dore, president of Choice is an Illusion and an elder law attorney in Washington state, states: “The initiative’s introduction declares that the process will be ‘entirely voluntary’ for the patient. The act, as written, does not deliver on this promise. The act is instead a recipe for elder abuse.”

The proposed act has an application process to obtain a lethal dose for the purpose of causing the patient's death. The act allows the patient's heir, who will benefit financially from the death, to actively help the patient sign up for the lethal dose. Ms Dore comments: "The act allows an heir to participate as one of two witnesses on the lethal dose request form. The act… click here to read whole article and make comments

The “slippery slope” is often derided as a logical fallacy. But when one of the leading advocacy groups for euthanasia in Belgium posts an article entitled “Euthanasie: tijd voor de volgende stap, Euthanasia, time for the next step”, it’s hard not to think that it may not be so illogical after all.

The Humanistisch-Vrijzinnige Vereniging (Humanist-Liberal Association) complains that eligibility for euthanasia is far too restrictive. At the moment, only people with unbearable suffering can be euthanased. This leaves out people in irreversible comas, people with dementia, people with irreversible brain diseases and people who are under 18. This is manifestly unfair, the HVV contends.

However, this is not just a private initiative. In November Wim Distelmans, the chairman of the official Federal Committee on Euthanasia, released an open letter to Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo asking him to re-open a national debate on euthanasia. (At the time,… click here to read whole article and make comments

The 23,000 members of the Massachusetts Medical Society have voted against physician-assisted suicide. Its House of Delegates voted by a large majority for maintaining a policy the Society has had since 1996. According to the MMS press release: “Opposition to physician-assisted suicide was part of a larger policy statement that includes recognition of patient dignity at the end of life and the physician’s role in caring for terminally-ill patients.”

Lynda Young president of the Society, said: “Physicians of our Society have clearly declared that physician-assisted suicide is inconsistent with the physician’s role as healer and health care provider. At the same time we recognize the importance of patient dignity and the critical role that physicians have in end-of-life care.” 

Dr Young said the policy exceeds a single statement of opposition to physician-assisted suicide to include “support for patient dignity and the alleviation of pain and suffering at the end of life.” She… click here to read whole article and make comments

Your Last Right, an Australian euthanasia lobby group, has collected an impressive list of more than 100 “ambassadors” for “ the legal right to request and obtain medical assistance to end their lives with dignity”. It contains some familiar names – Philip Adams, Bob Brown, Leslie Cannold, Peter Singer, for instance. But there are some surprises, at least for me: footie legend Ron Barassi, former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, “social identity” Lady Susan Renouf, and Major General Alan Stretton. Here is the full list for those who are interested.

Philip Adams, Journalist, broadcaster
Yvonne Allen, HR consultant
Lyn Allison, Former Senator
Prof. Dennis Altman AM, Professor of Politics, La Trobe University
Valma Angliss AM, Founding member ISPO
Bettina Arndt, Therapist, author
Rev. Gordon Bannon, Minister of Religion
Ron Barassi AM, Football legend
Greg Barns, Barrister, Columnist
Prof. Peter Baume AC, Former Senator, former Chancellor ANU
Layne Beachley, Surfing legend
… click here to read whole article and make comments

One of the smartest spokesmen for a Catholic stand on bioethics is Australian Bishop Anthony Fisher. Here he is interviewed by a right-to-die activist. There are no softball questions and he hits most of them out of the park. (An analogy for American readers.) 

For some time now, Philip Nitschke has been claiming that he had ‘discovered’ a ‘loophole’ in the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s procedures and protocols that would allow him to import the drug Nembutal into Australia.

The Adelaide Advertiser yesterday reported that, ‘…Nitschke has gained permission to import a drug used in voluntary euthanasia.’ Not so. Nor was there a ‘loophole’.

The TGA has given the following explanation: