Once upon a time, you were supposed to try to talk someone out of suicide. Now, once you define suicide as, not a tragedy to be prevented, but a relief to be provided, then all of the careful limitations its advocates assured us would be placed around it were sure to fall away.
Considering the fact that Wettlaufer, the nurse who confessed to killing 8 people in Ontario, was not caught until she told a counselor what she had done, Canada’s self-reporting system raises a number of concerns.
That 'inheritance impatience' is noted as a significant factor in abuse of elderly Australians is a hardly surprising. The wealthiest generation that has ever lived and likely will every have lived - The Baby Boomers - are beginning to pass from this world; not quickly enough, it seems, for relatives and carers seeking access to inheritance.
Continue Reading → “Show me the money”. Market forces and the law of unintended consequences
A physician not willing to arrange the killing of a patient is now seen by some as causing harm. While that is debatable in our pluralistic society, what is clear is that the protection of the patient’s life has always been the foundation for the trust in the patient-physician relationship.
Continue Reading → We are a nation of laws and conscience
June 15 is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Timed to coincide with this international day, the Australian Law Reform Commission has released its final report into a long-running inquiry on Elder Abuse and the Law.
Continue Reading → Elder abuse is a clear and present danger in the euthanasia debate