The California Catholic Conference joined other suicide opponents in a strongly worded statement expressing deep concerns about the state’s two-year-old assisted suicide law. “There is far too much still not known about how this law is put into practice — especially as it pertains to disabled, elderly and other populations,” the group stated following a Jan. 24 hearing in the … [Read more...]
California bishops add their voices to criticism of state’s assisted suicide law
In a strongly worded statement, the California Catholic Conference joins other opponents of two-year-old statute permitting physician-assisted suicide, express worries over coercion and care for the poorThis terminally ill man is glad he rejected assisted suicide
Diagnosed with terminal brain cancer three years ago, his doctors said he likely had about four months to live, but he's still alive today "enjoying the arrival of our second son and living life to the fullest”Three years ago, J.J. Hanson received a diagnosis that no one wants to hear. He had terminal brain cancer, and doctors said his time was short – he likely had about four months to live. “The surgeon said my cancer was inoperable and three different doctors told me there was nothing they could do,” Hanson said. He was diagnosed with glioblastoma, the same type of brain cancer … [Read more...]
Lawsuit against California’s assisted suicide measure can go forward
Riverside County judge rejects motion by Attorney General Xavier Becerra to toss out challenge to End of Life Option ActA Superior Court judge ruled June 16 that a civil rights lawsuit challenging California’s assisted suicide law will go forward. Riverside County Superior Court Judge Daniel J. Ottolia denied California Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s motion for judgment on the pleadings, which had asked the judge to decide the case against the plaintiffs without a trial. Five California … [Read more...]
504 suicide prescriptions written since June 9, 2016, in California
A year after it passed, California’s right-to-die law still faces challengesBetsy Davis, of Ojai, diagnosed with ALS in 2013, was one of the first to take her life legally under the state law approved a year ago Friday, June 9. She began the process the day after state legislators passed it in what Gov. Jerry Brown called an “extraordinary session." It’s not known how many people have followed her. According to the national nonprofit Compassion … [Read more...]
Insurance company denies chemo, offers suicide drugs instead
Orange County resident Stephanie Packer has terminal cancer but doesn't want to end her lifeThe following comes from an October 19 Catholic News Agency article: Stephanie Packer cherishes every moment with her husband and four children. Living with a terminal illness in Orange, California, her goal is “to do everything I can to have one more second with my kids.” When assisted suicide legislation was officially passed in California in 2016, Packer experienced … [Read more...]
Right-to-die law fight lives on
Judge concludes that lawsuit against End of Life Option Act raises serious issuesThe following comes from a September 1 CalWatchdog article by Chris Reed: Gov. Jerry Brown’s decision to sign the End of Life Option Act on Oct. 5, 2015, triggered elation among the state groups which had fought for years to allow doctors to give people with terminal illnesses lethal doses of drugs to end their lives. A key sponsor — Sen. Bill Monning, D-Carmel — said the … [Read more...]
Attempt to enjoin assisted suicide law fails
Riverside judge refuses to put law on hold pending outcome of lawsuit on its constitutionalityThe following comes from an August 26 Press Enterprise article by Gail Wesson: A Riverside County Superior Court judge rejected a request by a physicians group to put the state's new right-to-die law on hold Friday, Aug. 26, pending court review. Technically called the End of Life Option Act, the law passed by the Legislature last year decriminalized physician-assisted … [Read more...]
One last party
Terminally ill Ojai woman celebrates her assisted suicideThe following comes from an August 11 People article by Karen Mizoguchi: In early July, Betsy Davis sent out invitations to a party she referred to as a "rebirth." "These circumstances are unlike any party you have attended before, requiring emotional stamina, centeredness and openness," her e-mail invitations read, according to AP. Davis, a 41-year-old artist from … [Read more...]
Why are they trying to make us kill our patients?
California doctor argues that assisted-suicide law violates the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clauseThe following comes from a July 24 Wall Street Journal opinion piece by Philip B. Dreisbach. Dr. Dreisbach is the director of the Desert Hematology Oncology Medical Group at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif. I am an oncologist/hematologist who has been practicing in California, primarily at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, for 39 years. It … [Read more...]