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Having conversations about the end of life

Nov 5th, 2015 by

BY FRANK KAVANAUGH, PH.D.

After many teasers and disappointments for doctors and patients, an important change is in the cards. Medicare will start compensating physicians for end-of-life dialogues with their patients effective Jan. 1, 2016. No longer will these urgent appointments be scheduled under the guise of addressing some other issue. Without payment, doctors have resisted such talks: They are difficult and lengthy and have traditionally incurred lost income for the physicians. The fact that they were not compensated also subtly gave the impression that the talks were not really regarded as all that important.

January will mark a dramatic change. Doctors won’t have to rush through their comments and their listening on the run, concerned about their bottom line, utilizing their time only in “other” talks that pay.

Patients need now to openly and boldly request a dialogue to help clarify and share their final wishes and options, so that when the time comes, there’s no guessing, especially when the patient is unable to speak for him or herself. Included is the patient’s entire philosophy about whether they want everything reasonable done — even if the chance of keeping them alive Continue Reading »

Posted in Assisted dying, Assisted Suicide, Living Will, Opinion Pieces, Politics/Law, right to die, RTD News, Self-Deliverance | 2 Comments »

Hospice says it will provide physician-assisted suicide

Nov 3rd, 2015 by

Enlightenment:
A palliative care centre in Sherbrooke, Quebec, is poised to become the first facility to provide access to doctor-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients.

The CEO of la Maison Aube-Lumière, Elizabeth Brière, said the centre will begin offering the service on Feb. 1, 2016, five days before the ban on doctor-assisted suicide is lifted outside of Quebec.

In Quebec, the right to end one’s life with a doctor’s help will take effect in December 2015. The centre’s staff voted 61 per cent in favour of offering the service. Its board of governors voted unanimously in favour.

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Posted in Assisted dying, Assisted Suicide, Final Exit, physician-assisted suicide, right to die, RTD News | No Comments »

California latest to legalize physician-assisted suicide

Oct 5th, 2015 by

Terminally ill Californians can now exercise their right to die with dignity.

On Monday, Governor Jerry Brown signed the End of Life Option Act into law, just a few weeks after the state Assembly and Senate approved the bill in a special session.

California is the fifth U.S. state to authorize aid in dying — also known as physician-assisted suicide — and by far the biggest and most influential.

The California law is similar to the one operating in Oregon since l988.
It is what is known as a ‘prescribing law’ permitting doctors under guidelines to write a prescription for a lethal substance which the dying patient may choose to ingest at a time of their choosing.
Euthanasia — death by lethal injection — is specifically banned.

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Posted in Assisted dying, Assisted Suicide, Death With Dignity Act, Derek Humphry, Euthanasia, Oregon law, physician-assisted suicide, Politics/Law, right to die, RTD News | 1 Comment »

Internet fraud over drugs at its worst

Sep 16th, 2015 by

Terminally ill persons and their families should be keenly aware that purchasing drugs for self-deliverance (chosen death) over the internet is full of fraud.

There are at least 17 known scammers in this field, and (regrettably) no known honest ones. The usual loss is $500.
Buyers beware! See alternatives.

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Posted in Euthanasia, Final Exit, right to die, RTD News, Self-Deliverance, Self-directed death, Suicide (rational) | 1 Comment »

California gets physician-assisted suicide if governor signs

Sep 11th, 2015 by

In a landmark victory for supporters of assisted suicide, the California State Legislature on Friday gave final approval to a bill that would allow doctors to help terminally ill people end their own lives.

Four states — Oregon, Washington, Montana and Vermont — already allow physicians to prescribe life-ending medication to some patients.

The California bill, which passed Friday in the State Senate by a vote of 23-14, will now go to Gov. Jerry Brown, who will roughly triple access to doctor-assisted suicide across the country if he signs it. Mr. Brown, a former Jesuit seminarian, has given little indication of his intentions.

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Posted in Assisted dying, Assisted Suicide, Death With Dignity Act, Derek Humphry, Euthanasia, Final Exit, physician-assisted suicide, Politics/Law, right to die, RTD News | No Comments »

Something strange about the English and dying?

Sep 11th, 2015 by

The rejection by the London Parliament (11 Sept.2015) of another assisted dying bill by a vote of 330-118 is, by my count, the twelfth time this body has considered a choice in dying reform law. The first attempt was back in l936. All have been firmly voted down.

That seven other states or nations have passed such laws in the last 20 years – and they appear to be working satisfactorily – makes the English rejections more puzzling. Does the church in England still have that sort of blocking influence, or are the English more squeamish about the facts of dying?

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Posted in Assisted dying, Assisted Suicide, Death With Dignity Act, Derek Humphry, Euthanasia, Oregon law, physician-assisted suicide, Politics/Law, right to die, RTD News | No Comments »

Life Ending Drug Cost Now Met For Dying Man

Sep 8th, 2015 by

UPDATE
After Sunday’s story on this page of terminally ill patient Bruce Endicott of Eugene being charged $3,068.O1 for a doctor prescription for one hundred 100mg Seconal tablets, the Trillium Community Healthplan in Oregon met the full charge and Mr.Endicott now has his prescription.

If and when he chooses to end his life under the Death With Dignity Act is henceforth in his hands.

The high cost of these important drugs in the USA — but not elsewhere — is outrageous. D.H.

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Posted in Assisted dying, Assisted Suicide, Death With Dignity Act, Euthanasia, Final Exit, Seconal | No Comments »

Dying well can cost a lot of money

Sep 5th, 2015 by

Life-ending peaceful drugs cost up to $20,000

Terminally ill patients wanting a peaceful death in Oregon and Washington are being charged between $3,000 and $20,000 a time for the barbiturate lethal drugs which doctors are permitted to prescribe under the Death With Dignity Acts. Health insurance companies are refusing to pay these exorbitant sums, leaving most patients unable to relieve their suffering.

The long-established superior drug for doctor-hastened death, Nembutal (sodium pentobarbital) has rocketed to prices upwards of $20,000 in America. The next most widely used drug for this purpose is Seconal (secobarbital) for which manufacturers and pharmacies are charging patients $3,000 and sometimes more.

In European countries where assisted suicide is allowed, the price for a lethal dose remains at between $400 and $500.

The lethal dosage prescribed for both drugs is usually nine grams, taken orally. In the last century these two drugs were commonly prescribed as sleep aids but became notorious for suicide. Today Nembutal and Seconal are almost never prescribed except for lawful assisted dying because gentler sleep aids developed.

Bruce Endicott of Eugene described Continue Reading »

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Posted in Assisted dying, Assisted Suicide, death, Derek Humphry, Euthanasia, Final Exit, Hemlock, Nembutal, physician-assisted suicide, right to die, RTD News | 1 Comment »

New booklet on self-deliverance methods via inert gasses

Aug 25th, 2015 by

New and improved techniques of self-deliverance from a terminal illness

Now that some manufacturers have begun (2015) diluting helium in party balloon inflation tanks, it is time to consider alternative ways of using inert gases when planning to bring an end to terminal suffering by competent adults.

Therefore I have re-written my booklet on the subject. It is now called “How To Make Your Own Inert Gas Hood Kit” . It describes the use of nitrogen as well as pure helium.

(*We need a new approach. *There are no longer ready-made inert gas kits on the market. *New tanks marked HELIUM/AIR are inadequate as they are 20% diluted. *Nitrogen is an alternative choice.)

Read, download and save now to your computer ERGO’s illustrated guide ($10) for future consideration at www.finalexit.org/ergo-store

Derek Humphry ergo@finalexit.org 08.2015

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Posted in Derek Humphry, Euthanasia, exit bag, Final Exit, right to die, RTD News, RTD Organizations, Self-Deliverance, Self-directed death, Suicide (rational) | No Comments »

Final Exit Network to appeal $33,000 fine over free speech

Aug 24th, 2015 by

Statement by Final Exit Network:

HASTINGS, Minnesota, August 24, 2015 — Final Exit Network was sentenced to pay a $30,000 fine today for “assisting in a suicide” in connection with the 2007 self-deliverance of a member.

Judge Christian Wilton sentenced the organization to the maximum fine.

Final Exit Network was convicted on May 14 of assisting in a suicide, a felony punishable by a fine of $30,000, and of interfering with a body or the scene of a death with the intent to mislead the coroner, a misdemeanor, which is punishable by a fine of $3,000.

It had been previously reported many times that the maximum fine faced by Final Exit Network was $33,000. However, during the sentencing hearing, the State elected not to seek the separate $3,000 fine for the misdemeanor.

The State also sought the payment of $2,9745.63 as “restitution” to the family of Doreen Dunn, 57, as the “victims” of the “crime.” The amount represented the sum spent by Mark Dunn, the decedent’s husband for her burial and headstone. Testimony at the trial indicated Dunn had long-standing plans to separate from his wife and move from their home. Ironically, his belongings were in boxes on the day of her death, waiting to be moved out the next day.

While the Network might have objected to the payment of “restitution,” the organization’s attorney, Robert Rivas, said to the court, “It is a family’s sacred obligation to pay to bury their loved ones, but if Mr. Dunn doesn’t want to have to pay for his wife’s burial, Final Exit Network will pay it for him.”

“We intend to vigorously appeal this for two reasons. One is the importance of protecting all Americans’ free speech rights from encroachment by the government, but the second is to continue our advocacy for competent adults to have the right to make their own end-of-life decisions,” said Janis Landis, the Network’s president, who attended the hearing.

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Posted in Assisted dying, Assisted Suicide, Derek Humphry, Euthanasia, Final Exit, Final Exit Network, People in the News, right to die, RTD News, RTD Organizations, Self-Deliverance, Self-directed death, Suicide (rational) | No Comments »

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