Podcasts about dignity act

Headlines: National Day of Prayer; Bible reading marathon at the Capitol; Christian University to close; May Day marches with a side of Trump; National Security Council staffers out; Nearly 30-year anniversary of Oregon Death with Dignity Act.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Send us a textOn this Episode of The Plant Movement Podcast, we welcome back Martha Vega from National Community Service to discuss one of the most pressing issues affecting the agricultural industry: immigration.A Look at Immigration Policies and Realities: Martha Vega, who previously appeared on Episode 35, provides her expert insights on the current immigration landscape. She explains that while Donald Trump's administration has made immigration policies more visible, they are not fundamentally different from those of past administrations. Many undocumented workers in Florida have the means to become legal but lack proper information, which organizations like National Community Service strive to provide.Addressing Fears and Seeking Solutions: Willie and Martha discuss the fears many undocumented individuals and business owners face when dealing with immigration concerns. Many are hesitant to seek help due to misinformation and fear of exposure. Martha emphasizes the importance of consulting qualified immigration attorneys and organizations instead of falling victim to scammers who take advantage of vulnerable individuals.The Current Immigration Climate: With reports of increased patrol activity and executive orders prioritizing the deportation of undocumented individuals with criminal records, many are living in uncertainty. While the Constitution allows for these measures, Martha highlights cases where individuals with pending asylum cases and work permits have been unfairly detained. However, those who can prove they live law-abiding lives are often released quickly.Real-Life Cases and Legal Pathways: Martha shares examples of individuals who have faced immigration challenges and how legal intervention has helped them. She also discusses the importance of preparing for potential detainment by setting up power of attorney and ensuring that children and property are taken care of in case of deportation.Understanding Visa Options: For those in the Green Industry looking for legal employment solutions, Martha outlines visa options like the H-2A and H-2B programs, which allow foreign workers to be legally employed in agriculture and other industries. She encourages businesses to seek Department of Labor certification to ensure compliance and avoid workforce disruptions.The Dignity Act: A Path to Legalization: Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar's proposed Dignity Act is a bipartisan bill that aims to provide a path to legal status for undocumented individuals who have lived law-abiding lives. Martha urges listeners to contact their congressmen to support this initiative, which could provide stability for millions of individuals and businesses that rely on immigrant labor.Moving Forward with Knowledge and Faith: Misinformation often prevents people from taking the right steps. Martha stresses the importance of obtaining accurate information from reliable sources like National Community Service, which offers free consultations and legal assistance. Connect with National Community ServiceFor those needing assistance, National Community Service is located at 1883 West Flagler Street, Suite 3, Miami. They provide information clinics and connect individuals with trusted immigration attorneys. For more details, call 305-244-3125 or 305-303-3092.Final ThoughtsImmigration is a complex and emotional topic, but with the right resources, individuals and businesses can find solutions. Willie and Martha encourage listeners to take action, stay informed, and support policies that benefit the community.Support the show

This episode of Quality Living With Peaceful Support, hosted by Amanda Whittemore, features Jan Rowe, Outreach Coordinator for End of Life Choices Oregon (ELCOR). They discuss end-of-life care options under the Oregon Death with Dignity Act. Topics include the role of end-of-life doulas in offering emotional and logistical support, the impact of telemedicine in providing […]

First, the young leaders from the Radical Brownies share why they're supporting the Traveling with Dignity Act and how you can support! Then, NM Representative Eleanor Chavez shares her top priority bills for this 60-day legislative session, including the Traveling with Dignity Act and Dignity Not Detention Efforts. Next, Eduardo Esquivel Gonzalez, Co-Director of NM Dream Team, shares the mission of the organization and its legislative priorities. Tune in LIVE every SUNDAY on 89.9FM or steam KUNM.org

Serene Mechel-Dillman talks about the global success of her film documenting first-hand accounts of the terminally ill who have used medical aid in dying (MAID). Airing on Amazon Prime, Take Me Out Feet First has been in the top five TV documentaries for the past three months, with more than 24 million minutes of viewing. About Serene A New York native and dancer with a passion for the visual arts, Serene attended The School of American Ballet, Tenafly High School then The University of Vermont. Post graduation, she opted out of law school and worked at an advertising agency in New York, founded a company that imported baskets from Haiti, then moved to Los Angeles to work in production on television commercials. Commercial production stuck and she worked her way up until she became a producer. In 2014 Serene conceived and directed the documentary film, “Getting to The Nutcracker”, a behind the scenes look at what it takes to produce the classic ballet from auditions to final performance. The movie garnered 7 major festival awards, including a Grand Jury Prize, Audience Award, Best Direction, and Best Feature Documentary. Her second documentary, “The 5th Dementia” is about a Los Angeles-based band whose members live with Alzheimer's, dementia and Parkinson's. They are able to sing and play music despite their neurodegenerative diseases. "Take Me Out Feet First" is her first documentary series. The first 6 episodes of season 1 are currently airing on Amazon Prime. Look for season 2 later this year. Key Takeaways Medical aid in dying (MAID) is the practice where a physician provides a terminally ill patient with the means to voluntarily and intentionally end their own life. This usually involves prescribing a lethal dose of medication that the patient can self-administer. "Medical aid in dying" is distinct from "assisted suicide." Medical aid in dying involves the self-administration of prescribed medication by terminally ill patients, and there are strict safeguards in place to prevent abuse. Oregon's Death with Dignity Act, enacted in 1997, has not reported a single instance of abuse since its initiation 27 years ago. The term "suicide" implies a desire to die, whereas medical aid in dying is a choice made by individuals facing an unavoidable terminal illness. Compassion & Choices is a nonprofit organization in every US state that advocates for end-of-life care options, including medical aid in dying. The organization works to expand and improve end-of life care and ensure that patients can make their own decisions about their treatment and how they wish to spend their final days.

In this episode of LifeBeat, we introduce ·Life. The Other Choice.,· an organization-wide refresh built around our new multi-media ads that includes the ads, a new website and brand refresh. We also provide updates on the ·Death with Dignity Act,· a package of bills that were introduced in the Michigan Senate last November and are likely to be heard in committee sometime over the next couple of months. The package of bills would legalize physician-assisted suicide in Michigan. We wrap up the episode with a summary of new polling from the Marketing Resource Group. The poll results were extremely encouraging, with an overwhelming majority of Michigan voters in favor of retaining parental consent, informed consent and safeguards against the use of tax dollars to pay for abortions.

It's easy to fixate on the statistics at the southern border, as millions of migrants and gotaways cross every day. However, there are human lives behind these numbers — so how can we work to ensure the innocent ones are treated with respect? Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) and Congresswoman Hillary Scholten (D-MI) discuss their bipartisan efforts to create the Dignity Act – which aims to improve security and processing systems at the border while also ensuring migrants who have been living and working in America for five years receive fair treatment from the government. Later, they discuss how the border crisis has impacted both of their states in unique ways, and how they found themselves working across the aisle with one another on this issue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday, #LALiens. If you ask Mike, Ye is getting back on the throttle. Will there be an awakening of the American spirit? . Today, Norm and Mike discuss: . › The United States Centers for Disease Control is reporting that data emerging from 2021 shows that life expectancy for men is nearly six (6) years less than for women. Meanwhile, Michigan's legislature has introduced a bill dubbed the "Death with Dignity Act," to legalize medically assisted suicide and joining a growing coalition of American states creating legal pathways for individuals to kill themselves under the supervision and assistance of the medical system. . › Tucker Carlson is in Spain. Something about separatists. Something about taxpayer money being funneled to appease discordant groups. Something about pardoning separatists. But Tucker Carlson is in Spain and is marching with tens of thousands of Spanish citizens in opposition to what is crystallizing as top-down subversion of the country's laws and justice system. . › Video footage of Jenna Ellis' cooperative testimony in the Georgia case against President Donald J. Trump made its debut yesterday and has gone viral. What is the role of a cooperating witness—or, "snitch"—in criminal prosecutions and how is one's credibility and motive effectively cross-examined by defense counsel? . Join us. . Daily livestreams beginning at 8:00 am EST on: › Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/LawandLegitimacy › Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lawandlegitimacy › X: https://twitter.com/LawPodDaily . Subscribe and turn on notifications! . Support Law and Legitimacy: . - Locals: https://lawandlegitimacy.locals.com/ - X: @LawPodDaily, @PattisNorm, and @MichaelBoyer_ - Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Audible, Spotify, or wherever you receive podcasts and rate LAL 5 stars. - Subscribe here on our Rumble and Youtube channels, give us a Rumble, and join our active community of free-thinkers, contrarians, and the unafraid on Locals!

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday, #LALiens. If you ask Mike, Ye is getting back on the throttle. Will there be an awakening of the American spirit? . Today, Norm and Mike discuss: . › The United States Centers for Disease Control is reporting that data emerging from 2021 shows that life expectancy for men is nearly six (6) years less than for women. Meanwhile, Michigan's legislature has introduced a bill dubbed the "Death with Dignity Act," to legalize medically assisted suicide and joining a growing coalition of American states creating legal pathways for individuals to kill themselves under the supervision and assistance of the medical system. . › Tucker Carlson is in Spain. Something about separatists. Something about taxpayer money being funneled to appease discordant groups. Something about pardoning separatists. But Tucker Carlson is in Spain and is marching with tens of thousands of Spanish citizens in opposition to what is crystallizing as top-down subversion of the country's laws and justice system. . › Video footage of Jenna Ellis' cooperative testimony in the Georgia case against President Donald J. Trump made its debut yesterday and has gone viral. What is the role of a cooperating witness—or, "snitch"—in criminal prosecutions and how is one's credibility and motive effectively cross-examined by defense counsel? . Join us. . Daily livestreams beginning at 8:00 am EST on: › Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/LawandLegitimacy › Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lawandlegitimacy › X: https://twitter.com/LawPodDaily . Subscribe and turn on notifications! . Support Law and Legitimacy: . - Locals: https://lawandlegitimacy.locals.com/ - X: @LawPodDaily, @PattisNorm, and @MichaelBoyer_ - Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Audible, Spotify, or wherever you receive podcasts and rate LAL 5 stars. - Subscribe here on our Rumble and Youtube channels, give us a Rumble, and join our active community of free-thinkers, contrarians, and the unafraid on Locals!

The Left of Lansing Friday Short this week applauds a trio of state Senate Democrats (Mary Cavenagh of Redford Twp., Kevin Hertel of St. Clair Shores, and Veronica Klinefelt of Eastpoint) for introducing the Death with Dignity Act.  If passed, Michigan would become the 11th state to grant terminally ill patients the power to make their own end-of-life decisions. Since the legislative calendar is finished for the rest of this year, the bills will have to wait until next year. But it ought to pass in bipartisan fashion. It's about personal freedom, and it's about compassion. Thanks for listening. --Pat leftoflansing@gmail.com  leftoflansing.com

California's Transgender Respect, Agency and Dignity Act was meant to protect transgender people, reducing the trauma of physical and sexual assault experienced by many transgender women in particular when housed in men's prison. But the culture at state prisons and rising anti-trans fervor throughout the country have exposed some transgender women to new traumas. Like Syiaah Skylit, who is currently in solitary confinement at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla. She's experienced harassment, taunting, and attacks from other incarcerated women because of her gender identity. Reporter Lee Romney, who covered criminal justice at the LA Times, and Jenny Johnson, a former public defender, spent a year interviewing Syiaah and other transgender incarcerated people  to gauge how the law – meant to protect gender-expansive people in prison–  may not actually be working out the way it was intended.

진행자: 김혜연, Naomi Ng 1. 2m Koreans opt out of life-extending treatments 요약: 임종 과정 중 무의미한 연명의료를 받지 않겠다는 사전연명의료의향서 서약자가 내달 200만명을 넘어설 것으로 예상된다. [1] Nearly two million individuals in Korea have formally declined life-extending medical interventions, choosing instead to prioritize their right to die with dignity when suffering from a terminal condition, data showed Sunday. *life-extension 연명, 생명 연장 *dignity 위엄, 존엄 *terminal 말기의, 불치의 [2] Data from the National Agency for Management of Life-Sustaining Treatment reveals that as of the end of August, 1,941,231 people have filed an advance health care directive to abstain from life-saving medical assistance since the system's inception in February 2018. *directive 의향서, 지시, 훈시 *abstain from …을 삼가다[그만두다] [3] Judging from the current monthly growth rate, the number is projected to exceed two million in October. Five and half years have passed since the so-called "Death with Dignity Act" came into effect in Korea in February 2018. The act enabled people to refuse life-prolonging medical treatment. *so-called 소위, 이른바 *enable …을 할 수 있게 하다 [4] Any adult over the age of 19 can register for the advance medical directive detailing treatment plans in the case of terminal illness, which they can also withdraw from at any time. Currently, four types of treatment -- cardiopulmonary resuscitation, use of artificial respiration, hemodialysis and administration of anti-cancer drugs -- are categorized as life-extension care by the government. *respiration 호흡 *anti-cancer drug 항암제 기사 원문: http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20230924000091&ACE_SEARCH=1 2. Govt. to survey spending on private education of preschoolers, Suneung retakers 요약: 교육부는 영유아 및 n수생의 사교육비 절감 대책과 공교육 내실화 방안을 마련하기 위해 이들의 사교육 실패 타악에 내년부터 나설 계획이라 발표했다. [1] South Korea's official data on parental spending for their children's education has long faced criticism for overlooking two significant aspects: expenditures prior to the commencement of public education and those occurring after its completion. *overlook 못 보고 넘어가다, 간과하다 *expenditure 지출; 비용, 경비 [2] To address these concerns and better assess the financial burden on parents, the Ministry of Education plans to look into the cost of “private education” of preschool children and high school graduates who are studying to retake the national college entrance exam, known as the Suneung. *address 전달하다, 연설하다 *burden 부담, 짐 *retake 다시 치르다, 재시험 [3] Private education in Korea refers to all forms of learning outside of the formal state curriculum. The ministry said it will survey some 15,000 parents next year on how much they spend for their preschool children's education outside of the regular Korean-language kindergartens that follow the state curriculum. *refer to …에 돌리다, 회부하다, 언급[지칭]하다 *formal 격식을 차린, 정중한 기사 원문: http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20230924000138&ACE_SEARCH=1

Dr. Mark Pickering joins Tim to talk about the disturbing spread of  and interest in human euthanasia throughout western cultures, particularly in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. Mark is a general practitioner of family medicine. He focuses his work on prisons and other similarly secure facilities. In addition, he is the head of the Christian Medical Fellowship in the United Kingdom. In this conversation, we talk about the myths and the realities of assisted suicide. https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Human_Euthanasia_is_Here_auphonic.mp3 In 1997, the state of Oregon passed the Death with Dignity Act, which allowed the medically assisted suicide for people who were terminally ill. Since that time, over 3,280 people received prescriptions for legal doses of medications under the act's provisions. The state reports that of those who received prescriptions, 2,159 people actually took the medications and died from the lethal dosages. Since 1942, the nation of Switzerland has allowed assisted suicide. But according to the government, it only allows this form of euthanasia so long as, “the motives are not selfish.” Closer to home, in Canada in 2016, the Canadian government legalized medical assistance in dying. The acronym for this is MAID. The Canadian Supreme Court had decided that existing laws that prohibited assisted suicide were an afront to individual rights. Here's how the MAID program started. Medical professionals - doctors and nurses - would administer lethal injections or fatal medications to patients who met a specific criteria. The individual had to have a serious illness or disability; the individual had to be in what the government described as an “advanced state” of decline that could not be reversed; the individual had to be experiencing unbearable physical or mental suffering; or the individual had to be at the point where natural death had become “reasonably foreseeable.” Notice that nowhere in Canada's original requirements did the individual have to be terminally ill. But that was just the beginning.  Before long, anyone who wanted help with suicide was able to get it. Canadians who were depressed, stressed, or just economically poor or in a state of mental distress could get help with their own suicide. In 2021, the government relaxed the condition that that natural death must be “reasonably foreseeable.” After that, the stories of Canadians being presented with suicide as a medical option included some who were just temporarily homeless or in some kind of pain that otherwise could be treated. Consider the story of Alan Nichols. When he was a child, he lost his hearing. He had had a stroke. But overall, at 61 years old, he was able to live on his own. Then in 2019 he was admitted to the hospital over concerns that he might be at risk of committing suicide. He was mentally unstable. Not in his right mind. While he was in the hospital, he pleaded with his brother Gary to get him out of the Canadian hospital. Over the course of the next four weeks, he then was reported to have applied for medically assisted suicide under the MAID program. The only medical condition he listed as his reason for wanting to die was being hard of hearing. Instead of treating Nichols' obvious mental instability, the hospital supported his desire to kill himself and provided its own justification. It said Nichols had some vision loss, that he was frail, that he had a history of seizures and in their words, he had a “failure to thrive,” whatever that means. The hospital framed the process as Nichols requesting to die by lethal injection, and it saw that rationale as valid. The procedure was carried out expeditiously. When the Associated Press talked to Nichols' brother Gary, he said that his brother Alan, “was basically put to death.” Inmates on death row are forced to wait much longer. Mark Pickering is on the front lines of this issue.

To mark a very special podcast milestone—our 150th episode—podcast regular Theresa Cardinal Brown sits down with Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL) to discuss the Dignity Act. Then, Theresa and host Hanadi Jordan reflect on six years of the podcast. Featuring clips from some of our favorite episodes, we cover the highlights, the challenges, and hopes for the future!

WTVN Contributor, Mehek Cooke is live from the border in Texas and reacts to DeSantis' immigration policy and discuses The Dignity Act and its intent

Lawmakers consider a bipartisan approach to fixing immigration; officials investigate what led to the implosion of an experimental submersible; and a clan of blacksmiths forges a family business. Plus, pink snow in Utah, commentary from Joel Belz, and the Tuesday morning newsSupport The World and Everything in It today at wng.org/donate.Additional support comes from Dordt University. Dordt's Master of Public Administration program provides training in areas like leadership and policy analysis. More at Dordt.edu/M-P-Afrom the Missions on Point podcast, 15 minutes every Friday, providing practical, biblical insights for your world missions ministry through your local church, available wherever you get your podcastsAnd from Children's Hunger Fund:--Over 700 million meals distributed since 1991.-Just 25¢ can provide a meal for a hungry child.-Serving in 30 countries, including the US.Since 1991, Children's Hunger Fund (CHF) has come alongside the local church in 30 countries, including the US, to deliver food, aid, and the hope of the gospel. To date, 96% of total contributions—over 1 billion dollars in food and other aid—have been distributed through programs serving more than 20 million children across America and around the world. CHF has consistently received a four-star rating from Charity Navigator. CHF has distribution centers in San Antonio, Frisco, and their Los Angeles headquarters. To learn more, visit ChildrensHungerFund.org/world.

Stacy Lynn on cyber attacks across the country and Jeff McCausland with the latest on Ukraine // Feliks Banel - All Over The Map - Civic Songs // Margaret Brennan on her upcoming trip to China, with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken // Senator Jamie Pedersen on the Death with Dignity Act // David Burbank on Tacoma's latest and greatest LGBTQ hub, Howdy Bagel // Dose of Kindness -- A billionaire bears gifts for recent college grads // Gee Scott on why Father's Day is so important to himSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a bipartisan 63-36 vote, the Senate passed a debt limit package, bringing an end to the ongoing stalemate on negotiations. The compromised legislation contains concessions from both parties, suspending the debt limit into 2025 while also setting new caps on discretionary spending. The deal comes just days before the country was expected to default on its debt, which some experts say would've yielded catastrophic economic consequences. FOX Senior Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram explains the contents of the bill, the threats to Speaker McCarthy's leadership, and what the bipartisan compromise means for the divided government.   House members Veronica Escobar (D-TX) and Maria Salazar (R-FL) are spearheading a new bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill this year titled the Dignity Act, with the odds against them because despite many attempts, this kind of reform has fallen short over the past several decades. FOX News Correspondent Griff Jenkins weighs in on the probability that this bill could pass both the House and the Senate.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a bipartisan 63-36 vote, the Senate passed a debt limit package, bringing an end to the ongoing stalemate on negotiations. The compromised legislation contains concessions from both parties, suspending the debt limit into 2025 while also setting new caps on discretionary spending. The deal comes just days before the country was expected to default on its debt, which some experts say would've yielded catastrophic economic consequences. FOX Senior Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram explains the contents of the bill, the threats to Speaker McCarthy's leadership, and what the bipartisan compromise means for the divided government.   House members Veronica Escobar (D-TX) and Maria Salazar (R-FL) are spearheading a new bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill this year titled the Dignity Act, with the odds against them because despite many attempts, this kind of reform has fallen short over the past several decades. FOX News Correspondent Griff Jenkins weighs in on the probability that this bill could pass both the House and the Senate.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a bipartisan 63-36 vote, the Senate passed a debt limit package, bringing an end to the ongoing stalemate on negotiations. The compromised legislation contains concessions from both parties, suspending the debt limit into 2025 while also setting new caps on discretionary spending. The deal comes just days before the country was expected to default on its debt, which some experts say would've yielded catastrophic economic consequences. FOX Senior Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram explains the contents of the bill, the threats to Speaker McCarthy's leadership, and what the bipartisan compromise means for the divided government.   House members Veronica Escobar (D-TX) and Maria Salazar (R-FL) are spearheading a new bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill this year titled the Dignity Act, with the odds against them because despite many attempts, this kind of reform has fallen short over the past several decades. FOX News Correspondent Griff Jenkins weighs in on the probability that this bill could pass both the House and the Senate.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This Week's Episode // May 22nd - May 28th 2023 :

The H1B Guy News for the week ending May 26, 2023. Topics: The Dignity Act of 2023 - Bipartisan Immigration Reform Introduced by Rep Escobar and Rep Salazar Read the full post: https://theh1bguy.com/f/the-h1b-guy-news---5262023 For more US employment based immigration coverage please check out TheH1BGuy.com Follow The H1B Guy: YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, LinkedIn The H1B Guy is proudly sponsored by: Syndesus and Path To Canada - The ideal Plan B for high skilled immigrants currently in the US whose status may be uncertain. Check them out: https://syndesus.com/gts-employees-h1b-guy/?utm_source=TheH-1BGuy&utm_medium=99f53f7c Perm-Ads.com the industry leader in providing a seamless experience for Employers and Immigration Attorneys navigating the complex PERM Recruitment Ad phase of the Labor Certification Process. Technology professional who was unsuccessful in the H1B lottery? MobSquad can help you! Join the Squad! https://mobsquad.io/how/us-work-visa/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=h1bguy #H1B #DignityAct2023 #USCIS #GreenCardBacklog #H4 #DocumentedDreamers --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theh1bguy/support

Border disaster. Scenes from El Paso. The need to compromise and get something done. The Dignity Act. www.watchdogonwallstreet.com

Warning: This episode contains discussions about death and suicideIn a special episode Emma looks at the issue of assisted dying and asks whether it should be legalised - and if it was, how could it work?Later this year a bill will be introduced to the Scottish parliament that could see assisted dying legalised. In England the House of Commons health and social care committee is running an inquiry on the issue.The Scottish bill is being put forward by Lib Dem member of Scottish parliament Liam McArthur. This is the third attempt to legalise assisted dying in Scotland since 1999, so could the law change this time?Emma speaks to Scottish GPs on both sides of the debate about assisted dying.She talks to Liam McArthur about why he is introducing the bill and its chances of success - and to GP Dr Sandesh Gulhane, a Conservative member of Scottish parliament who chaired a medical advisory group that produced a report on how assisted dying should work.She also meets Dr Catherine Forest, a family doctor from California where assisted dying has been legal since 2016. Dr Forest was involved with work that helped pave the way for legalising assisted dying and and now supports patients and their families through the process of assisted dying. She also speaks very movingly about her husband Will, who chose an assisted death in 2021.And we look at what a change of law could mean from patients' point of view by talking to Jackie Roberts, who lives in Edinburgh and has incurable breast cancer, and Professor Kevin Yuill, a representative from Not Dead Yet, a group of disability activists that campaigns against assisted dying.This episode was produced by Czarina Deen.SourcesProposed Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) BillMedical Advisory Group Report on the assisted dying billProposed Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill - summary of consultation responsesYouGov survey on assisted dyingBMA survey of members on assisted dying from February 2020RCGP rejects change in stance on assisted dying - from GPonlineRegional Euthanasia Review Committee from the Netherlands annual reports - showing the proportion of people who died by euthanasia.Dignitas report showing accompanied suicides per year and country of residenceThird annual report on Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada 2021Oregon Death with Dignity Act 2021 data summaryDignity in Dying's Last Resort report ONS suicide reportAre Canadians being driven to assisted suicide by poverty or healthcare crisis? The GuardianCost estimates for Medical Assistance in Dying Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Changes could be coming to Washington's Death with Dignity Act, a measure that allows terminally ill patients to seek medical assistance with ending their lives.

It's been 16 years since Washington voters passed the act, which allows terminally ill patients to seek physician-guided assistance to ending their lives.

Description: An immersive reading of excerpts from Death's End by Cixin Liu translated by Ken Liu with reflection on wording, healthcare decision making, family and finances. Website:https://anauscultation.wordpress.com/ Work:excerpts from Death's End by Cixin Liu translated by Ken LiuA fit of coughing forced him to put down the newspaper and try to get some sleep.The next day, the TV also showed some interviews and reports about the euthanasia law, but there didn't seem to be a lot of public interest.Tianming had trouble sleeping that night: He coughed; he struggled to breathe: he felt weak and nauseous from the chemo. The patient who had the bed next to his sat on the edge of Tianming's bed and held the oxygen tube for him. His surname was Li, and everyone called him "Lao Li," Old Li.Lao Li looked around to be sure that the other two patients who shared the room with them were asleep, and then said, "Tianming, I'm going to leave early.""You've been discharged?""No. It's that law."Tianming sat up. "But why? Your children are so solicitous and caring-""That is exactly why I've decided to do this. If this drags out much longer, they'd have to sell their houses. What for? In the end, there's no cure. I have to be responsible for my children and their children."Lao Li sighed, lightly patted Tianming's arm, and returned to his own bed.Staring at the shadows cast against the window curtain by swaying trees, Tianming gradually fell asleep. For the first time since his illness, he had a peaceful dream. […]It took a great deal of internal discussion before the news outlets settled on the verb "to conduct." "To execute" was clearly inappropriate; "to carry out" sounded wrong as well; "to complete" seemed to suggest that death was already certain, which was not exactly accurate, either. […]None of Lao Li's family members were present for the procedure. He had kept his decision from them and requested that the city's Civil Affairs Bureau-not the hospital- inform his family after the procedure was complete. The new law permitted him to conduct his affairs in this manner.References:Death's End (book 3): https://www.tatteredcover.com/book/9780765386632 The Three-Body Problem (book 1): https://www.tatteredcover.com/book/9780765382030 NB: Tattered Cover is a local Denver bookstore  Cixin Liu: https://paper-republic.org/pers/liu-cixin/ Koch T. A Sceptics Report: Canada's Five Years Experience with Medical Termination (MAiD) [published online ahead of print, 2022 Feb 12].Virtual Mentor. 2007;9(1):188-192.Oregon Public Health. Oregon's Death with Dignity Act 2014. Salem, OR: Oregon Public Health; 2015. Available from: www.oregon.gov/oha/ph/ProviderPartnerResources/EvaluationResearch/DeathwithDignityAct/Documents/year17.pdf. Accessed 2015 Nov 27. Siddiqui M, Rajkumar SV. The high cost of cancer drugs and what we can do about it. Mayo Clin Proc. 2012;87(10):935-943.Hao Yu, Universal health insurance coverage for 1.3 billion people: What accounts for China's success?, Health Policy, Volume 119, Issue 9, 2015, Pages 1145-1152, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2015.07.008.

On Midday today, guest host Ashley Sterner spotlights some of the legislative, health policy and spiritual developments in transgender rights here in Maryland. Democratic leaders in the General Assembly have made strengthening abortion rights in Maryland a top priority.This session, they're expected to approve a bill that would create a state constitutional right to abortion access. If the amendment passes, voters will decide its fate next fall. This comes as abortion rights are being restricted in many states, following last year's Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe V. Wade.Governor Wes Moore wants Maryland to stand against this tide and be what he calls a “safe haven for abortion rights.” Abortion rights aren't the only rights under assault in many parts of the country. Many Republican-led state legislatures are also working to strip rights from transgender people. More than 150 anti-trans bills have been proposed around the country, many focused on younger trans people… but not exclusively. There are bills restricting and criminalizing crucial medical care for youths and adults, bills preventing trans people from performing in public, and more. Some Maryland leaders are working to shore up the rights – and protect the dignity – of trans people here in our state. And this hour, we'll be taking a look at two pieces of legislation that would do just that.A We'll start with the Trans Health Equity Act, which got its first hearing before a House of Delegates committee on Tuesday. Ashley's first guests are Democratic Del. Anne Kaiser (District 14 -Montgomery Co.), who is sponsoring the bill in the Maryland House, and Dr. Helene Hedian, director of Clinical Education at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine's Center for Transgender Health, and Assistant Vice Chair for LGBTQ+ Equity and Education. Studies show that transgender people suffer significantly higher rates of violence while incarcerated than the rest of the prison population.And members of the General Assembly are looking to address that, with a bill called the Transgender Respect, Agency, and Dignity Act. It'll get its first hearing in the House Judiciary Committee next week. Earlier, Ashley spoke with the co-conveners of the Trans Rights Advocacy Coalition: Jamie Grace Alexander, a Black trans woman activist and multidisciplinary artist who also serves as policy coordinator for Free State Justice, and the community director of the Baltimore Trans Alliance; and Margo Quinlan, a trans woman activist and the director of Youth & Older Adult Policy at the Mental Health Association of Maryland. In today's final segment, Ashley speaks with Pastor Emily Scott. Pastor Emily currently serves two congregations who have formed a unique partnership: St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church and Dreams and Visions, in Baltimore. These two congregations, one old, one new, are sharing a building, pastoral staff, and a commitment to their neighborhood and the LGBTQ+ community. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In an effort to address the healthcare cost and access crisis here in Washington, the Economic Opportunity Institute (EOI) is endorsing a slate of bills in this year's legislative session, taking aim at things like mergers, prescription drug costs, and protections for our frontline healthcare workers. On today's podcast, EOI's healthcare policy advisor, Sam Hatzenbeler, explains the big issues for us. Bills we discussed with current actions: SB 5241 - Keep Our Care Act (preventing even more anti-competitive healthcare consolidation) Bill info: https://www.takeaction.network/bills/6525 Senate action: Support SB 5241 (Keep Our Care Act) by Urging Legislators to Pass It Out of Committee Before this Week's Cutoff: Feb 10 - Feb 16 2023 Take action here: https://www.takeaction.network/xactions/32561?ref=51 SB 5179 / HB 1281 - Expanded Death With Dignity Act (removing barriers to access & making it more compatible with the law's intent) SB 5179 bill info: https://www.takeaction.network/bills/6428 HB 1281 bill info: https://www.takeaction.network/bills/6631 Senate action: Support SB 5179 (Death with Dignity Act) and get this bill a floor vote: Feb 12-Feb 20 2023 Take action here: https://www.takeaction.network/xactions/32633?ref=51 House action: Support (HB 1281) Death with dignity act and ask Rules to move this important bill for a floor vote: Feb 12-Feb 20 2023 Take action here: https://www.takeaction.network/xactions/32632?ref=51 HB 1469 / SB 5489 - Shield Law (providing a shield to patients and providers of abortion or gender-affirming care. Prevents other states from using WA courts or judicial process to enforce their forced-birth laws; provides life-saving refuge to those seeking care.) HB 1469 info: https://www.takeaction.network/bills/6999 SB 5489 info: https://www.takeaction.network/bills/7057 House action: Support Health care services/access (House: On Floor 2nd Reading): Feb 11-Feb 17 2023 Take action here: https://www.takeaction.network/xactions/32609?ref=51 Senate action: Let's get this reproductive justice bill a floor vote!: Feb 6-Feb 20 2023 Take action here: https://www.takeaction.network/xactions/32515?ref=51 Other bills & budget items also discussed: SB 5393 / HB 1379 - Promote Fair Contracting Practices bill (stop unfair negotiating tactics) HB 1508 - Healthcare Cost Transparency Board (HCCTB) (expands accountability mechanisms for healthcare pricing) HB 1269 - Strengthening the Prescription Drug Affordability Board (making prescription drugs more affordable) SB 5236 - Support Frontline Healthcare Workers, aka Washington Safe and Healthy (stops hospitals from balancing their budgets on the backs of their workers) Budget items: Cascade Care Immigrant Healthcare Expansion The Fair Health Prices campaign - visit the website to learn about this new campaign: https://fairhealthprices.org/

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily Newsbrief for Wednesday, February 8th, 2023. Rowdy Christian Merch Plug: If you’re a fan of CrossPolitic, or the Fight Laugh Feast Network, then surely, you know we have a merch store right? Rowdy Christian Merch is your one-stop-shop for everything CrossPolitc merchandise. We’ve got T-Shirts, hoodies, hats, but we’ve also got specialty items like backpacks, mugs, coffee, even airpod cases! Visit Rowdy Christian Merch at rowdychristian.com, and buy that next gift, or a little something for yourself. Again, that’s rowdychristian.com. An update on the situation in Turkey & Syria: https://www.theepochtimes.com/earthquake-death-toll-crosses-5000-as-turkey-experiences-285-aftershocks_5039212.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=BonginoReport&src_src=partner&src_cmp=BonginoReport Earthquake Death Toll Passes 7,200 as Turkey Experiences 285 Aftershocks The death toll from the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria have exceeded 7,200, with thousands more injured, infrastructure crumbling, and rescue groups struggling to bring aid to the victims. In Turkey, at least 5,434 people are confirmed dead. In Syria, state news agency SANA reported at least 1,832 deaths. Combined, at least 7,266 people have died in Turkey and Syria. In total, at least 3,749 people are estimated to have been injured in Syria. Turkey’s injured are estimated to be over 30,000. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the death toll could rise to around 20,000 in the coming days. The first quake, with an epicenter in the Pazarcik district of Turkey’s southern Province, had a magnitude of 7.8. A second quake of 7.6 magnitude hit the same region nine hours later, worsening the situation. Turkey experienced 285 aftershocks. U.S. President Joe Biden “noted that U.S. teams are deploying quickly to support Turkish search and rescue efforts and coordinate other assistance that may be required by people affected by the earthquakes, including health services or basic relief items,” a readout of Biden’s conversation with Turkish President on Jan. 6 said. The earthquakes have caused widespread devastation in Turkey. A video shared on Twitter shows innumerable buildings turned to rubble, with only a few tall buildings still standing. Another video shows a building crashing down while people run for safety. In Turkey’s southern region, which is home to some of the worst-hit cities, damaged roads and poor internet connections are hampering rescue attempts. In some places, freezing winter weather is also posing a challenge. Families were forced to sleep in cars lined up in the streets. Families wrapped themselves in blankets and gathered around fires to keep themselves warm. The Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency of Turkey (AFAD) is said to have deployed 13,740 search and rescue personnel as well as over 300,000 blankets, 100,000 beds, and 41,000 tents to the region. According to Organ Tatar, an official from AFAD, 5,775 buildings have been destroyed by the quake. “The infrastructure is damaged, the roads that we used to use for humanitarian work are damaged, we have to be creative in how to get to the people … but we are working hard,” U.N. resident coordinator -told Reuters. The earthquake on Monday is Turkey’s deadliest since a quake of similar magnitude hit the country in 1999 and killed over 17,000 people. https://www.dailyfetched.com/massive-human-trafficking-bust-sees-368-arrested-131-rescued-in-california-2/ Massive Human Trafficking Bust Sees 368 Arrested, 131 Rescued in California Three hundred sixty-eight people have been arrested, and 131 victims rescued in large-scale human trafficking operation by a multi-agency task force in California. Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Chief Michel Moore said: “We know that the sex trade is a prolific one that exists throughout this state and throughout our nation.” “It’s an ugly scar against this great country that exists too oftentimes in plain sight,” he added. Operation Reclaim and Rebuild occurred between Jan. 22 and Jan. 28 in nine counties, including Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino, Kiro7 reported. Various federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies teamed up for the effort, including the LAPD, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Victims of human trafficking, including ages ranging from 13 to 52, including children. Investigators worked with victim advocacy groups to provide resources “to help [victims] escape from this life-threatening environment,” he said. Investigators responded to advertisements offering sexual services and visited massage parlors suspected of being involved in sex trafficking. Among those arrested included pimps and panderers, Moore said. The victims, most of whom were kidnapped, face “threat of death” or coercion and are isolated from their former support to become dependent on the trafficker, Moore added. https://thepostmillennial.com/death-tourism-oregon-becomes-national-destination-for-assisted-suicide?utm_campaign=64487 'Death tourism': Oregon becomes national destination for assisted suicide Individuals residing in states that outlaw euthanasia, such as Texas, have started traveling to Oregon to gain assistance in their suicide, making the state the first "death tourism" destination in the US. According to the Daily Mail, Dr. Nicholas Gideonse, the director of End of Life Choices Oregon, recently admitted to assisting a man from Texas with Lou Gehrig's disease who came to the doctor's Portland clinic in achieving suicide and said that "for a small number of patients who otherwise qualify or are determined to go through that and who have the energy and the resources … it has started to happen." According to Oregon's official website, the state passed its Death with Dignity Act in 1997, "which allows terminally ill individuals to end their lives through the voluntary self-administration of lethal medications, expressly prescribed by a physician for that purpose." The law enabled terminally ill patients expected to die within six months to request fatal drugs from doctors that the patient then takes and self-administers. In 2021, 238 people committed suicide via the program, and 383 doses of fatal drugs were prescribed by doctors. There was originally a restriction for people out-of-state but in 2021 Dr. Gideonse sued Oregon to lift the restriction, which was granted in 2022. Currently, if a resident from another state wants to go to Oregon for the fatal drugs, they are placed on a 15-day waiting period. In that time paperwork is processed and two doctors along with witnesses must sign off on the request for suicide by prescription. The expansion of Death with Dignity to out-of-staters is not yet law in Oregon but is expected to be codified this year with House Bill 2279. The law resembles Canada's state-sponsored euthanasia program known as medical assistance in dying (MAiD), originally intended for those with physical illnesses where death was a reasonable inevitability although it has been amended to allow those with mental health issues to apply. Dr. Gideonse's original lawsuit was over neighboring residents of Washington who wanted suicide drugs and has expanded to residents from further states, including those with strict laws against euthanasia. The executive director of the Patients Rights Action Fund, a group pushing back against Oregon's law, Matt Vallière, said "You end up in this Wild West scenario where people take the drugs back to their home states, and there are a lot more questions than there are answers about what would happen after that." Dr. Gideonse, who also has campaigned for legalizing psilocybin to treat depression, has connections with the Compassion & Choices group which "grew out of the 1980s right-to-die movement of the Hemlock Society and Jack Kevorkian — the pathologist and notorious 'Dr Death' who assisted scores of suicides and was ultimately convicted of murder," reports the Daily Mail. Tucker Carlson & Charles Camosy spoke on this very subject. https://rumble.com/v1adg4j-charles-camosy-on-the-way-assisted-suicide-is-increasingly-being-pushed.html - Play Video Classical Conversations Classical Conversations supports homeschooling parents by cultivating the love of learning through a Christian worldview in fellowship with other families. They provide a classical Christ-centered curriculum, local like-minded communities across the United States and in several countries, and they train parents who are striving to be great classical educators in the home. For more information and to get connected, please visit their website at ClassicalConversations.com. Again that’s ClassicalConversations.com. https://freebeacon.com/coronavirus/this-study-could-be-scientific-nail-in-the-coffin-for-masks/ This Study Could Be 'Scientific Nail in the Coffin' for Masks One of the largest and most comprehensive studies on the effectiveness of masks found they do almost nothing to reduce the spread of respiratory viruses. The study reviewed 78 randomized control trials—experiments that have long been considered "the gold standard" for medicine—which assessed the effectiveness of face masks against flu, COVID-19, and similar illnesses. It found that wearing masks "probably makes little or no difference" for the general public, no matter what kind of mask is used. Even N95 masks, considered the most effective at filtering airborne particles, showed no clear benefit for health care workers. The study was published on January 30 by the Cochrane Library, a world-renowned medical database that is famous for its high-quality evidence reviews. It comes as a battering ram to the recommendations of the U.S. public health establishment, which urged children as young as two to wear masks throughout the pandemic. https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/person-stuck-on-the-side-of-downtown-phoenix-building-says-phoenix-fire-dept 'Pro-life Spiderman' taken into custody after scaling former Chase tower in Phoenix https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcaLtpAM0fE - Play 0:00-1:22 And that’s your news for today…

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily Newsbrief for Wednesday, February 8th, 2023. Rowdy Christian Merch Plug: If you’re a fan of CrossPolitic, or the Fight Laugh Feast Network, then surely, you know we have a merch store right? Rowdy Christian Merch is your one-stop-shop for everything CrossPolitc merchandise. We’ve got T-Shirts, hoodies, hats, but we’ve also got specialty items like backpacks, mugs, coffee, even airpod cases! Visit Rowdy Christian Merch at rowdychristian.com, and buy that next gift, or a little something for yourself. Again, that’s rowdychristian.com. An update on the situation in Turkey & Syria: https://www.theepochtimes.com/earthquake-death-toll-crosses-5000-as-turkey-experiences-285-aftershocks_5039212.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=BonginoReport&src_src=partner&src_cmp=BonginoReport Earthquake Death Toll Passes 7,200 as Turkey Experiences 285 Aftershocks The death toll from the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria have exceeded 7,200, with thousands more injured, infrastructure crumbling, and rescue groups struggling to bring aid to the victims. In Turkey, at least 5,434 people are confirmed dead. In Syria, state news agency SANA reported at least 1,832 deaths. Combined, at least 7,266 people have died in Turkey and Syria. In total, at least 3,749 people are estimated to have been injured in Syria. Turkey’s injured are estimated to be over 30,000. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the death toll could rise to around 20,000 in the coming days. The first quake, with an epicenter in the Pazarcik district of Turkey’s southern Province, had a magnitude of 7.8. A second quake of 7.6 magnitude hit the same region nine hours later, worsening the situation. Turkey experienced 285 aftershocks. U.S. President Joe Biden “noted that U.S. teams are deploying quickly to support Turkish search and rescue efforts and coordinate other assistance that may be required by people affected by the earthquakes, including health services or basic relief items,” a readout of Biden’s conversation with Turkish President on Jan. 6 said. The earthquakes have caused widespread devastation in Turkey. A video shared on Twitter shows innumerable buildings turned to rubble, with only a few tall buildings still standing. Another video shows a building crashing down while people run for safety. In Turkey’s southern region, which is home to some of the worst-hit cities, damaged roads and poor internet connections are hampering rescue attempts. In some places, freezing winter weather is also posing a challenge. Families were forced to sleep in cars lined up in the streets. Families wrapped themselves in blankets and gathered around fires to keep themselves warm. The Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency of Turkey (AFAD) is said to have deployed 13,740 search and rescue personnel as well as over 300,000 blankets, 100,000 beds, and 41,000 tents to the region. According to Organ Tatar, an official from AFAD, 5,775 buildings have been destroyed by the quake. “The infrastructure is damaged, the roads that we used to use for humanitarian work are damaged, we have to be creative in how to get to the people … but we are working hard,” U.N. resident coordinator -told Reuters. The earthquake on Monday is Turkey’s deadliest since a quake of similar magnitude hit the country in 1999 and killed over 17,000 people. https://www.dailyfetched.com/massive-human-trafficking-bust-sees-368-arrested-131-rescued-in-california-2/ Massive Human Trafficking Bust Sees 368 Arrested, 131 Rescued in California Three hundred sixty-eight people have been arrested, and 131 victims rescued in large-scale human trafficking operation by a multi-agency task force in California. Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Chief Michel Moore said: “We know that the sex trade is a prolific one that exists throughout this state and throughout our nation.” “It’s an ugly scar against this great country that exists too oftentimes in plain sight,” he added. Operation Reclaim and Rebuild occurred between Jan. 22 and Jan. 28 in nine counties, including Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino, Kiro7 reported. Various federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies teamed up for the effort, including the LAPD, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Victims of human trafficking, including ages ranging from 13 to 52, including children. Investigators worked with victim advocacy groups to provide resources “to help [victims] escape from this life-threatening environment,” he said. Investigators responded to advertisements offering sexual services and visited massage parlors suspected of being involved in sex trafficking. Among those arrested included pimps and panderers, Moore said. The victims, most of whom were kidnapped, face “threat of death” or coercion and are isolated from their former support to become dependent on the trafficker, Moore added. https://thepostmillennial.com/death-tourism-oregon-becomes-national-destination-for-assisted-suicide?utm_campaign=64487 'Death tourism': Oregon becomes national destination for assisted suicide Individuals residing in states that outlaw euthanasia, such as Texas, have started traveling to Oregon to gain assistance in their suicide, making the state the first "death tourism" destination in the US. According to the Daily Mail, Dr. Nicholas Gideonse, the director of End of Life Choices Oregon, recently admitted to assisting a man from Texas with Lou Gehrig's disease who came to the doctor's Portland clinic in achieving suicide and said that "for a small number of patients who otherwise qualify or are determined to go through that and who have the energy and the resources … it has started to happen." According to Oregon's official website, the state passed its Death with Dignity Act in 1997, "which allows terminally ill individuals to end their lives through the voluntary self-administration of lethal medications, expressly prescribed by a physician for that purpose." The law enabled terminally ill patients expected to die within six months to request fatal drugs from doctors that the patient then takes and self-administers. In 2021, 238 people committed suicide via the program, and 383 doses of fatal drugs were prescribed by doctors. There was originally a restriction for people out-of-state but in 2021 Dr. Gideonse sued Oregon to lift the restriction, which was granted in 2022. Currently, if a resident from another state wants to go to Oregon for the fatal drugs, they are placed on a 15-day waiting period. In that time paperwork is processed and two doctors along with witnesses must sign off on the request for suicide by prescription. The expansion of Death with Dignity to out-of-staters is not yet law in Oregon but is expected to be codified this year with House Bill 2279. The law resembles Canada's state-sponsored euthanasia program known as medical assistance in dying (MAiD), originally intended for those with physical illnesses where death was a reasonable inevitability although it has been amended to allow those with mental health issues to apply. Dr. Gideonse's original lawsuit was over neighboring residents of Washington who wanted suicide drugs and has expanded to residents from further states, including those with strict laws against euthanasia. The executive director of the Patients Rights Action Fund, a group pushing back against Oregon's law, Matt Vallière, said "You end up in this Wild West scenario where people take the drugs back to their home states, and there are a lot more questions than there are answers about what would happen after that." Dr. Gideonse, who also has campaigned for legalizing psilocybin to treat depression, has connections with the Compassion & Choices group which "grew out of the 1980s right-to-die movement of the Hemlock Society and Jack Kevorkian — the pathologist and notorious 'Dr Death' who assisted scores of suicides and was ultimately convicted of murder," reports the Daily Mail. Tucker Carlson & Charles Camosy spoke on this very subject. https://rumble.com/v1adg4j-charles-camosy-on-the-way-assisted-suicide-is-increasingly-being-pushed.html - Play Video Classical Conversations Classical Conversations supports homeschooling parents by cultivating the love of learning through a Christian worldview in fellowship with other families. They provide a classical Christ-centered curriculum, local like-minded communities across the United States and in several countries, and they train parents who are striving to be great classical educators in the home. For more information and to get connected, please visit their website at ClassicalConversations.com. Again that’s ClassicalConversations.com. https://freebeacon.com/coronavirus/this-study-could-be-scientific-nail-in-the-coffin-for-masks/ This Study Could Be 'Scientific Nail in the Coffin' for Masks One of the largest and most comprehensive studies on the effectiveness of masks found they do almost nothing to reduce the spread of respiratory viruses. The study reviewed 78 randomized control trials—experiments that have long been considered "the gold standard" for medicine—which assessed the effectiveness of face masks against flu, COVID-19, and similar illnesses. It found that wearing masks "probably makes little or no difference" for the general public, no matter what kind of mask is used. Even N95 masks, considered the most effective at filtering airborne particles, showed no clear benefit for health care workers. The study was published on January 30 by the Cochrane Library, a world-renowned medical database that is famous for its high-quality evidence reviews. It comes as a battering ram to the recommendations of the U.S. public health establishment, which urged children as young as two to wear masks throughout the pandemic. https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/person-stuck-on-the-side-of-downtown-phoenix-building-says-phoenix-fire-dept 'Pro-life Spiderman' taken into custody after scaling former Chase tower in Phoenix https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcaLtpAM0fE - Play 0:00-1:22 And that’s your news for today…

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily Newsbrief for Wednesday, February 8th, 2023. Rowdy Christian Merch Plug: If you’re a fan of CrossPolitic, or the Fight Laugh Feast Network, then surely, you know we have a merch store right? Rowdy Christian Merch is your one-stop-shop for everything CrossPolitc merchandise. We’ve got T-Shirts, hoodies, hats, but we’ve also got specialty items like backpacks, mugs, coffee, even airpod cases! Visit Rowdy Christian Merch at rowdychristian.com, and buy that next gift, or a little something for yourself. Again, that’s rowdychristian.com. An update on the situation in Turkey & Syria: https://www.theepochtimes.com/earthquake-death-toll-crosses-5000-as-turkey-experiences-285-aftershocks_5039212.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=BonginoReport&src_src=partner&src_cmp=BonginoReport Earthquake Death Toll Passes 7,200 as Turkey Experiences 285 Aftershocks The death toll from the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria have exceeded 7,200, with thousands more injured, infrastructure crumbling, and rescue groups struggling to bring aid to the victims. In Turkey, at least 5,434 people are confirmed dead. In Syria, state news agency SANA reported at least 1,832 deaths. Combined, at least 7,266 people have died in Turkey and Syria. In total, at least 3,749 people are estimated to have been injured in Syria. Turkey’s injured are estimated to be over 30,000. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the death toll could rise to around 20,000 in the coming days. The first quake, with an epicenter in the Pazarcik district of Turkey’s southern Province, had a magnitude of 7.8. A second quake of 7.6 magnitude hit the same region nine hours later, worsening the situation. Turkey experienced 285 aftershocks. U.S. President Joe Biden “noted that U.S. teams are deploying quickly to support Turkish search and rescue efforts and coordinate other assistance that may be required by people affected by the earthquakes, including health services or basic relief items,” a readout of Biden’s conversation with Turkish President on Jan. 6 said. The earthquakes have caused widespread devastation in Turkey. A video shared on Twitter shows innumerable buildings turned to rubble, with only a few tall buildings still standing. Another video shows a building crashing down while people run for safety. In Turkey’s southern region, which is home to some of the worst-hit cities, damaged roads and poor internet connections are hampering rescue attempts. In some places, freezing winter weather is also posing a challenge. Families were forced to sleep in cars lined up in the streets. Families wrapped themselves in blankets and gathered around fires to keep themselves warm. The Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency of Turkey (AFAD) is said to have deployed 13,740 search and rescue personnel as well as over 300,000 blankets, 100,000 beds, and 41,000 tents to the region. According to Organ Tatar, an official from AFAD, 5,775 buildings have been destroyed by the quake. “The infrastructure is damaged, the roads that we used to use for humanitarian work are damaged, we have to be creative in how to get to the people … but we are working hard,” U.N. resident coordinator -told Reuters. The earthquake on Monday is Turkey’s deadliest since a quake of similar magnitude hit the country in 1999 and killed over 17,000 people. https://www.dailyfetched.com/massive-human-trafficking-bust-sees-368-arrested-131-rescued-in-california-2/ Massive Human Trafficking Bust Sees 368 Arrested, 131 Rescued in California Three hundred sixty-eight people have been arrested, and 131 victims rescued in large-scale human trafficking operation by a multi-agency task force in California. Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Chief Michel Moore said: “We know that the sex trade is a prolific one that exists throughout this state and throughout our nation.” “It’s an ugly scar against this great country that exists too oftentimes in plain sight,” he added. Operation Reclaim and Rebuild occurred between Jan. 22 and Jan. 28 in nine counties, including Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino, Kiro7 reported. Various federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies teamed up for the effort, including the LAPD, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Victims of human trafficking, including ages ranging from 13 to 52, including children. Investigators worked with victim advocacy groups to provide resources “to help [victims] escape from this life-threatening environment,” he said. Investigators responded to advertisements offering sexual services and visited massage parlors suspected of being involved in sex trafficking. Among those arrested included pimps and panderers, Moore said. The victims, most of whom were kidnapped, face “threat of death” or coercion and are isolated from their former support to become dependent on the trafficker, Moore added. https://thepostmillennial.com/death-tourism-oregon-becomes-national-destination-for-assisted-suicide?utm_campaign=64487 'Death tourism': Oregon becomes national destination for assisted suicide Individuals residing in states that outlaw euthanasia, such as Texas, have started traveling to Oregon to gain assistance in their suicide, making the state the first "death tourism" destination in the US. According to the Daily Mail, Dr. Nicholas Gideonse, the director of End of Life Choices Oregon, recently admitted to assisting a man from Texas with Lou Gehrig's disease who came to the doctor's Portland clinic in achieving suicide and said that "for a small number of patients who otherwise qualify or are determined to go through that and who have the energy and the resources … it has started to happen." According to Oregon's official website, the state passed its Death with Dignity Act in 1997, "which allows terminally ill individuals to end their lives through the voluntary self-administration of lethal medications, expressly prescribed by a physician for that purpose." The law enabled terminally ill patients expected to die within six months to request fatal drugs from doctors that the patient then takes and self-administers. In 2021, 238 people committed suicide via the program, and 383 doses of fatal drugs were prescribed by doctors. There was originally a restriction for people out-of-state but in 2021 Dr. Gideonse sued Oregon to lift the restriction, which was granted in 2022. Currently, if a resident from another state wants to go to Oregon for the fatal drugs, they are placed on a 15-day waiting period. In that time paperwork is processed and two doctors along with witnesses must sign off on the request for suicide by prescription. The expansion of Death with Dignity to out-of-staters is not yet law in Oregon but is expected to be codified this year with House Bill 2279. The law resembles Canada's state-sponsored euthanasia program known as medical assistance in dying (MAiD), originally intended for those with physical illnesses where death was a reasonable inevitability although it has been amended to allow those with mental health issues to apply. Dr. Gideonse's original lawsuit was over neighboring residents of Washington who wanted suicide drugs and has expanded to residents from further states, including those with strict laws against euthanasia. The executive director of the Patients Rights Action Fund, a group pushing back against Oregon's law, Matt Vallière, said "You end up in this Wild West scenario where people take the drugs back to their home states, and there are a lot more questions than there are answers about what would happen after that." Dr. Gideonse, who also has campaigned for legalizing psilocybin to treat depression, has connections with the Compassion & Choices group which "grew out of the 1980s right-to-die movement of the Hemlock Society and Jack Kevorkian — the pathologist and notorious 'Dr Death' who assisted scores of suicides and was ultimately convicted of murder," reports the Daily Mail. Tucker Carlson & Charles Camosy spoke on this very subject. https://rumble.com/v1adg4j-charles-camosy-on-the-way-assisted-suicide-is-increasingly-being-pushed.html - Play Video Classical Conversations Classical Conversations supports homeschooling parents by cultivating the love of learning through a Christian worldview in fellowship with other families. They provide a classical Christ-centered curriculum, local like-minded communities across the United States and in several countries, and they train parents who are striving to be great classical educators in the home. For more information and to get connected, please visit their website at ClassicalConversations.com. Again that’s ClassicalConversations.com. https://freebeacon.com/coronavirus/this-study-could-be-scientific-nail-in-the-coffin-for-masks/ This Study Could Be 'Scientific Nail in the Coffin' for Masks One of the largest and most comprehensive studies on the effectiveness of masks found they do almost nothing to reduce the spread of respiratory viruses. The study reviewed 78 randomized control trials—experiments that have long been considered "the gold standard" for medicine—which assessed the effectiveness of face masks against flu, COVID-19, and similar illnesses. It found that wearing masks "probably makes little or no difference" for the general public, no matter what kind of mask is used. Even N95 masks, considered the most effective at filtering airborne particles, showed no clear benefit for health care workers. The study was published on January 30 by the Cochrane Library, a world-renowned medical database that is famous for its high-quality evidence reviews. It comes as a battering ram to the recommendations of the U.S. public health establishment, which urged children as young as two to wear masks throughout the pandemic. https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/person-stuck-on-the-side-of-downtown-phoenix-building-says-phoenix-fire-dept 'Pro-life Spiderman' taken into custody after scaling former Chase tower in Phoenix https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcaLtpAM0fE - Play 0:00-1:22 And that’s your news for today…

On this episode of Legislative Review: A bill addressing taxation of low-proof alcoholic beverages. Plus testimony on bill covering changes to the Death with Dignity Act and a proposal to extend the school year.

Join us on our 25th episode as we discuss:-The tragedy in Buffalo-The Oregon "Menstrual Dignity Act"-The Ministry of Truth is "paused" and the director resigns-Leaked Biden memo expecting a summer of violence over Roe v. Wade-Miscalculated 2020 Census data-Border Patrol "rare exemption" fast tracking illegal immigrants through the border crossings-Bank of England Governor expecting "apocalyptic" food shortages-New Biden Spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre-Muslim soccer player in Europe refuses to wear LGBTQ jersey- and moreCome join us for laughs and interesting news

A very powerful episode! Tamarra Lynn Strawn Grenfell Smith discusses her “supremely awesome” life, giving up practicing law to live off-grid, battling pancreatic cancer, and her decision to exercise her right to die, as afforded in Maine's Death with Dignity Act.  

Mike Essen Show: Anne Schlafly Cori, Chairman of Eagle Forum explains what is wrong with granting The Dignity Act. How can we accept entry to a Nation that is a Republic, a country of laws, by attracting the very persons willing to break our laws from day one, ignoring our borders, people determined to get Amnesty, not LEGAL entry. EagleForum.org

Dödshjälpdebatten har tagit fart igen efter Björn Natthiko Lindeblads död. Flera opinionsbildare efterfrågar nu en utredning och det hävdas att motstånd mot en svensk dödshjälpslag är irrationellt. SEA:s Jacob Rudenstrand gästas av Dagens ledarskribent Elisabeth Sandlund för att diskutera vilka argument som angetts och vilka konsekvenserna kan bli. Vill du stötta podden ekonomiskt kan du Swisha en valfri gåva till 123 059 16 44 (www.getswish.se). Länkar som nämns i avsnittet: - Podd, Hur kan vi prata om dödshjälp? https://www.hurkanvi.se/179-hur-kan-vi-prata-om-dodshjalp-barbro-westerholm-elisabeth-sandlund-och-kajsa-dovstad/ - DN Ledare, Emma Høen Bustos: Björn Natthiko Lindeblad dog som han ville – det borde fler få möjlighet att göra, https://www.dn.se/ledare/emma-hoen-bustos-bjorn-natthiko-lindeblad-dog-som-han-ville-det-borde-fler-fa-mojlighet-att-gora/?fbclid=IwAR1EsaFUXCBVTX64jq84Agv1ApbZTLWQuNlxsbTBIRpLXxai8o3s9RMbpbk - Oregon Death with Dignity Act: 2020 Data Summary, https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/PROVIDERPARTNERRESOURCES/EVALUATIONRESEARCH/DEATHWITHDIGNITYACT/Documents/year23.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2hZt-kZr_nRsyh4kz33vTGaAaVW_yuMtrr77zDUkHlu6nmJJwygK0U-OU - SVT Mötet: Dödshjälp, https://www.svtplay.se/video/28154684/motet/motet-sasong-1-avsnitt-15

If you look at our broken immigration system, the overwhelming majority of Americans agree on the solutions. But the loudest voices tend to drown them out, and politicians use the divisiveness as a fundraising issue. But could there be a breakthrough for common sense? Boyd sat down with Congressman John Curtis (R-UT), who has introduced the bipartisan Dignity Act, which uses many Utah principles to solve these problems. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guests: Renata Castro, Immigration Attorney, On to discuss the proposed Dignity Act, which would give undocumented immigrants a path to legal citizenship. Rand Taylor, CEO and Co-founder of Fuel Ox, On to discuss oil prices hitting a 7-year high. And ... Your thoughts on the latest in the news See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

South Florida Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar (Repub. Dist 27) *Follow her on Twitter: @MaElviraSalazar – A member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Her introduction of the “Dignity Act”.

If you’re suffering from a terminal illness and have only a few months to live, should you be allowed to choose how and when to end your life? Ten states in the country allow patients to do just that — a practice referred to as medical aid in dying — under highly regulated laws. In April 2020, Bloomberg journalist Esmé Deprez’s father became the second person to end his life under the Maine Death with Dignity Act. Deprez speaks with Apple News Today host Duarte Geraldino about that experience and a California case making its way through the courts now that could expand the scope of the law.

If you’re suffering from a terminal illness and have only a few months to live, should you be allowed to choose how and when to end your life? Ten states in the country allow patients to do just that — a practice referred to as medical aid in dying — under highly regulated laws. In April 2020, Bloomberg journalist Esmé Deprez’s father became the second person to end his life under the Maine Death with Dignity Act. Deprez speaks with Apple News Today host Duarte Geraldino about that experience and a California case making its way through the courts now that could expand the scope of the law.

Amie Ichikawa is one the founders of WomanIIWoman, a non-profit organization providing re-entry services, parole hearing prep, and advocacy for the safety and dignity of incarcerated women in California. She serves as an advocate for women in the Central California Women's Facility and the California Institution for Women, standing for justice for victims of State abuse. Amie shares her eye-opening experience being incarcerated for five years and re-integrating back into society after enduring incredible amounts of abuse and harassment by correctional officers. She discusses the cultural differences between men's and women's prisons, the numerous dangers of SB132 (also known as The Transgender Respect, Agency and Dignity Act), and how her coercion to get vaccinated in prison is emblematic of the current global situation. Amie encourages others to have one-on-one, intimate conversations about these issues not only for the sake of incarcerated women but also for the protection of women everywhere against impending erasure and further dehumanization. Donate to WomanIIWoman: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/womaniiwoman Open letter to stop SB132: https://www.womaniiwoman.org/open-letter-stop-sb132 WomanIIWoman: https://www.womaniiwoman.org/ ➢➢➢ SUPPORT THE PODCAST | https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/whosebodyisit?locale.x=en_US 1:1 COACHING SOVEREIGN WOMEN | https://www.whosebodyisit.com/coaching-for-sovereign-women HYPNOSIS FOR HEALING & RADICAL CHANGE | https://www.whosebodyisit.com/hypnosis SHOP ACTIVIST STICKERS | https://www.whosebodyisit.com/shop INSTAGRAM | https://www.instagram.com/whosebodyisit/

Join us for our podcast spinoff launch for MEASURED JUSTICE, covering criminal justice reform topics in America. For our first episode, we discuss issues in prison which precipitated the Dignity Act and similar legislation across the country. Guests: Kurt Altman, State Director in Arizona and New Mexico for Right on Crime, Owner and Principal of Kurt M. Altman, P.L.C. a law firm and lobbying practice built on quality advocacy; Holly Harris, President and Executive Director of the Justice Action Network; Darrell Hill, Policy Director of the ACLU of Arizona; Kara Williams, Smart Justice Organizer of the ACLU of Arizona; and Pamela Winn, Founder of RestoreHer US. America.

Amie Ichikawa was formerly incarcerated in California. She recently founded the nonprofit organization Woman II Woman inc. This organization was originally created as a resource hub for reentry services but has become much more after California's SB132 “The Transgender Respect, Agency and Dignity Act” which has allowed gender self ID in prisons creating an unbelievable violation of human rights.

Journalist Katie Engelhart is the author of a new book — “The Inevitable: Dispatches on the Right To Die.” The book examines thorny questions about mental health, disability rights and costs of care when it comes to laws like Oregon's pioneering Death With Dignity Act. Engelhart also explores what happens when people can't legally access a physician's aid in dying. .

The Washington Legislature is considering the first significant changes to the Death with Dignity Act more than a decade after Washington voters approved the law.

For this second episode in the We Should Talk About Women Celebration, The Two Jess(es) sit down with Holly Seibold, founder and CEO of the non-profit organization BRAWS (Bringing Resources to Aid Women's Shelters). BRAWS provides pads, tampons, bras and underwear to shelters, schools, prisons, and food pantries to women who may need them. But more than feminine hygiene products, Holly and her team provides women with dignity around a subject that still makes people so uncomfortable. Yet it is one of the simplest problems to solve. Holly educates Jess and Jess on the issues around Period Poverty and Menstrual Equity- something that really needs to be spotlighted in the COVID times we are living in right now. Holly's commitment and passion for equal rights for women who menstruate is inspiring and motivating, and exactly the kind of spirit that IS what the international woman is all about. Meet Holly Siebold!Holly Seibold is the Founder and Executive Director of BRAWS: Bringing Resources to Aid Women's Shelters. In partnership with generous individuals, foundations, and businesses in the community, Holly and her team of dedicated staff and volunteers have distributed over two million period products and undergarments to women and girls in crisis. In a little more than five years, Holly has built one of the most recognized local nonprofit organizations in the DC region. Holly began her career in the nonprofit sector before becoming an educator in the public school system. Transitioning from the classroom to a small business owner in 2010, Holly launched a successful educational firm, offering STEM consulting services and educational programs to clients. Holly is a fierce advocate for women's rights, testifying in Washington, DC and Richmond in favor of the repeal of the tampon tax and an increased access to menstrual supplies for all girls and women in shelters, schools, jails, and prisons. Holly’s advocacy led to the successful passage of DC Law 21-201 (The Feminine Hygiene and Diapers Sales Tax Exemption Amendment Act of 2016), the 2019 Virginia Senate Bill 1715 (The Dignity Act), and the 2020 Virginia House Bill 405 - mandating menstrual supplies in school bathrooms. Holly also is a co-founder of the Virginia Menstrual Equity Coalition (VMEC), a statewide coalition that mobilizes supporters to collectively take action on the injustice of menstrual inequity. As a result of these efforts and more, Virginia’s General Assembly passed the 2018 House Bill 83 unanimously, requiring correctional facilities to provide menstrual supplies on demand and at no charge to inmates. Holly describes the evolution of this bill in her published piece, “Free to Bleed: Virginia House Bill 83 and the Dignity of Menstruating Inmates,” in Volume 22 of the University of Richmond’s Public Interest Law Review. Exposing issues that much too often remain in the dark, Holly has educated the public on solutions to problems that result from inequity. She has participated in several prominent panels, including Netroots Nation 2018, “Menstrual Equity: Practical Action to Public Policy” and Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-NY), “The Case for Menstrual Equity: How Policies Surrounding Menstruation Affect Outcomes for Women.” She has also presented a TedX Talk on this very issue. Holly has also been featured in multiple national and local media outlets, but most notably in the Washington Post article, "The Once-Whispered Topic of Women's Menstruation Now Has Political Cachet." Holly proudSupport the show (http://www.paypal.com)

Halley discusses the updated bill currently in the WA State legislature regarding Death with Dignity Act and increased access. Join us for advocacy and information!

Maine’s Death With Dignity Act went into effect in Sept. 2019. Since then, a small number of Mainers have chosen to end their lives with a physician’s assistance. We speak with the daughter of a Maine man who chose to have an assisted death, as well as the physician who prescribed the medication to him. We’ll learn about the difficult factors that families as well as health care providers weigh in end-of-life decisions — and why some object to these choices.

Maine’s Death With Dignity Act went into effect in Sept. 2019. Since then, a small number of Mainers have chosen to end their lives with a physician’s assistance. We speak with the daughter of a Maine man who chose to have an assisted death, as well as the physician who prescribed the medication to him. We’ll learn about the difficult factors that families as well as health care providers weigh in end-of-life decisions — and why some object to these choices.

Hillary and Tina interview Senator Shevrin “Shev” Jones. Senator Jones was first elected to the Florida House, championing meaningful bipartisan legislation, including two consecutive bills to secure dignity for incarcerated women; statewide expansion of a clean syringe exchange program; safety and oversight for athletic coaches for youth athletic teams; and ensuring transparency and accountability via police body cameras. Today, Jones proudly serves Florida’s 35th Senate District, which includes portions of Broward and Miami-Dade Counties. Senator Jones served on President Barack Obama’s College Promise Task Force and is an active member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., Young Elected Officials Network, Leadership Florida Connect - Class 32, Leadership Broward Class 27, the Council of State Governments TOLLS fellowship program, and Millennial Action Project’s Florida Future Caucus. For show notes and links to our sources, please click here (https://themuckpodcast.fireside.fm/articles/lmep16notes). Special Guest: Shevrin Jones.

My Journey with Stillbirth with Debbie HaineWelcome to the Difficult Conversations with Dr. Anthony Orsini. Our special guest today is Debbie Haine. Her daughter, Autumn Joy, was born still in 2011. Somehow out of tragedy, she made it to through the darkest days and came out on other side. Since then she has been a dedicated and tireless advocate of stillbirth rights, promoting research at both state and national levels and working towards improving stillbirth outcomes and awareness. Debbie’s horrific experience regarding the care she received when her daughter was born still led her to push for state and national reform. As a result of her tireless efforts, Governor Chris Christie passed the Autumn Joy Stillborn Research and Dignity Act in 2014. Debbie also founded The 2 Degrees Foundation, a non-profit organization in New Jersey. In March 2020, Loretta Weinburg, Senate Majority Leader, introduced the Stillbirth Resource Center, to help fill many of the gaps related to stillbirth care. Dr. Orsini keeps his promise about two things, that you will be inspired, and you will learn communication techniques that will help you in your personal and professional life. Debbie shares her story with us, starting from her second trimester checkup when the doctor couldn’t detect Autumn’s heartbeat. On July 8, 2011, she gave birth to Autumn and in her words “nothing can prepare you for the moment that you deliver your dead baby”. She tells us some things that happened in the hospital that did not go very well and the words and actions of people that made things worse. Find out why she felt like she was thrown into a deep, dark ditch and left to find her own way out. Dr. Orsini shares some advice when he teaches patient experience and mentions imagination and compassion. After experiencing the lack of support from the medical community and the uncaring way she felt treated, Debbie’s “Jersey” came out and she said “I’m going to fix this”. We find out what she does, and she explains the Autumn Joy Stillbirth Research and Dignity Act. She tells us that if there was a way to break the stigma associated with stillbirth and make it a safe conversation, women would feel more comfortable. Dr. Orsini shares the all too common story about parents having twins and one is stillbirth and how people often pretend that the other one didn’t really exist. He gives some great advice on what you should say and do in this situation. Debbie tells us all about The 2 Degrees Foundation, how we can help, how to get involved, and where to donate. We end with some incredible words of wisdom from Debbie to healthcare professionals and mothers. If you loved this episode, please hit the subscribe button to find out more about what we do and how we teach communication. Go ahead and download this episode now! Host:Dr. Anthony OrsiniGuest:Debbie Haine VijayvergiyaFor More Information:The Orsini WayThe Orsini Way-FacebookThe Orsini Way-LinkedinThe Orsini Way-InstagramThe Orsini Way-TwitterIt’s All In The Delivery: Improving Healthcare Starting With A Single Conversation by Dr. Anthony Orsini Resources Mentioned:The 2 Degrees FoundationThe 2 Degrees Foundation Twitter

Csaba Mera is a former pediatric oncologist and a physician who has often wished he could provide more comfort to his suffering patients. As a screenwriter, his newest film Here Awhile, examines the Oregon Death with Dignity Act through the lens of a young woman who has made the personal decision to avail herself of the law. Mera’s film is winning international acclaim for its candor, humanity and intimacy. How does a physician come to the place in life where art communicates his deepest questions? And how does an award-winning screenwriter balance the demanding career as a physician? Mera’s immigrant story is one not to miss. Here Awhile is now available on Amazon.

A reminder that you shouldn't plot to kidnap an elected representative, no matter how tempting it is; polling indicates the public want COVID-19 restrictions; a world without private cars ; and the unnecessary passing of the Dying with Dignity Act.

A reminder that you shouldn't plot to kidnap an elected representative, no matter how tempting it is; polling indicates the public want COVID-19 restrictions; a world without private cars ; and the unnecessary passing of the Dying with Dignity Act.https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/future-of-people-driving-around-country-in-private-cars-is-fantasy-built-on-cheap-oil-1.4376109https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/irish-times-poll-majority-of-people-believe-pandemic-will-get-worse-1.4376070https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2020/1008/1170186-microsoft-excel-covid-cases-uk-government-mistakes/https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-40061816.htmlhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWQMMPFtoG4

This week on the show we're breaking new ground as we tackle our first documentary: 2011's How to Die in Oregon. Should a person in perpetual pain be allowed to take their own life? That's the moral, ideological, and religious debate at the center of this incredible film that dives into the lives of Cody Curtis, Nancy Niedzielski, and others that have been affected by the Death with Dignity Act. Dustin and Mallie share their own experiences of people they knew that committed suicide, Dustin's humorous “persuasive speech” story, Mallie's Butch Cassidy-inspired “what if?” plans for his death, and much more.RIP to Cody Curtis. 1955 - 2009.Warning: this episode covers the topic of suicide, both physician assisted and not. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or exhibiting suicidal mannerisms, we encourage you to seek help. The National Suicide Prevent Lifeline can be reached 24/7 at 1-800-273-8255. For more information about Death with Dignity, please go to DeathWithDignity.org.How to Die in Oregon stars Cody Curtis and other individuals as themselves. Directed by Peter Richardson.If you enjoy what we do, please subscribe to our show, and leave us a rating and some feedback as well!Like us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterCatch up with us on InstagramJoin the discussion on our subredditBrought to you by HOLY Propaganda

Deborah Lee Smith's IMDB is impressive. She is an actor, producer, writer, and all-around incredible badass. Deborah called in to talk about her role as producer in the new movie, Here Awhile. We chatted about the Death with Dignity Act, More Than You See, a non-profit organization she founded to help people with their struggles with mental health, and how being an actor helps her to work through difficult situations in her life. We also discussed suicide. If you, or someone you know, have considered suicide and need to speak to a professional, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255. Check out Deborah on Instagram: LinkHere Awhile Instagram: Link Visit Deborah's website: https://www.deborahsmith.me/ If you enjoyed this episode, please SUBSCRIBE to the podcast. New episodes every Monday and Thursday. If you listen on iTunes, please leave a review. It's appreciated. Click here for the Patreon account page for Grounded With Flight Attendant Joe. If you are interested in becoming a patron of the podcast, please check out the different tier levels that you can choose from to support the podcast. Thank you.Check out Flight Attendant Joe on Instagram here.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flightattendantjoe/Website: www.flightattendantjoe.com The Flight Attendant Joe Series: Fasten Your Seat Belts And Eat Your Fucking Nuts https://amzn.to/37wldciFlight Attendant Joe https://amzn.to/36rifEDI'm Just Here For The Layovers https://amzn.to/2TY8PxW

In this episode I talk with my guest Jack Austin about his father Don's decision to utilize the Oregon death with dignity law. We talk about Dr. Don's story, it's impact on their family and Jack himself, and then we finish by discussing some philosophical questions and implications regarding death with dignity laws. Thank you again to Jack, the entire Austin family, and Don, for being an amazing, courageous person. National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255Timeframes::45 - Comments on the previous The Problems with Microaggressions episode. 7:48 - Listener shout-outs.11:29 - Best beer of the week and Leikam Brewing. 14:00 - Intro to Jack Austin16:00 - Discussion with Jack begins and brew review. 20:07 - Discussion of Death with Dignity begins. References/LinksThe Hill - Pete Buttigieg campaign surveyed staffers of color about microaggressions in the workplacePolitico - Pelosi cites 'element of misogyny' after Warren drops outThe Washington Post - "THE. Nina. Turner." Bernie Sanders’s most visible and passionate surrogate is helping him connect with black voters1994 Oregon Ballot Measure 16Oregon Death with Dignity Act: Annual ReportsAmerica's Health Rankings Annual Report on SuicideOregon Death with Dignity Act 2018 Data SummaryOregon SCR28 In memoriam: Dr. Donald F. Austin.Contact InformationUntappd: psychologerEmail: meaningofthemindspodcast@gmail.com

The choice to die with dignity on your own terms is an intensely personal decision.  There are now 9 states in the U.S. that have Death with Dignity laws in place. Death with Dignity laws enable terminally ill persons to make choices about how and when they die.  If you're a hospice and palliative care professional, you should know about these laws. You don't have to endorse these laws, or condemn them, but you should be knowledgeable about the laws that would affect the patients in your state.   According to death with dignity.org, “for more than 20 years, Death with Dignity National Center, Death with Dignity Political Fund, and their predecessor organizations have defended and advanced policy reform based on the model legislation, the Oregon Death with Dignity Act”.   Find out more by going to their FAQ page.  You can find more information about end of life care, caregiving, and grief on theheartofhospice.com.  Send us an email to share your experience with Death with Dignity laws - we're always grateful for the connection.  And remember, no matter who you are, or where you are in your hospice journey, you are The Heart of Hospice.

The most powerful 60 minutes I watched last year came from two storytellers at their best. John Sharify has won umpteen awards through a reporting career that has spanned decades. Joseph Huerta is assembling an equally impressive resume as a photojournalist, now at WFAA-TV in Dallas. Last year, for their final story together at KING-TV in Seattle, Sharify and Huerta produced an hour-long documentary about a man named Bob. That man, 75 years old and diagnosed with terminal cancer, had chosen to end his life. Bob Fuller planned to utilize Washington's Death with Dignity Act to request a lethal dose of medication on a date of his choosing. Several months before that date, Fuller reached out to Sharify to see if his story was worthy of being told. Sharify knew he wanted to tell it. He teamed with Huerta to produce "Bob's Choice," which is available in full on YouTube. It is stirring, touching, moving, and just about every other emotional adjective you can name. It is also musical, downright funny at times, and a thorough look at a difficult subject. Sharify and Huerta are my guests on Episode #74 of the Telling the Story podcast. This is among the longest episodes I've done. That's partly because of having multiple guests, but it's mainly because this subject cannot be rushed. Sharify and Huerta discuss their many storytelling decisions on "Bob's Choice," but they also open up about their own emotional journeys and the experience of watching someone voluntarily - but peacefully among family and friends - take his own life. The discussion is heavy, but it's worth it. → The post PODCAST EPISODE #74: John Sharify & Joseph Huerta, “Bob’s Choice” appeared first on Telling The Story.

In Episode 101, Dave & Jessica do a local government round up, discussing Senator Bill Heath’s announcement, Paulding DA Dick Donovan’s settlement, the 14th Congressional district race, and the revival of good ol Statesboro’s bus transit plan. For statewide news, the duo covers the Death with Dignity Act proposed in Georgia alongside the concern of dwindling donations to Georgia’s rural hospital tax credit and student scholarship organizations. Plus, brief coverage on Jessica’s moderation of the Libertarian presidential candidate debate.

This week Maine joins several states allowing terminally ill patients to end their lives with medication. Cyndie Rogers explains why she eventually wants to take advantage of Maine’s Death with Dignity Act. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Mark talks about the Death with Dignity Act and Doctor assisted dying. This is a more solemn subject and I try to treat it as such.

We explore the often controversial state law titled Death with Dignity Act in WA State. What it is; what it isn't, and what it looks like in practice.

In Episode of 1 of FYTMI, we interview Kim, LCSW to learn about the nature of trauma. We explore how the majority of incarcerated women in the United States are also survivors of domestic and sexual violence and how said history plays a role in the perpetuation of trauma. FYTMI: Once upon a time, Kim had a suuuuper long period. What happened? Is she ok? Does she have any blood left? Is she a vampire now? Take a listen and let’s find out! Links you probably want: Crazy bed bug story: https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/9mrpd2/i_think_my_boyfriend_has_been_drugging_me_to_make/ Crazy bed bug story CORRECTION: Bed bug bites will NOT cause psychosis (sorry for lying to you guys, we’ll address this briefly in episode 2) BUT, the experience of having bed bugs can cause insomia, anxiety, and PTSD: https://www.psychiatryadvisor.com/ptsd-trauma-and-stressor-related/bed-bugs-can-cause-long-lasting-anxiety-ptsd-symptoms/article/377832/ EMDR FAQ’s: https://www.emdria.org/page/emdr_therapy Another interesting take on EMDR: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/emdr-taking-a-closer-look/ Statistics about Sexual Assault Perpetrators and their relationship to Victim https://www.rainn.org/statistics/perpetrators-sexual-violence Psychology Today Article on Freeze Response: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evolution-the-self/201507/trauma-and-the-freeze-response-good-bad-or-both Data on Freeze Response being Biological: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2489204/ Cory Booker “Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act of 2017” https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/1524/text Cory Booker’s words regarding the Dignity Act, with statistics mentioned during interview https://www.change.org/p/pass-the-dignity-for-incarcerated-women-act/responses/40512 Statistics RE Incarceration in the United States - 1 in 28 children in the US has a parent behind bars https://mic.com/articles/86519/19-actual-statistics-about-america-s-prison-system#.N15rRZ72B Facts RE Incarceration of Women in the US - only 18% of women are convicted of violent offenses https://www.aclu.org/other/facts-about-over-incarceration-women-united-states Interesting articles about the history of the me too movement: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/20/us/me-too-movement-tarana-burke.html https://www.npr.org/2018/10/05/654941365/how-the-metoo-movement-has-evolved-since-it-began-1-year-ago

Josh and Joel discuss both the Dignity For Incarcerated Women Act and the National Day of Empathy (March 6th). The National Day of Empathy was created by the Cut 50 organization (created by Van Jones). The main campaigns for the 2018 Day of Empathy are to push: The Dignity For Incarcerated Women Act of 2018 and Clean Slate Legislation Cut 50 has several pages on their site about the Dignity Act. I created this easy to use guide to all 65 of the recaps that I wrote of the episodes of Orange Is the New Black. There is a lot of popular press on the erasure of women from the national discussion about criminal justice reform. There has also been good work done clarifying the need for specific work to be done on women's issues within criminal justice reform efforts. i made one really dumb statement. Many of the reforms for women in Michigan's DOC were created by the HARD work of the inmates (not just because of Heidi Washington). Thanks to folks like Monica Jahner and lots of other women in Michigan, we have a better system. Apologies. In 2017 the Michigan legislature passed and Governor Snyder signed legislation allowing the Michigan Department of Corrections to hire formerly incarcerated people (under limited conditions). Distance can be a huge barrier to in-person visits for families of incarcerated people and great research has been done on the importance of in-person familial visitation. Some of the research on contact was summarized in a 2014 meta-analysis (and usually has different outcomes based on the environment and how the contact is allowed) As Pricilla Ocen but it in her 2012 Law Review article, the shackling and use of solitary for pregnant women in prisons and jails is "endemic." The hygiene products dispute is ongoing at the federal level, there are vastly different stories being told depending on which sides of corrections you represent. There is a growing movement at the State level to address access to feminine hygiene products at State facilities as well. As for gynecology, research has repeatedly demonstrated that services are inadequate in prison settings. I am new to the discussion of Trauma-Informed Training and care in women's prisons but there has been recent reporting on the need for better training and a more informed correctional system approach. The petition for legislative action is one route or you can write or call your Senator or Congressperson. Holly Harris of the Justice Action Network has been a great advocate for the Dignity Act, you can watch her at Google's Defining Justice event last week. NELP offers a really helpful primer to Clean Slate Legislation. Suboxone is a huge problem for mail delivery in prisons and jails and is causing huge delays and problems with mail. Okay, that is all of the notes for this week!

I.D.F. Counterstrikes In Gaza For Rocket Attack Another rocket has just been fired from Gaza into Israeli territory. The rocket has struck an empty field in southern Israel and no injuries or damage have been reported. The army has just launched a counter-attack against Hamas military targets in the strip. 2. Trump Threatens Cutting Aid To Palestinians US President Trump has just dropped an ultimatum. He's threatening to cut all aid to the Palestinians, unless they come back to the negotiation table. 3. Delta Airlines Gets Sued For Anti-Semitism A bombshell lawsuit has just been filed against delta airlines accusing the airline of practicing “anti-Jewish, anti-Hebrew, and anti-Israeli” behavior. Fighting For The Right To Die In Dignity Bina Divon, Chairman of the Lilach Association - To Live and Die with Dignity speaking at ILTV studio about the organization that is trying to bring to Israel the "Death with Dignity" Act that allows terminally ill people to end their lives by self-administrating lethal medication. Israeli Journalist ‘Sneaks' Into Syria An Israeli journalist Jonathan Spyer sneaked into Syria and even met twice with a top Syrian minister under the guise of traveling with a British passport. India Nixes $500M Deal With Israel India has just called off a massive defense deal with Israel's military, a deal worth half a billion dollars. Bennett Pitches Plan To Boost Army Draft Israel's Education Minister has just pitched a new plan to pump massive dollars into pre-army programs. The initiative would boost high school students' enrollment in courses and activities that prepare them for enlisting in the I.D.F., but more specifically in combat units. Preparing Israeli Youth For Successful Service Stav Gill, head of the pre-military preparatory program speaking at ILTV studio about a pre-military prep program that helps produce the next generation of leaders. Cell Phones Are The #1 Cause Of Auto Accidents In 2017, cell phone use while driving was the number one cause of car accidents in the country. 362 people were killed in car accidents in Israel just last year. Kids Discovers 10,000-Year-Old Knife A group of Israeli first-graders have just found a ten thousand year old flint knife, which experts now believe is the earliest known evidence of human settlement in the region. 11. Canines Controlling The Workplace The amazing story one Irish immigrant and his dog who he brings to his workplace. Custom C.R.M. Tools For Healthcare Companies Hagi Erez, Co-Founder of Aorta and Or Targownik, Co-Founder of AORTA speaking at ILTV studio the AORTA company that tackles medical errors. Seinfeld Takes A Break From The Tour Comedian Jerry Seinfeld toured the Ramon Air Force base with squadron 119 during his visit to Israel. Hebrew word Of The Day: PARVATI | משותק = FURRY Learn a New Hebrew word every day. Today's word is "parvati" which means "furry" The Weather Forecast Tonight is expected to be partly cloudy with a chance of rain and a rise in temperatures. The low will be fifty-three or twelve degrees Celsius. Tomorrow should be partly cloudy but with a drop in temperatures. The high will be around sixty-three or seventeen degrees Celsius. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Physician-assisted dying will become a reality in Canada this year. This episode deals with a town hall meeting I attended in Toronto. Ontario’s Ministry of Health wanted to hear from the community in person and through online surveys on this very emotional issue. If you’re interested in supplemental reading you’ll find the recommendations made by a Canadian advisory committee. Here is the link:final report and recommendations (PDF). As well you’ll find a link to the Death and Dignity Act from Oregon. https://public.health.oregon.gov/ProviderPartnerResources/EvaluationResearch/DeathwithDignityAct/Pages/index.aspx Check out Joe's website: www.joepavia.com

The success of Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act – at 18 years, the world’s longest-running law of this kind – puts two things into sharp relief. Firstly, the increasingly desperate attempts of opponents to discredit it. Secondly, the truth they don’t want you to see – that this law works, and exactly as intended. How that law came to pass in such a religiously conservative country stands as a masterclass in public policy, and one that set the template other US states have since followed. Brittany Maynard: 'I would like all Americans to have access to the same healthcare rights' — Source: YouTube The most significant of these was California, which in 2015 adopted Oregon’s law – thanks in no small part to a woman named Brittany Maynard. Brittany was just 29, and dying of brain cancer, when she left her home in California to go and live in Oregon, where the law offered her a choice about how she died. Her decision to use her dying days to campaign publicly for a similar law in California made her a household name, with her videos attracting over 16 million views on YouTube. As he signed California’s End of Life Option Act into law, Governor Jerry Brown – a Catholic – said: ‘I do not know what I would do if I were dying in prolonged and excruciating pain. I am certain, however, that it would be a comfort to be able to consider the options afforded by this bill. And I wouldn’t deny that right to others.’ 'I think we do a much better job because of this law. It’s done exactly what it’s supposed to, and more.' Leigh Dolin, former president of the Oregon Medical Association Please note: this podcast is not about suicide. If you are interested in increasing your understanding of suicide and how to support someone experiencing suicidal ideation, visit the Conversations Matter or beyondblue websites.If you (or someone you know) require immediate assistance, contact one of the following 24/7 crisis support services: Lifeline (13 11 14), Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), MensLine (1300 78 99 78), beyondblue (1300 22 4636), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) or eheadspace (1800 650 890). Hear more Embed player Listen Better Off Dead: Interview with Peg Sandeen Peg Sandeen is the executive director of the Death With Dignity National Center in Portland, Oregon. Here, she describes how Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act works, and the campaign to take it to other states in America. Know more Article: 'Twenty Years of Living with the Oregon Death with Dignity Act', by Eli Stutsman – GP Solo vol. 30 no. 4, 2013 Report: 'Oregon's Death with Dignity Act – 2014' – Oregon Public Health Division, 2015 Radio: 'California: Euthanasia' – The Law Report, ABC RN, 27 October 2015 Video: 'Brittany Maynard Legislative Testimony' – Brittany Maynard/CompassionChoices (YouTube), 31 March 2015 Article: 'Terminally Ill Woman Brittany Maynard Has Ended Her Own Life', by Nicole Weisensee Egan – People, 2 November 2014 Video: 'Brittany Maynard's mother: Help me carry out her legacy' – The Telegraph (YouTube), 22 January 2015 Article: 'California's governor has signed a bill legalising doctor-assisted dying' – Economist, 6 October 2015 In this episode Eli Stutsman Derek Humphry Leigh Dolin Kevin Yuill Alex Schadenberg Nancy Elliott Catherine Glenn Foster Katrina Hedberg Daniel E. Lee Our theme music was composed by Zig Zag Lane for Zapruder's Other Films, and edited by Jon Tjhia. Music used in this episode includes 'Haust' (Ólafur Arnalds), 'Dead Radio' (Rowland S. Howard), 'The Puritan' (This Will Destroy You), 'Petiatil Cx Htdui' (Aphex Twin), 'LSD' (ASAP Rocky), 'I Might be Wrong' (Radiohead), 'Between Stones' (Blue Dot Sessions) and 'Forty-Eight Angels' (Paul Kelly). Your stories If you're suffering, or someone you love has died badly – in a hospital, in palliative care, in a nursing home, or at home – add your voice and tell your story here. Further information Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox and the Wheeler Centre. Executive producers Andrew Denton and Michael Williams. Producer and researcher Bronwen Reid. For Better Off Dead, the Wheeler Centre team includes Director Michael Williams, Head of Programming Emily Sexton, Head of Marketing and Communications Emily Harms, Projects Producer Amita Kirpalani and Digital Manager Jon Tjhia. Editing, sound design and mix on this episode is by Martin Peralta. Additional editing by Jon Tjhia. Thank you Thanks to Paul Kelly and Sony ATV for the use of his song ‘Forty Eight Angels’. The series Subscribe in iTunes, or your favourite podcast app. #betteroffdeadpod Better Off Dead is produced by Thought Fox in partnership with the Wheeler Centre. It is written and created by Andrew Denton for Thought Fox.

In November 2014 Brittany Maynard made the news when at 29 years old, after being diagnosed with Stage 4 brain cancer, she evoked Oregon’s “Death with Dignity Act” which allows those with a terminal illness to voluntarily end their own life.  This sparked a lot of controversy about assisted suicide, euthanasia and who, if anyone has the right to end … Read more about this episode...

HB 391, the “Utah Death with Dignity Act,” would allow physicians to prescribe lethal doses of medication to terminally ill persons, under certain circumstances. Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck, D-Salt Lake City says she sponsored the bill in response to the recent plight of Brittany Maynard, a California woman with a terminal brain tumor who moved to Oregon (which has had such a law in place since 1994) so she could die on her own terms. A poll by www.utahpolicy.com shows that 63% of Utahns support such legislation. On Wednesday's AU we'll ask you what you think.

In 1994, Oregon voters passed the Death with Dignity Act, which legalized physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill. Since then, it has become legal in 4 more states, including New Mexico, where the state court ruling that it is constitutional is under appeal. Will these laws lead to a slippery slope, where the vulnerable are pressured to choose death and human life is devalued? Or do we need to recognize everyone’s basic right to autonomy? The debaters are Peter Singer, Baroness Ilora Finlay, Andrew Solomon, and Dr. Daniel Sulmasy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why Clinton Democrats and Reagan Republicans are meaningless titles; Democrats in New York go "Big Brother" on voters, send out threatening letter; new study proves your twisted fantasies are completely normal; Brittany Manyard ends her life under Oregon's Death with Dignity Act; Funkhouser wears a raincoat to Halloween.

Why Clinton Democrats and Reagan Republicans are meaningless titles; Democrats in New York go "Big Brother" on voters, send out threatening letter; new study proves your twisted fantasies are completely normal; Brittany Manyard ends her life under Oregon's Death with Dignity Act; Funkhouser wears a raincoat to Halloween.

In this episode, Bo Bennett interviews George Eighmey, officer and spokesperson for the Death with Dignity National Center. The mission of the Center is to promote Death with Dignity laws based on their model legislation, the Oregon Death with Dignity Act, both to provide an option for dying individuals and to stimulate nationwide improvements in end-of-life care. George was an Oregon state legislator in 1997 when opponents to the Death with Dignity Act were working to dismantle the citizen's initiative passed in 1994, and he was instrumental in blocking this opposition. After the law was implemented, he took up a leadership role as the executive director of Compassion in Dying of Oregon which later became Compassion & Choices of Oregon. After twelve years helping terminally ill patients navigate Oregon's Death with Dignity Act, George retired in 2010.

Summary of today's show: Scot Landry delivered a talk on the push for physician-assisted suicide in Massachusetts, addressing the historical, ethical, and practical considerations as voters in the Commonwealth are confronted by this matter of life and death in the election this fall. Listen to the show: Today's host(s): Scot Landry Links from today's show: Today's topics: Physician-assisted suicide 1st segment: Scot Landry mentioned that he recently delivered a talk, co-written by his brother Father Roger Landry, entitled “A Matter of Life and Death: Defeating the Push for Doctor-Prescribed Suicide: Historical, Ethical and Practical Considerations.” As part of the Archdiocese of Boston's Suicide is Always A Tragedy educational effort, Scot recorded this talk for use on The Good Catholic Life. Information from materials on and from the USCCB webpage on Physician Assisted Suicide is used in the talk. A matter of life and death: Defeating the Push for Doctor-Prescribed Suicide Historical, Ethical and Practical Considerations Suicide is ALWAYS a tragedy. It's never a dignified way to die. Most in our society readily understand that when someone is contemplating suicide at any age of life, he or she is normally suffering from a depression triggered by very real setbacks and serious disappointments and sees death as the only path to relief. The psychological professions know that people with such temptations need help to be freed not from life but from these suicidal thoughts through counseling, support, and when necessary, medication. The compassionate response to teenagers experiencing a crushing breakup, to unemployed fathers overwhelmed by pressure, to unhappy actresses feeling alone and abandoned, to middle-aged men devastated by scandalous revelations, is never to catalyze their suicide. Heroic police officers and firefighters climb bridges or go out on the ledges of skyscrapers for a reason. Dedicated volunteers staff Samaritan hotlines around the clock for a reason. This same type of care and attention needs to be given by a just and compassionate society to suffering seniors or others with serious illnesses. We're now living at a time in which this clear truth isn't seen by all and where some are advancing that suicide, rather than a tragedy, is actually a good, moral, rational and dignified choice. A year ago, if you were exiting the Callahan Tunnel in East Boston, you would have been confronted with a billboard paid for by the Final Exit Network, with white letters against a black background proclaiming, “Irreversible illness? Unbearable suffering? Die with Dignity.” To die with dignity, the billboard advanced, was to commit suicide with the help of a doctor. We would never tolerate a similar sign in Harvard Square or at any university: “Failing your courses? Unbearable heartbreak? Feel like the “one mistake” the Admissions Office made? End your collegiate career with dignity. Take your life.” We would know that preying on the emotionally down and vulnerable is never an act of compassion but what John Paul II called a perversion of mercy. Yet, in Massachusetts, we now have a Citizens Initiative Petition called the Death with Dignity Act that seems to be headed to the ballot this November that will legalize suicide for a class of citizens.This would involve the active cooperation of doctors prescribing lethal overdoses of drugs. Such attempts to legalize physician-assisted suicide have been introduced here in Massachusetts and been rebuffed in 1995, 1997, 2009 and 2010, but this year seems to be the best chance for proponents of euthanasia to achieve their objective of making Massachusetts the East Coast Oregon and the North American Netherlands. A recent poll by Public Policy Polling showed that support for the measure is ahead of the opposition 43-37 percent. So there is much work to do and much at stake. It's literally a matter of life and death. Whether we become active in the fight against doctor prescribed suicide may make the difference between lives being saved or tragically ended. So in this address, in the brief time we have, I'd like briefly to do several things.First, I'll describe the cultural background for this push for doctor prescribed death. Next, I'd like to touch on Church teaching, in order to strengthen us in our conviction as believers. Third, I'd like to focus on the Death with Dignity Act, and what the problems with it are even from an agnostic, commonsensical point of view, to equip us with arguments that will meet citizens where they're at, regardless of their belief in the dignity of every human life and that intrinsic evil of suicide. Lastly, I'd like to describe what we're being called to do now, as Catholics, as Harvard students and alumni, simply as truly compassionate human beings. II. The Cultural Context The push for physician-assisted suicide isn't coming out of a vacuum. It's a natural consequence of several factors that we need to be aware of if we are going to be able to persuade those who may unwisely be prone to support it. A great fear of suffering and death and a desire to control it – Pope John Paul II pointed this out in his 1995 encyclical The Gospel of Life (64): “The prevailing tendency is to value life only to the extent that it brings pleasure and well-being; suffering seems like an unbearable setback, something from which one must be freed at all costs. Death is considered “senseless” if it suddenly interrupts a life still open to a future of new and interesting experiences. But it becomes a “rightful liberation” once life is held to be no longer meaningful because it is filled with pain and inexorably doomed to even greater suffering. USCCB 2011 document “To Live Each Day with Dignity,” said: “Today, however, many people fear the dying process. They are afraid of being kept alive past life's natural limits by burdensome medical technology. They fear experiencing intolerable pain and suffering, losing control over bodily functions , or lingering with severe dementia. They worry about being abandoned or becoming a burden on others.” An exaggerated notion of personal autonomy or selfish individualism - There is a notion that no one can tell me what is good for me.. EV 64: When he denies or neglects his fundamental relationship to God, man thinks he is his own rule and measure, with the right to demand that society should guarantee him the ways and means of deciding what to do with his life in full and complete autonomy. It is especially people in the developed countries who act in this way. There's a distinction to be made between a healthy individualism and an exaggerated one that excludes any real sense of duties owed to family members, to society, to others. Almost all the justifications for legalizing physician assisted suicide focus primarily on the dying person who wants it. Its harmful impact on society and its values and institutions are ignored. Euthanasia, we have to remember, is not a private act of “self determination,” or a matter of managing one's personal affairs. AsCardinal O'Malley wrote back in 2000 in a pastoral letter on life as Bishop of the Diocese of Fall River, “It is a social decision: A decision that involves the person to be killed, the doctor doing the killing, and the complicity of a society that condones the killing.” If personal autonomy is the basis for permitting assisted suicide, why would a person only have personal autonomy when diagnosed (or misdiagnosed) as having a terminal condition? [ Rita Marker]If assisted suicide is proclaimed by force of law to be a good solution to the problem of human suffering, then isn't it both unreasonable and cruel to limit it to the dying? A legal positivism that believes that there are no universal moral norms, but just the values we impose, either by courts and legislatures or ballot petitions - In yesteryear, the debate over euthanasia would take place within the context of moral and religious coordinates. No longer. There ceases to be common reference to anything higher than the debates that occur in the “secular cathedrals” of courthouses and legislatures. Believers have often abetted this secularization of discourse by allowing secularists to drive religious and moral values from normal discourse so that the public square becomes “naked” and our sacred scripture becomes court opinions and our prophets become the talking heads in the media. Materialism and consumerism - Our society has lost a sense of the sacred, of mystery of the soul. The body is looked at just as a machine and human life as a whole has become two dimensional. This abets the push for euthanasia because ideas that there is meaning in suffering, even in death, seems like outdated ideas and that we should treat these fundamental human realities of suffering and death the way we do cars, or pets, or other things that begin to break down. We dispose of them once their usefulness is no longer apparent. An anthropology based on scientific and mechanistic rationalism - Our scientific and medical progress, among other things in being able to produce life in test tubes and other practices, has led us to believe that if we can “create” life we should be able to manipulate it and end it, because life has lost its sense of mystery and its connection to a creator beyond us. We become what the raw material of human life becomes with time. We no longer are seen to be special in comparison with animals or robots. If we can euthanize our suffering pets, we should, so says Princeton's Peter Singer, be able to euthanize human beings and allow them to end their own lives. A misunderstanding of human dignity - American political scientist Diana Schaub says “we no longer agree about the content of dignity, because we no longer share … a ‘vision of what it means to be human'.” Intrinsic dignity means one has dignity simply because one is human. This is a status model — dignity comes simply with being a human being. It's an example of “recognition respect” — respect is contingent on what one is, a human being. Extrinsic dignity means that whether one has dignity depends on the circumstances in which one finds oneself and whether others see one as having dignity. Dignity is conferred and can be taken away. Dignity depends on what one can or cannot do. These two definitions provide very different answers as to what respect for human dignity requires in relation to disabled or dying people, and that matters in relation to euthanasia.Under an inherent dignity approach, dying people are still human beings, therefore they have dignity. Under an extrinsic dignity approach, dying people are no longer human doings — that is, they are seen as having lost their dignity — and eliminating them through euthanasia is perceived as remedying their undignified state. Pro-euthanasia advocates argue that below a certain quality of life a person loses all dignity. They believe that respect for dignity requires the absence of suffering, whether from disability or terminal illness, and, as well, respect for autonomy and self-determination. Consequently, they argue that respect for the dignity of suffering people who request euthanasia requires it to be an option We need to be aware of these aspects of our culture because we're really going to be able to change hearts and minds long term, to re-evangelize the culture of death with a culture of life, only when we're able to get to the roots of the ideas that find euthanasia not only acceptable, not only worthwhile, but in some cases obligatory. The moral worth of our society hinges on how we respond to these false ideas and fears. As the US Bishops wrote in To Live Each Day with Dignity: “Our society can be judged by how we respond to these fears. A caring community devotes more attention, not less, to members facing the most vulnerable times in their lives. When people are tempted to see their own lives as diminished in value or meaning, they most need the love and assistance of others to assure them of their inherent worth.” III. The teaching of the Catholic Church I presume most people listening to this presentation would be aware of the Church's teaching with regard to euthanasia and doctor prescribed death.We believe that human life is the most basic gift of a loving God, a gift over which we have stewardship not absolute dominion. As responsible stewards of life, we must never directly intend to cause our own death or that of anyone else. Euthanasia and assisted suicide, for that reason , are always gravely wrong. The fifth commandment applies to our actions toward ourselves and to others. For this reason, Blessed Pope John Paul II said in Evangelium Vitae : To concur with the intention of another person to commit suicide and to help in carrying it out through so-called “assisted suicide” means to cooperate in, and at times to be the actual perpetrator of, an injustice which can never be excused, even if it is requested. In a remarkably relevant passageSaint Augustine writes that “it is never licit to kill another: even if he should wish it, indeed if he request it because, hanging between life and death, he begs for help in freeing the soul struggling against the bonds of the body and longing to be released; nor is it licit even when a sick person is no longer able to live”. Even when not motivated by a selfish refusal to be burdened with the life of someone who is suffering, euthanasia must be called a , and indeed a disturbing “perversion” of mercy. True “compassion” leads to sharing another's pain; it does not kill the person whose suffering we cannot bear.Moreover, the act of euthanasia appears all the more perverse if it is carried out by those, like relatives, who are supposed to treat a family member with patience and love, or by those, such as doctors, who by virtue of their specific profession are supposed to care for the sick person even in the most painful terminal stages” (66). The CatholicChurch regularly teaches about importance of palliative care and emphasizes that we don't teach that we have to preserve life by all means no matter what the circumstances.Palliative care is a holistic approach to terminal illness and the dying process. It seeks to address the whole spectrum of issues that confront a person with a terminal diagnosis through information, high quality care and pain relief, dealing with the emotions, dispelling fear, offering spiritual support if required and including the family in every aspect of the patient's care. In Evangelium Vitae, John Paul II wrote that “Euthanasia must be distinguished from the decision to forego so-called “aggressive medical treatment”, in other words, medical procedures which no longer correspond to the real situation of the patient, either because they are by now disproportionate to any expected results or because they impose an excessive burden on the patient and his family. In such situations, when death is clearly imminent and inevitable, one can in conscience “refuse forms of treatment that would only secure a precarious and burdensome prolongation of life, so long as the normal care due to the sick person in similar cases is not interrupted” The US Bishops in To Live Each Day with Dignity stated that “Respect for life does not demand that we attempt to prolong life by using medical treatments that are ineffective or unduly burdensome. Nor does it mean we should deprive suffering patients of needed pain medications out of a misplaced or exaggerated fear that they might have the side effect of shortening life. The risk of such an effect is extremely low when pain medication is adjusted to a patient's level of pain, with the laudable purpose of simply addressing that pain (CCC, no. 2279). In fact, severe pain can shorten life, while effective palliative care can enhance the length as well as the quality of a person's life. It can even alleviate the fears and problems that lead some patients to the desperation of considering suicide. Effective palliative care also allows patients to devote their attention to the unfinished business of their lives, to arrive at a sense of peace with God, with loved ones, and with themselves.” This is the “infinitely better way” to care for the needs of people with serious illnesses,” what Blessed John Paul II called “the way of love and mercy.” These considerations are very important in terms of forming ourselves as Catholics, and they help all of us see more clearly and with greater confidence, thanks the help of Revelation, that doctor prescribed death is always wrong. These arguments won't necessarily work ad extra, in terms of the persuasion of the public as a whole, but they will be far more direct and persuasive to those who believe that they believe that God exists, that he speaks to us through Sacred Scripture and the Church he founded, to guide us to the truth in faith and morals. IV. National and International Survey of Doctor Prescribed Death Before we look at the situation in Massachusetts, I'd like to do a quick survey of the situation in our country and across the globe. I do this because euthanasia proponents sometimes give the impression that the advent of physician assisted suicide is inevitable. It's not. There is, in fact, the total reverse and negation of a “domino effect.” The state of Oregon made assisted suicide a medical treatment in 1994 and three years later legalized it outright. In 2008, Washington did the same. That same year courts in Montana said that patients have the right to self-administer a lethal dose of medication as prescribed by a physician and determined that the doctor would not face legal punishment for doing so. But in the time since 1994 in Oregon, there have been 124 proposals in 25 states. All that are not currently pending were either defeated, tabled for the session, withdrawn by sponsors, or languished with no action taken. Michigan defeated a Kevorkian led referendum in 1998. Maine defeated a referendum for physician assisted suicide in 2000 (51-49). California defeated the Compassionate Choices Acts in 2005. New Hampshire defeated an assisted suicide bill 242-113 in January 2010. Later that year, Hawaii's health committee unanimously rebuffed it. Earlier this month, the State of Vermont defeated it 18-11 in the Senate. The vast majority of times it has come up in states across the nation, it has been defeated. Doctor physician suicide remains an explicit crime in 44 states. The same thing has happened internationally. After the Netherlands legalized it, The Scottish Parliament overwhelming defeated an attempt to give “end of life Assistance” 85-16 in 2010. In the same year, the Canadian parliament defeated a bill that would have legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide by a vote of 228 to 59. In Western Australia, a major effort was launched to pass a euthanasia bill, and it was struck down 24-11 in September 2010.Since the beginning of 2010 five countries have defeated efforts to pass more radical laws enabling not just assisted suicide but Netherlands-style euthanasia, which allows medical professionals to kill very ill or depressed patients. The bottom line is that we should have hope. If euthanasia can be defeated in California, in Vermont, in Britain, in Canada, it can be defeated here. The reason is because fundamentally those fighting against euthanasia are not primarily conservatives or, even more restricted, religious conservatives. Most current opposition coalitions include many persons and organizations whose opposition is based on progressive politics, especially disability rights groups and medical associations . V. The Massachusetts Death with Dignity Act Let's turn now to the Death with Dignity Act that Attorney General Martha Coakley certified as a citizens initiative petition on September 7, 2011.Presently assisting suicide currently is a common law crime in MassachusettsThis petition allows a Massachusetts adult resident, who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness that will likely result in death within six months, to request and receive a prescription for a lethal drug to end his or her life. If passed, the petition would legalize physician-assisted suicide. Two physicians will need to determine the terminal diagnosis, the mental state of the patient, and that the patient is acting voluntarily. The patient must make two oral requests within no fewer than fifteen days of one another. A written request is also required with a minimum of forty-eight hours between the written request and the writing of a prescription for the lethal drug. Let's begin parsing what this is all about.First I'll describe technical issues with the actual petition and then discuss some of the larger issues involved. There are at least 5 technical issues with the actual petition. First, we see first the use of euphemisms to mask what's really involved. The US Bishops have stated that proponents … avoid terms such as “assisting suicide” and instead use euphemisms such as “aid in dying.” They note that The Hemlock Society has changed its name to “Compassion and Choices.” They state, “Plain speaking is needed to strip away this veneer and uncover what is at stake, for this agenda promotes neither free choice nor compassion.” Proponents scrupulously avoid the term suicide, instead opting for “compassion,” “dying with dignity” “humane” and “end-of-life care.” It's important for us to keep the term suicide in the forefront, because people, especially in our culture, recognize that suicide is wrong. A vote for doctor prescribed suicide is a vote for suicide. Cardinal O'Malley said in a powerful homily, “We hope that the citizens of the commonwealth will not be seduced by the language: dignity, mercy and compassion which are used to disguise the sheer brutality of helping some kill themselves.… We are our brother's keeper and our sister's helper. Cain who forgot he was his brother's keeper ended up becoming his executioner. “Thou shall not kill” is God's law and it is written in our hearts by our Creator.” Second, the petition uses a vague definition of terminally ill. There are many definitions for the word “terminal.” For example, when he spoke to the National Press Club in 1992, Jack Kevorkian said that a terminal illness was “any disease that curtails life even for a day.” The co-founder of the Hemlock Society often refers to “terminal old age.” Some laws define “terminal” condition as one from which death will occur in a “relatively short time.” Others state that “terminal” means that death is expected within six months or less, WITHOUT MEDICAL CARE. Even where a specific life expectancy (like six months) is referred to, medical experts acknowledge that it is virtually impossible to predict the life expectancy of a particular patient. Some people diagnosed as terminally ill don't die for years, if at all, from the diagnosed condition. Increasingly, however, euthanasia activists have dropped references to terminal illness, replacing them with such phrases as “hopelessly ill,” “desperately ill,” “incurably ill,” “hopeless condition,” and “meaningless life.” But it is extremely common for medical prognoses of a short life expectancy to be wrong. Studies indicate that only cancer patients show a predictable decline, and even then, it is only in the last few weeks of life. With every disease other than cancer, prediction is unreliable. Prognoses are based on statistical averages, which are nearly useless in determining what will happen to an individual patient. Thus, the potential reach of assisted suicide is extremely broad and could include many people who may be mistakenly diagnosed as terminal but who have many meaningful years of life ahead The third technical issue with the petition is that there is no mandatory psychiatric evaluation to determine the level of depression or a plan to handle depression. The petition only requires a determination that the person does not have impaired judgment (Section 6). In To Live Each Day with Dignity, the US Bishops remarked, “Medical professionals recognize that people who take their own lives commonly suffer from a mental illness, such as clinical depression. Suicidal desires may be triggered by very real setbacks and serious disappointments in life. However, suicidal persons become increasingly incapable of appreciating options for dealing with these problems, suffering from a kind of tunnel vision that sees relief only in death.” It is never rational to choose suicide. In 2010, the Oregon Public Health Division found that the leading reasons people gave for asking for death were loss of autonomy (94%), decreasing ability to participate in activities that make life enjoyable (94%), and loss of dignity (79%). It is not pain but fear that drives people to suicide. Fear of dependence. Fear of “being a burden.” Depression is one of the main factors that drives one to suicide. it's not pain. The latest figures from Oregon show that while 95% of patients requested euthanasia or assisted suicide for “loss of autonomy” and 92% for “loss of dignity” only 5% (3 people) requested it for “inadequate pain control.” It should be noted here that hospice care is not as well developed in Oregon as in other US states. The two professional associations representing oncologists in California wrote: It is critical to recognize that, contrary to belief, most patients requesting physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia do not do so because of physical symptoms such as pain or nausea. Rather, depression, psychological distress, and fear of loss of control are identified as the key end of life issues. This has been borne out in numerous studies and reports. For example, … a survey of 100 terminally ill cancer patients in a palliative care program in Edmonton, Canada,. .. showed no correlation between physical symptoms of pain, nausea, or loss of appetite and the patient's expressed desire or support for euthanasia or PAS. Moreover, in the same study, patients demonstrating suicidal thoughts were much more likely to be suffering from depression or anxiety, but not bodily symptoms such as pain. Fourth – there are multiple problems with criteria for witnesses and reporting structures. Witnesses can be strangers or those who seek to benefit from the death. Can be friends of the heirs. Under this Initiative [11-12], someone who would benefit financially from the patient's death could serve as a witness and claim that the patient is mentally fit and eligible to request assisted suicide. The Initiative [11-12] requires that there be two witnesses to the patient's written request for doctor-prescribed suicide. One of those witnesses shall not be a relative or entitled to any portion of the person's estate upon death. However,this provides little protection since it permits one witness to be a relative or someone who IS entitled to the patient's estate. The second witness could be the best friend of the first witness and no one would know. Victims of elder abuse and domestic abuse are unlikely to share their fears with outsiders or to reveal that they are being pressured by family members to “choose” assisted suicide. The US Bishops stated last year that “in fact, such laws have generally taken great care to AVOID real scrutiny of the process for doctor-prescribed death—or any inquiry into WHOSE choice is served. In Oregon and Washington, for example, all reporting is done solely by the physician who prescribes lethal drugs. Once they are prescribed, the law requires no assessment of whether patients are acting freely, whether they are influenced by those who have financial or other motives for ensuring their death, or even whether others actually administer the drugs. Here the line between assisted suicide and homicide becomes blurred.”In Oregon, in only 28 percent of the patient deaths has the prescribing physician been present at the time of patient ingestion of the lethal dose, and in 19 percent of the cases, no health care provider has been in attendance. The fifth technical problem is that the initiative doesn't do enough limit the possibility of elder abuse or a lack of consent. Criminologist Jeremy Prichard doubts that many people in the community will be able to give full and voluntary consent to ending their lives. He contends that the growing prevalence of elder abuse suggests that aged people could easily be manipulated.Most elder abuse is at the hand of a relative. We must recognize that the prospect of euthanasia and assisted suicide becoming law in this country could effectively be aiding and abetting elder abuse with extremely grave consequences.It's not hard to imagine that a relative who has been systematically abusing an elder emotionally and financially could see euthanasia as the final (and most profitable) card to play for personal gain.It's not hard to imagine someone who has been emotionally abused over time succumbing to the suggestion that they ‘do the right thing' once their frailty and ailments reach a certain point. VI. Larger issues involved Now I'd like to discuss 8 larger issues that are involved .There's a false compassion involved in this initiative.It's an explicit promotion of suicide. It will lead to a weakening of palliative care. It creates tremendous pressure on those who are ill and on their caregivers. It provides financial incentives toward euthanasia. It begins a slippery slope to many other possible abuses and evils. It creates legitimate fears in the disabled community. And It introduces a change in the nature of medical care. First, it's a false compassion – The US Bishops state that “the idea that assisting a suicide shows compassion and eliminates suffering is equally misguided. It eliminates the person, and results in suffering for those left behind—grieving families and friends, and other vulnerable people who may be influenced by this event to see death as an escape. The sufferings caused by chronic or terminal illness are often severe. They cry out for our compassion, a word whose root meaning is to “suffer with” another person. True compassion alleviates suffering while maintaining solidarity with those who suffer. It does not put lethal drugs in their hands and abandon them to their suicidal impulses, or to the self-serving motives of others who may want them dead. It helps vulnerable people with their problems instead of treating them as the problem.” Blessed Pope John Paul II wrote, “True ‘compassion' leads to sharing another's pain; it does not kill the person whose suffering we cannot bear.” Second - it's an explicit governmental promotion of suicide - Once government begins to say under certain circumstances suicide is not only permitted, but a public good, then others in situations — that are by no means severe — start to take their own lives.We've seen this in Oregon. In the first decade after Oregon legalized physician assisted suicide, the suicide rate - which had been declining - rose to 35 percent above the national average.And That 35 percent does NOT include doctor-assisted deaths in Oregon. By rescinding legal protection for the lives of one group of people, the government implicitly communicates the message—before anyone signs a form to accept this alleged benefit—that they may be better off dead. If these persons say they want to die, others may be tempted to regard this not as a call for help but as the reasonable response to what they agree is a meaningless life. Those who choose to live may then be seen as selfish or irrational, as a needless burden on others, and even be encouraged to view themselves that way Third - it will lead to a weakening of palliative care – The push for doctor prescribed death is a movement to kill not the pain a person suffers but the person with the pain. Euthanasia advocates have pushed to confuse everyone on the palliative care issue: They have conflated or fused palliative care — the medical alleviation of pain and other distressing symptoms of serious illness — with intentionally ending the life of the patient.The pro-euthanasia lobby has deliberately confused pain relief treatment and euthanasia in order to promote their cause. Their argument is that necessary pain relief treatment that could shorten life is euthanasia; we are already giving such treatment and the vast majority of people agree we should do so; therefore, we are practicing euthanasia with the approval of the majority so we should come out of the medical closet and legalize euthanasia. Indeed, they argue, doing so is just a small incremental step along a path we have already taken. The US Bishops in To Leave Each Day with Dignity wrote, “Even health care providers' ability and willingness to provide palliative care such as effective pain management can be undermined by authorizing assisted suicide. Studies indicate that untreated pain among terminally ill patients may increase and development of hospice care can stagnate after assisted suicide is legalized. Government programs and private insurers may even limit support for care that could extend life, while emphasizing the “cost-effective” solution of a doctor-prescribed death. The reason for such trends is easy to understand. Why would medical professionals spend a lifetime developing the empathy and skills needed for the difficult but important task of providing optimum care, once society has authorized a “solution” for suffering patients that requires no skill at all? Once some people have become candidates for the inexpensive treatment of assisted suicide, public and private payers for health coverage also find it easy to direct life-affirming resources elsewhere.” Fourth - it creates tremendous pressure on those who are ill and on their care givers - If voluntary euthanasia is introduced, every dying person capable of doing so would have to decide not just whether or not his own pain had become too much to bear, but whether or not the emotional, physical and financial burden was becoming too much for relatives and friends to bear. What are the dying to do when their children and grandchildren have to travel long distances, endure enormous emotional strain and go through wearing physical fatigue to be with them during an awkwardly long and unpredictable “dying period”? What are the poor, vulnerable dying to do when they are made to feel that their continued existence is an intolerable public burden? In cases where the dying elderly are not in a position to give formal consent to their own death, those legally vested with the right to make this decision on their behalf can never be sure that they acted out of the right motives. (In the worst case, one can wonder whether they were motivated by their dying relative's emotional strain or by THEIR OWN, by the interests of the patient or by the prospect of securing an inheritance sooner rather than later?, and so on). The legalization of euthanasia would put almost “humanly impossible” demands on the dying and their relatives, especially if they are poor. Where voluntary euthanasia is illegal, the timing and extent of medical intervention in the lives of dying patients is more a matter of “professional judgment” than of “personal choice” and this means that the health professions are able to protect the poor and vulnerable from pressures of this kind. Fifth – it creates financial incentives for euthanasia – In an era of cost control and managed care, patients with lingering illnesses may be branded an economic liability, and decisions to encourage physician assisted suicide may be driven by cost.I ask you, is it reasonable to assume that some government bureaucrats or some bottom-line-driven managed care decision makers would be motivated to encourage less costly assisted suicide pill prescriptions over more expensive longer-term treatments?The cost of the lethal medication generally used for assisted suicide is about $300, far cheaper than the cost of treatment for most long-term medical conditions. Many common-sense adults have already concluded that assisted suicide is a deadly mix with our challenged health care system, in which financial pressures already play far too great a role in many health care decisions. The U.S. Solicitor General in the Clinton Administration, Walter Dellinger, warned in urging the Supreme Court to uphold laws against assisted suicide: “The least costly treatment for any illness is lethal medication.” Patients in Oregon have already encountered that reality. In May 2008, 64-year-old retired school bus driver Barbara Wagner received bad news from her doctor. Her cancer had returned. Then she got some good news. Her doctor gave her a prescription for medication that he said would likely slow the cancer's growth and extend her life. It didn't take long for her hopes to be dashed.She was notified by letter that the Oregon Health Plan wouldn't cover the prescribed cancer drug. It also informed her that, although it wouldn't cover the prescription, it would cover all costs for her assisted suicide. Wagner said she told the OHP, “Who do you guys think you are? You know, to say that you'll pay for my dying, but you won't pay to help me possibly live longer?”Wagner's case was not isolated. Other patients received similar letters. Sixth - clearly this initiative would launch the Commonwealth down the slippery slope to involuntary euthanasia and other evils. The “slippery slope” argument, a complex legal and philosophical concept, generally asserts that one exception to a law is followed by more exceptions until a point is reached that would initially have been unacceptable We've seen the path the slippery slope has taken in Belgium and the Netherlands. In 30 years, the Netherlands has moved from euthanasia of people who are terminally ill, to euthanasia of those who are chronically ill; from euthanasia for physical illness, to euthanasia for mental illness; from euthanasia for mental illness, to euthanasia for psychological distress or mental suffering—and now to euthanasia simply if a person is over the age of 70 and “tired of living.” Dutch euthanasia protocols have also moved from conscious patients providing explicit consent, to unconscious patients unable to provide consent. Denying euthanasia or PAS in the Netherlands is now considered a form of discrimination against people with chronic illness, whether the illness be physical or psychological, because those people will be forced to “suffer”longer than those who are terminally ill. Non-voluntary euthanasia is now being justified by appealing to the social duty of citizens and the ethical pillar of caring for others [beneficence]. In the Netherlands, euthanasia has moved from being a measure of last resort to being one of early intervention. Belgium has followed suit, and troubling evidence is emerging from Oregon specifically with respect to the protection of people with depression and the objectivity of the process For many years Dutch courts have allowed physicians to practice euthanasia and assisted suicide with impunity, supposedly only in cases where desperately ill patients have unbearable suffering. However, Dutch policy and practice have expanded to allow the killing of people with disabilities or even physically healthy people with psychological distress; thousands of patients, including newborn children with disabilities, have been killed by their doctors without their request. The Dutch example teaches us that the “slippery slope” is very real.A recent study found that in the Flemish part of Belgium, 66 of 208 cases of “euthanasia” (32%) occurred in the absence of request or consent. The reasons for not discussing the decision to end the person's life and not obtaining consent were that patients were comatose (70% of cases) or had dementia (21% of cases). In 17% of cases, the physicians proceeded without consent because they felt that euthanasia was “clearly in the patient's best interest” and, in 8% of cases, that discussing it with the patient would have been harmful to that patient. Those findings accord with the results of a previous study in which 25 of 1644 non-sudden deaths had been the result of euthanasia without explicit consent The US Bishops Conference speaks about this: “Taking life in the name of compassion also invites a slippery slope toward ending the lives of people with non-terminal conditions. Dutch doctors, who once limited euthanasia to terminally ill patients, now provide lethal drugs to people with chronic illnesses and disabilities, mental illness, and even melancholy. Once they convinced themselves that ending a short life can be an act of compassion, it was morbidly logical to conclude that ending a longer life may show even more compassion. Psychologically, as well, the physician who has begun to offer death as a solution for some illnesses is tempted to view it as the answer for an ever-broader range of problems. This agenda actually risks adding to the suffering of seriously ill people. Their worst suffering is often not physical pain, which can be alleviated with competent medical care, but feelings of isolation and hopelessness. The realization that others—or society as a whole—may see their death as an acceptable or even desirable solution to their problems can only magnify this kind of suffering.” There is a moral trickle-down effect. First, suicide is promoted as a virtue. Then follows mercy killing of the terminally ill. From there, it's a hop, skip and a jump to killing people who aren't perceived to have a good “quality” of life, perhaps with the prospect of organ harvesting thrown in as a plum to society. Seventh – the disabled community is rightly concerned about this initiative – A Once concerns about the perception of one's quality of life come to the forefront, disabled advocates anticipate that the disabled will be among the first to be targeted under an anthropology focused on doing rather than being. These advocates tell us that many people with disabilities have long experience of prejudicial attitudes on the part of able-bodied people, including physicians, who assume they would “rather be dead than disabled.” Such prejudices could easily lead families, physicians and society to encourage death for people who are depressed and emotionally vulnerable as they adjust to life with a serious illness or disability. Although the debate about assisted suicide is often portrayed as part of the culture war—with typical left-right, pro-con politics—the largest number of witnesses at the most recent hearing on Beacon Hill were 10 disability-rights advocates who oppose the initiative. According to the National Council on Disability: “As the experience in the Netherlands demonstrates there is little doubt that legalizing assisted suicide generates strong pressures upon individuals and families to utilize the option, and leads very quickly to coercion and involuntary euthanasia.”This is a fear that many people living with a disability and their families express over the idea of euthanasia.They fear that misunderstandings and false compassion could result in them being considered ‘better off dead'; devalued and perhaps even killed. They also fear being treated as second class citizens in respect to their medical care. A policy of euthanasia will inevitably lead to establishing social standards of acceptable life. When “quality life” is more important than life itself, the mentally ill, the disabled, the depressed, and those who cannot defend themselves will be at risk of being eliminated. The prohibitions against both euthanasia and assisted suicide treat all citizens equally. Making exceptions for the hard cases while advantaging the very few, risks placing far more people at a decided risk of disadvantage. We would be implicitly suggesting that the lives of the sick or disabled are less worthy of the protection of the law than others. Will these ‘vulnerable groups' be heard In Massachusetts, the disability advocates call their opposition group “Second Thoughts.” They say that assisted suicide may sound like a good idea at first, but on second thought the risks of mistake, coercion and abuse are too great. Cardinal Seán O'Malley summed up this thought in a homily he delivered in September of 2011.“By rescinding the legal protection for the lives of a category of people, the government sends a message that some persons are better off dead. This biased judgment about the diminished value of life for someone with a serious illness or disability is fueled by the excessively high premium our culture places on productivity and autonomy which tends to discount the lives of those who have a disability or who are suffering or dependent on others. If these people claim they want to die, others might be tempted to regard this not as a call for help, but as a reasonable response to what they agree is a meaningless life. Those who choose to live may then be viewed as selfish or irrational, as a needless burden on others, and might even be encouraged to see themselves in that way. Many people with a disability who struggle for their genuine rights to adequate health care, housing and so forth, are understandably suspicious when the freedom society most eagerly offers them is the freedom to take their lives.” The eighth large issue is that this initiative if passed would bring about a massive change in the nature of medical care – The American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Nurses Association and the Massachusetts Medical Society all oppose doctor-prescribed suicide and for good reason, because it changes the nature of medical care and corrupts the medical profession.The Hippocratic oath states: “I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan.”The American Medical Association holds that “physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician's role as healer.” Once we allow doctors to start to kill patients with terminal illnesses, the meaning of the medical profession changes, from one that seeks always to save lives, to one in which it is possible to end them. Once that occurs, then it's a small step to allowing them to assist non-terminal patients in taking their lives and another to putting pressure on those who are in terminal illnesses to do family members and society a “favor” by ending their lives so that medical resources can be spent elsewhere. We've seen the consequences in terms of the doctor-patient relationship. In Holland, reports have been published documenting the sad fact that elderly patients, out of fear of euthanasia, refuse hospitalization and even avoid consulting doctors, because doctors and nurses become potential destroyers of life, rather than defenders. They become executioners. There would also be a fundamental change in the way doctors are formed. A fundamental value and attitude that we want to reinforce in medical students, interns and residents, and in nurses, is an absolute repugnance to killing patients. It would be very difficult to communicate to future physicians and nurses such a repugnance in the context of legalized doctor prescribed death. VII. Our mission in response to this challenge With regard to the citizens initiative petition, we need to know some facts. It's still in the “second quarter of the game,” but we are slightly behind and therefore we must work harder and better, both on offense and defense. The recent poll by Public Policy Polling showing that 43 percent are in favor of the petition at the present, and 37 percent are against. But we saw some breakdowns that will teach us particular areas that we can emphasize: There is a gender difference. Men were in favor of 48-34 percent.Women were opposed 41-38.Therefore we particularly need to work on men to become real protectors of the vulnerable and to accentuate woman's nature compassion. There are also generational differences. 65 and older were opposed with 44 percent against it. Those 46-65 were the most in favor, with 49 percent supporting the bill. It's clear that our seniors will be opposed if the specter of people making the decision for them is brought to them.We need to help the care giver generation to recognize there's a better way, a way of returning love for the love received, of the availability of good palliative care in hospices. The larger issue of how we should be getting involved was brought out by the US Bishops in To Live Each Day with Dignity. “Catholics should be leaders in the effort to defend and uphold the principle that each of us has a right to live with dignity through every day of our lives. As disciples of one who is Lord of the living, we need to be messengers of the Gospel of Life. We should join with other concerned Americans, including disability rights advocates, charitable organizations, and members of the healing professions, to stand for the dignity of people with serious illnesses and disabilities and promote life-affirming solutions for their problems and hardships. We should ensure that the families of people with chronic or terminal illness will advocate for the rights of their loved ones, and will never feel they have been left alone in caring for their needs. The claim that the “quick fix” of an overdose of drugs can substitute for these efforts is an affront to patients, caregivers and the ideals of medicine. When we grow old or sick and we are tempted to lose heart, we should be surrounded by people who ask “How can we help?” We deserve to grow old in a society that views our cares and needs with a compassion grounded in respect, offering genuine support in our final days. The choices we make together now will decide whether this is the kind of caring society we will leave to future generations. We can help build a world in which love is stronger than death.” This initiative petition is a time in which all citizens of the Commonwealth have the chance to choose the path of Cain and Kevorkian or the path of the Good Samaritan. It's the path of the executioner or of the truly compassionate care-giver, the life-affirming hospice nurse, the 24-hour operator at suicide prevention hotlines, and the heroic firefighter or police officer who climbs bridges, risking his life to save those who are contemplating ending their own. The path of the true brother's keeper will also be shown in the educational work of those who begin anew to educate others about the dignity of every human life and persuade legislators and fellow citizens to rise up to defeat soundly this evil initiative. It's a matter of life or death.

Today's host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Mark O'Connell Today's guest(s): Janet Benestad, Secretary for Faith Formation and Evangelization Links from today's show: Today's topics: Discussion of Cardinal Seán's Homily on Doctor-Prescribed Suicide Summary of today's show: Scot Landry and Fr. Mark O'Connell welcome Janet Benestad, Secretary for Faith Formation and Evangelization, to discuss Cardinal Seán's homily for this Sunday, the World Day of the Sick, which will be heard in every parish in the archdiocese for the launch of an education campaign on efforts to legalize doctor-prescribed suicide in Massachusetts. Cardinal Seán warns us not to be mislead by euphemisms and the slow erosion of the respect for life. Christ's Church responds to illness with love and true compassion, not by encouraging the ill to throw their lives away. 1st segment: Scot and Fr. Mark talked about recovering the Patriots' Super Bowl loss. They also discussed the work week, including the Presbyteral Council meeting this week. Fr. Mark said Msgr. Bill Fay, who co-leads the Pastoral Planning Commission, said people may be afraid of change, but we're going to get there anyway. There are already more than 50 parishes that share a pastor with other parishes. If we do absolutely nothing, we will get the same place, but it won't be planned. Scot said anyone who would like to see the resources that have been shared regarding the pastoral planning consultation can go to Scot mentioned news stories today that printed a private letter from Msgr. Bill Helmick to Cardinal Sean in which he gave his feedback on the pastoral planning suggestions. Fr. Mark said violating that confidentiality is tragic. Scot said the purpose of this consultation process is to receive such feedback. Scot said this Sunday is the World Day of the Sick and so Cardinal Sean has asked that a homily from him be read in all parishes this weekend to kick off an education campaign about a ballot initiative to legalize doctor-prescribed suicide. 2nd segment: Scot and Fr. Mark welcomed Janet to the show. She said it's been several weeks of preparation for this weekend, and parishioners will not only hear or see the homily but will receive printed materials to help educate them on the proposed bill and its problems. They began by listening to the first part of Cardinal Seán's homily: I am grateful to your pastor and the parish staff for this opportunity to talk to you today on the occasion of the twentieth World Day of the Sick. We celebrate World Day of the Sick each year on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes in order to pray for the sick and the dying and for those in the healing professions. Saint Paul exhorts us today to be imitators of Christ, who stretches out his hand in compassion toward the sick. This is the model that we as Christians have emulated for centuries in our hospitals, nursing homes, and treatment centers. Unfortunately, this model of compassion is now being threatened. In November, citizens in Massachusetts likely will be asked to vote whether doctor-assisted suicide should be a legal and normal way to care for the terminally ill. That is why it is so important for me to talk to you now about the so-called “Death with Dignity Act.” If passed, the referendum would allow an adult resident of Massachusetts— diagnosed with fewer than six months to live— to request and receive a prescription for a lethal drug. Proponents of this bill want us to believe that this is a compassionate response to the plight of people who have a terminal illness. It is not. We are called to comfort the sick, not to help them take their own lives. As the Catholic Bishops of the United States said in their recent statement on assisted suicide: “True compassion alleviates suffering while maintaining solidarity with those who suffer. It does not put lethal drugs in their hands and abandon them to their suicidal impulses, or to the self-serving motives of others who may want them dead.” Scot noted how the Cardinal said our outreach to the ill is imitation of Christ's compassion for the sick. Fr. Mark said it's surprising to him to hear it is being contemplated that we can give a pill to someone to kill themselves and that is called compassion. Janet said the initiative is called the Death with Dignity Act, which co-opts the language we use about the dignity of life. The proponents will not use the word suicide, but instead call it aid in dying. Scot said we have to ask what kind of society we want to have in the state of Massachusetts and whether we will be fooled by the proponents of a false compassion. People fear the dying process and the possibility of being kept alive by burdensome medical technology. They fear intolerable pain and suffering, losing control, or lingering with severe dementia. They worry about being abandoned or becoming a burden on others. For all these reasons, the ability to exercise control over the time and circumstances of death can appear attractive. Proponents of assisted suicide say that the Church wants people to suffer and that Catholics are obliged to accept every treatment available. This is simply not true. Burdensome and futile treatments may be refused as in the case of older patients who need not have risky surgery or painful chemotherapy in order to gain a few more months of life. Scot said there are two central points here. One is that it's natural to fear the dying process, but it's how we respond to those fears that is critical. Fr. Mark said it depends on what we mean by compassion. Compassion is to give palliative care, to help them not worry about what will happen after they die, to help them accept God's timing. Compassion is not to leave them thinking they are a burden. Scot said the Cardinal then says that proponents falsely accuse the Church of wanting people to suffer. Janet said Catholics sometimes don't understand the teachings of the church either. People are not obligated to take every possible treatment. They can refuse risky surgery or sometimes chemotherapy or other burdensome treatments. They can also receive pain killers, even if those pain killers could hasten death, when death is imminent and inevitable. Scot said the key is that the prescription from the doctor is intended to alleviate suffering not to eliminate the sufferer. You can never intend the person's death. The 5th Commandment states “Thou shall not kill.” This certainly includes killing to alleviate suffering. Doctor-assisted suicide occurs when a doctor assists the patient to end his own life, even though does not directly administer the lethal drug. It is doctor-prescribed death. Blessed Pope John Paul II said: “To concur with the intention of another person to commit suicide and to help in carrying it out through so-called “assisted suicide” means to cooperate in, and at times to be the actual perpetrator of, an injustice which can never be excused, even if it is requested.” Scot said the Cardinal is very clear on this. This is not just the Church's teaching, but it comes from God in the Old Testament. Fr. Mark said the doctor has a moral decision to make. Do we want to leave it in the hands of the doctor? Do we want him to put a pill in someone's hand and then wash his hand of it? What are the standards for this decision? It is about expense? Is it about convenience? Why is the doctor playing God? Scot said the bill's proponents claim there are safeguards, but they don't go far enough. Scot said people who get a terminal diagnosis, they go through mental anguish and even depression. Janet said the bill creates a class of citizens who are different from the rest of us: People whose suicides we don't prevent. People who we say are better off dead. She said there are many people who receive a terminal diagnosis who receive treatment and go on to live for years and years. For some people who have a terminal illness, they become tenacious and live life with fervor and strength. There is a slippery slope leading from ending lives in the name of compassion to ending the lives of people with non-terminal conditions. Doctors in the Netherlands once limited euthanasia to terminally ill patients; now they provide lethal drugs to people with chronic illnesses and disabilities, mental illness, and even melancholy. There is also evidence that the legalization of doctor-assisted suicide contributes to suicide in the general population. This is true in the state of Oregon which passed doctor-assisted suicide in 1994. Now, suicide is the leading cause of “injury death” and the second leading cause of death among 15 to 34 year olds. The suicide rate in Oregon, which had been in decline before 1994, is now 35% higher than the national average. Scot said the slippery slope is real. When we devalue human life in one case, it leads to devaluation in other cases. Fr. Mark said God's gives us a gift of our life and we need to take care of it. To think of the body as something expendable is a tragedy. Janet gave an example of a story from Oregon of a woman who wanted to get chemotherapy treatment for cancer, but got a letter from the insurer who said they won't pay for the cancer treatment but would pay for the lethal drug. She wasn't looking to kill herself. one case of this is too much and there are at least two documented cases of this in Oregon. She said surveys show people don't completely trust doctors, because of fears of overtreatment. So why would we trust doctors to prescribe lethal pills? Scot said people certainly trust their insurers even less and the lethal drugs are far more economical than any long-term treatments. They have an economic incentive. Scot said we've also seen suicide rates among young people go up because assisted suicide makes it seem acceptable. Why do we say suicide is unacceptable for a healthy young person, but it's acceptable for the terminally ill? Fr. Mark said we also have to protect our good Catholic doctors from pressure to administer these pills. Doctor-assisted suicide is being presented as a way for the terminally ill to have greater freedom at the end of life. However, it would create pressures to limit our freedom, because it could establish an expectation that certain people will be better served by being dead, a dubious premise indeed! It creates a class of people— those whom doctors predict will live six months or less— for whom suicide should be facilitated, even made to seem attractive. It also opens the door for financially-motivated organizations like insurance companies and managed-care plans to someday encourage and pressure those at the end of their life to think that doctor-assisted suicide is an attractive option. Legalization of doctor-assisted suicide would compromise the practice of medicine. The Hippocratic Oath that has guided doctors for more than two thousand years says, “I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan.” Doctors and nurses are known for this devotion to heal and the refusal to assist in killing. Assisted suicide would compromise this ancient ethical code and the practice of medicine itself. It is important for you to know that the Massachusetts Medical Society voted recently by an overwhelming majority not to support this referendum. Scot said this sort of bill could change the relationship our doctors have with us and this is probably why the Mass. Medical Society voted overwhelmingly not to support this initiative. There are large flaws in the bill itself. For one thing, it requires that a doctor determine that the patient is capable of asking for lethal drugs, but there are no explicit criteria for assessing the mental capacity at the time of the request, nor is there a mandate to assess mental capacity at the time of the suicide. The bill also requires two witnesses to attest to the patient's competence, but one of the witnesses can be a total stranger, and another can be the sick person's heir. Alfred Hitchcock would make movies about this stuff. Also the law does not require that anyone witness the suicide, so there is no way to know for certain that the act was voluntary. Finally, the death certificate lists the underlying disease as the cause of death, not assisted suicide. This creates underreporting and a legalized deception. Indeed this initiative is on the ballot in part because of the deceptive way in which the required signatures were obtained. Last Fall, proponents of this bill solicited signatures from Massachusetts citizens as part of the process for getting it on the ballot. You may have been approached and asked to sign the petition. People who were asked to sign reported that the petition was presented as a bill to “aid the terminally ill.” In fact, the bill does not use the word “suicide” because, as the lawyer for the organization promoting the bill has said, the word “suicide” is inflammatory. Instead, it talks about “aid in dying” or “A-I-D.” The major organization behind this effort also changed its name from the “Hemlock Society” to the deceptive “Compassion and Choices.” Janet said it is a deception to have the cause of death not be listed as suicide. Insurance companies don't want to be seen as paying for suicide. It's also the case that no one has to be present at the time of death so you don't know how it was administered. Did they even take it voluntarily? The bill has very few safeguards. Scot wondered which is a bigger euphemism: Death with Dignity or Compassion and Choices. Fr. Mark said this could absolutely lead to murder. There will one day be a trial in which it is asked whether an heir caused the death of a person. Scot said there is no requirement for these deaths even to be videotaped. Scot said the euphemisms are deceptive because during the ballot signature process people said they signed petitions thinking they were supporting help fort he terminally ill. Janet said there was a real intent to deceive people. Janet said the Secretary of State will determine what will go into the referendum on election day, but we do know that we will encourage people to vote No. Suicide is always a tragedy. A vote for assisted suicide would be a vote for suicide. For that reason, I ask you now to do three things to help stop doctor-assisted suicide from becoming law in Massachusetts. First, pray for people who are seriously ill and dying, and for their caregivers. Visit the sick which is one of the corporal works of mercy. Second, avoid believing the misleading and seductive language of “dignity,” “mercy,” “compassion” or “aid in dying” that proponents of the legislation will use to describe assisted suicide. Third, educate yourselves as much as possible on assisted suicide and share that knowledge with others. Brochures, prayer cards, bulletin inserts and other materials have been prepared for you and are available in your parish. Please visit the website which has been created to educate people on this issue. Scot said the Cardinal couldn't be clearer on what he wants people to do and what this bill is about. He asked people to educate themselves and their friends and neighbors. Janet said the task of caring for the terminally ill can be a great burden. As a society we should undertake as an act of charity to assist families caring for someone who is terminally ill. She said the cardinal wanted this education campaign to be underway before the election season really got underway and distracted people away from this important issue. We as Catholics should be at the forefront of good palliative care. Our society will be judged by how we treat those who are ill and the infirm. They need our care and protection, not lethal drugs. As the Bishops wrote last year: We as Catholics should be leaders in the effort to defend and uphold the principle that each of us has a right to live with dignity through every day of our lives. Let us join with other concerned citizens, including disability rights advocates and members of the healing professions, to stand for the dignity of people with serious illnesses and disabilities and promote life-affirming solutions for their hardships. We should ensure that the families of people with terminal illnesses will never feel they have been left alone in caring for their needs. The claim that the “quick fix” of an overdose of drugs can substitute for these efforts is an affront to patients, caregivers and the ideals of medicine. When we grow old or sick and we are tempted to lose heart, we should be surrounded by people who ask “How can I help you?” We deserve to grow old in a society that views our cares and needs with a compassion grounded in respect, offering genuine support in our final days. The choices we make together now will decide whether this is the kind of caring society we will leave to future generations. Let us work together to build a civilization of love – a love which is stronger than death! God bless you. Fr. Mark said we need to reach out to the sick. We have a duty as Christians to bring Christ's love. Yes, it's difficult and expensive. Who cares? These are our loved ones, those loved by God that we are obligated to care for? Scot asked if our society will be viewed as having money or love as most important to us. The Cardinal hopes that we are building a civilization of love. 3rd segment: It's time to announce this week's winner of the WQOM Benefactor Raffle. Our prize this week is the CD: “The Apostle of the Rosary: Servant of God Father Patrick Peyton” by St. Joseph Communications. This week's benefactor card raffle winner is Jim Fadule, from Wellesley Hills, MA. Congratulations, Jim! If you would like to be eligible to win in an upcoming week, please visit . For a one-time $30 donation, you'll receive the Station of the Cross benefactor card and key tag, making you eligible for WQOM's weekly raffle of books, DVDs, CDs and religious items. We'll be announcing the winner each Wednesday during “The Good Catholic Life” program. 4th segment: Now as we do every week at this time, we will consider the Mass readings for this Sunday, specifically the Gospel reading. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “If someone has on his skin a scab or pustule or blotch which appears to be the sore of leprosy, he shall be brought to Aaron, the priest, or to one of the priests among his descendants. If the man is leprous and unclean, the priest shall declare him unclean by reason of the sore on his head. “The one who bears the sore of leprosy shall keep his garments rent and his head bare, and shall muffle his beard; he shall cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!' As long as the sore is on him he shall declare himself unclean, since he is in fact unclean. He shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp.” Second Reading for February 12, 2012, Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1) Brothers and sisters, Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Avoid giving offense, whether to the Jews or Greeks or the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in every way, not seeking my own benefit but that of the many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. Gospel for February 12, 2012, Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean. Then, warning the him sternly, he dismissed him at once. He said to him, “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere. Scot said at the end of the second reading, Paul tells us to imitate Christ. One of the way is to do as Jesus did. The lepers were outcast and Jesus reached out to them with compassion with love, when no one else would ever think of even touching them. The leper wanted to be cleaned physically and spiritually. Fr. Mark said Jesus touched someone who was an outsider from society because that wasn't a barrier for Jesus. Scot said the lepers were hurt by their illness, but they were also hurt by their ostracization from the community. Janet said those with terminal illness will also be ostracized into a second-class category. Scot said when he thinks of St. Paul's reading, we see how JEsus responded to the lepers in his day. We're not going to see actual lepers today, but there are many figurative lepers in society today: people who were considered ugly or unattractive or bodily afflictions; people with metal illness or disabilities; spiritual or moral lepers, public sinners; economic lepers, the homeless and the very poor; emotional lepers, those who feel alone. It doesn't take us long to find people who are outcasts in society that we can reach out to with the love of Christ. Fr. Mark points out in this reading the role of the Church. The man was healed and rejoiced in it, but Jesus told him to go present himself to the priest who would declare him clean. Jesus respected the Church's role in society. There is a role of the Church to protect the outcasts of society. Janet said Christ's love is so powerful that it can even heal the spirit in addition to the body. The Psalm doesn't say accidentally, “I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.” Scot suggested that someone who wants to reconcile with Christ and the Church to receive spiritual healing through the Sacrament of Confession.

In this episode, Dr. Pam Miller discusses her research on social worker attitudes, values, and practices since the enactment of Oregon's Death with Dignity Act.

Today's host(s): Scot Landry and Susan Abbott Today's guest(s): Gregory Tracy, managing editor of The Pilot, the newspaper of the Boston archdiocese Some of the stories discussed on this show will be available on The Pilot's and The Anchor's websites on Friday morning. Please check those sites for the latest links. Today's topics: 9/11 anniversary; Msgr. Robert Deeley; assisted suicide petition; Catholic school year starts; Archbishop Chaput's installation Summary of today's show: Gregory Tracy and Susan Abbott discuss the news of the week with Scot, including this week's anniversary of 9/11 and Catholic reflections on the events and their aftermath; an extensive Pilot interview with Msgr. RObert Deeley, the new vicar general; an assisted suicide ballot initiative; the always promising beginning of the Catholic school year; and the homily of Archbishop Charles Chaput at his installation Mass in Philadelphia. 1st segment: Scot noted that today is the birthday of the Blessed Mother. Fr. Sean Carey, the only priest of the archdiocese who is deaf, celebrated the 12:05 pm Mass at the Pastoral Center for this feast. Susan Abbott said she had a workshop today for a total of more than 100 people on the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. 2nd segment: Scot noted that Fr. Roger Landry is traveling, but welcomed Greg Tracy to the show. He said that there's an article in the Pilot this week which excerpts remarks from in which the Cardinal reflects on the events and aftermath of 9/11. He starts by describing where he was when he heard about the attacks, at a meeting of the US bishops' conference. They went immediately across the street to the National Shrine of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception for a Mass for the victims. Then he told the story of how he tried to get back to Fall River from Washington, DC. He eventually rented a car with some others. Scot said Cardinal Sean reflects that 9/11 reflected the best and worst of who we are as humanity and also that we all came together to pray. Susan said in her parish they put a notice on the parish website for a prayer service that evening and people began coming back every night to pray. Susan said they had people come to RCIA and other adult formation because of their experience of 9/11. Fr. Roger in his editorial reflected on the lessons of 9/11. The events reawakened most Americans to four fundamental realities in the world: of evil in the world; that death comes for us all; the heroism of first responders and others who risked their lives; and the reality of God. He refers to the Imitation of Christ and its advice: “In every deed and every thought, act as if you die this day.” It helps to bring us back to our roots and our purpose in this life. Susan quoted a famous line that the Devil's biggest trick is to convince us that he or evil doesn't exist. But she also went to the Prologue of the Gospel of John that the Light shines in the darkness and darkness has not overcome it. Fr. Roger's ends with: Some, succumbing to the perennial temptation about why God doesn't stop all evil, asked where God was on 9/11. Fr. James Martin, SJ, responded that on 9/11 God was offering us a parable. As he was ministering to the wounded at a Manhattan hospital, Fr. Martin looked around at the rescue workers and realized, “God is like the firefighter who rushes into a burning building to save someone. That's how much God loves us. And I saw this love expressed in the great charity of all the rescue workers who gathered at the American Golgotha.” Fr. Roger said that the Ground Zero Cross is a sign that evil doesn't have the last word. He ends by suggesting the most fitting way to mark the anniversary is to pray: “… prayer for our country, that we may be strong, courageous and persevering in our opposition to terrorism and other evils; for all our civil leaders and those who are on the front lines in protecting us in the military, police departments, intelligence services and homeland security; for all those who lost loved ones ten years ago; for the salvation of all those who had died; and for the conversion of the terrorists and the cultures that spawn them. And we should make this prayer silently as individuals, as we will at 1 pm on Sunday with Church bells tolling throughout the land. We should make it with our families at home, in living rooms and perhaps exceptionally before television sets. And we should make it in our Churches where we enter into the mystery both of the Cross and of the Resurrection for which the Cross is the prelude.” The Pilot this week reprints the editorial from the newspaper on September 14, 2001, written by Msgr. Peter Conley, who was the editor-in-chief at the time. The current editor, Antonio Enrique, started with the Pilot that very day, 9/11. They reprinted the editorial because it captures the fear and outrage, but also prophetically outlined the issues that our country would have to grapple with from that time. Scot quoted the editorial which noted that Americans were too complacent in their security before these attacks. But Msgr. Conley also ended by saying, “Evil must be named and confronted for what it is — the opposite of a God Who is love.” 3rd segment: Scot said on September 1, Msgr. Robert Deeley began his service to the Archdiocese as vicar general. In this week's Pilot, Msgr. Deeley gives a lengthy interview on his background, his early assignments in the Archdiocese, and then his work in Rome. He also spoke of his hopes and vision for his service and assessed the situation of the Archdiocese today. Greg said he was most interested by Msgr. Deeley's background and upbringing because it gave him a sense of him as a person beyond his curriculum vitae as a priest from the early 1990s on. Greg said he felt he was immensely grounded with a wide breadth of experience in parishes, in the chancery, and working in the Curia in Rome. He also was struck by how much he spoke about evangelization and how he sees that as a central part of his mission. Scot said Msgr. Deeley has had three different stints in Rome: as a seminarian; studying canon law; and then for eight years working for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Susan said she was struck by his sense of the universality of the Church, especially from his time in Rome. He later said Boston is not unique and the issues we're dealing with are shared by other people. She was also touched by his sense of obedience and fidelity. When he was aksed by Cardinal Sean, there was no other answer but to say Yes, out of fidelity to his promise. Scot said no young priest seeks to be a vicar general. Some priests may aspire to become a bishop, but a vicar general deals with every problem in the diocese before it lands on the bishop's desk. He said he has been moved by Msgr. Deeley's faith in the one week since he's been in the Pastoral Center. Susan said we haven't changed our goals as a Church, to bring the faith to those who do not know it and to encourage and form those who do. Scot also noted that one question asked him whether he was thinking of significant changes. Msgr. Deeley said he will meet with those work for the Church and priests, but it's really Cardinal Sean who sets the direction. On Pastoral Planning, he said one of the problems of Reconfiguration in 2004 was the swiftness with which it was done. He said the current committee working on pastoral planning is very good and while these things can be painful, he believes people need to be heard and have the ability to enter into the process. Greg said one of his favorites quotes of the whole interview was that now he'd accepted the position, he told the Lord, “Now it's up to you to give me the strength.” Greg said there will be even more content in the online version that will be available on PilotCatholicNews.com on Friday. 4th segment: Scot said that yesterday Attorney General Martha Coakley certified a ballot initiative in support of the so-called Massachusetts Death with Dignity Act. The Mass. bishops want to form and inform about the inherent evil in assisted suicide as well as worse results. The bishops say in a statement: “We cannot allow for the possibility that government agencies or insurance companies will have an influence on the decision as to whether or not a person's life is worthy of being sustained.” Greg said this petition is not unexpected and both the Anchor and the Pilot have been writing about this in recent weeks. He thinks the bishops will come out very strongly on this issue because of the slippery slope. He said the bishops quote their 1995 statement: “For once a society allows one individual to take the life of another based on their private standards of what constitutes a life worth living, even when there is mutual agreement, there can be no safe or sure way to contain its possible consequences.” Greg said evil is always presented as a good by its proponents. They phrase this as the need to “help” someone to die. But once you don't have a right to life, you don't have a right to anything. Scot said polls show that across the US, whatever their political affiliation or ideology, people don't trust government, but laws like this would give the power of life and death to third parties. Proponents have used euphemisms to put a little bit of frosting on an evil cake. Susan said you just have to look at other countries that have preceded us down the slippery slope to see where we are going and to see how basic rights have been lost. She encouraged listeners to see the US bishops' website for more resources. Scot encouraged all to inform their representatives of their views on this issue. Moving on to other topics, the Pilot has an article on the beginning of the school year for Catholic years. The Archdiocese's school has 42,000+ students, making it the second-largest school system in the Commonwealth after Boston. Superintendent Mary Grassa-O'Neill talks in the article that they have been working with school principals and to help schools develop their Catholicity, academic achievement, and fiscal strength. In addition, Boston College is working with the Archdiocese to help develop a technology strategy for Catholic schools. Just concluded moments ago was the installation Mass of Archbishop Charles Chaput as archbishop of Philadelphia. Scot said it is the most significant appointment of a bishop in recent years because of the problems in Philadelphia right now. He quoted the archbishop's homily: A married friend told me last week that getting together for today reminded him of planning for a very, very, very big wedding. He was being humorous, but he was actually more accurate than he knew. The relationship of a bishop and his local Church — his diocese — is very close to a marriage. The ring I wear is a symbol of every bishop's love for his Church. And a bishop's marriage to the local Church reminds me, and all of us who serve you as bishops, that a bishop is called to love his Church with all his heart, just as Christ loved her and gave his life for her. Of course, my appointment to Philadelphia is an arranged marriage, and the Holy Father is the matchmaker. … In the Church, we believe that the Holy Spirit guides the decisions of the Holy Father. And the results are always joyful if we commit our wills to cooperating with God's plan. For any marriage to work, two things need to happen. People need to fall in love, and together they need to be fruitful. That's what we need to dedicate ourselves to today – to love one another and be fruitful together for the new evangelization. Greg noted that the archbishop said the good news is that arranged marriages are statistically as likely to last as other marriages. He also said that in arranged marriages the couple come to know each other and then love each other. This is a response to any question asking why the Holy Father would send Archbishop Chaput to Philadelphia despite having no previous connection to eastern Pennsylvania. Scot also quoted the homily: My dear brother bishops, it's crucial for those of us who are bishops not simply to look like bishops but to truly be bishops. He ended the homily thus: This Church in Philadelphia faces very serious challenges these days. There's no quick fix to problems that are so difficult, and none of us here today, except the Lord Himself, is a miracle worker. But it's important to remember and to believe the Church is not defined by her failures. And you and I are not defined by our critics or by those who dislike us. What we do in the coming months and years to respond to these challenges – that will define who we really are. And in engaging that work, we need to be Catholics first, and always. Jesus Christ is the center of our lives, and the Church is our mother and teacher. Everything we do should flow from that. … Whatever my weaknesses (and they're many) and whatever my lacks (and they're many too), no bishop will give more of himself than I will to renewing this great Church. No bishop will try harder to help persons who have been hurt by the sins of the past. And no bishop will work harder to strengthen and encourage our priests, and restore the hearts of our people. And everything I've learned in my 24 years as a bishop and 41 years as a priest, and everything I have, I will give to this ministry, because all of you — the people of God entrusted to my care — deserve it, and I love you. Scot said this is why he has so many fans across the country who look to him for guidance and clarity even though he's never been their bishop. He noted that Cardinal Sean and Archbishop Chaput were seminary classmates as well. 5th segment:

The legal and social debate over death with dignity and assisted suicide is reignited. Recently, the Death with Dignity bill surfaced in Massachusetts, where Representative Louis Kafka filed the bill on behalf of Al Lipkind of Stoughton, Massachusetts, who fought for legislation prior to his death after battling stomach cancer.Co-hosts and attorneys J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi welcome Barbara Coombs Lee, President of Compassion & Choices to look at both sides of the controversial Death with Dignity Act, assisted suicide, ethical objections and current legislation here in the States and abroad.

Guest: Katrina Hedberg, MD Host: Michael Greenberg, MD Is Oregon's Death with Dignity Act a violation of the Hippocratic Oath or a humane solution? ReachMD's Dr. Michael Greenberg discusses this originally citizen-led initiative, and current law with epidemiologist, Dr. Katrina Hedberg, from the Oregon Department of Human Services. Dr. Hedberg addresses the requirements for patients to opt for this non-euthanasian, yet lethal prescription. The consent, patient motivations, controversy, and the statistics of those who've chosen to take advantage of Oregon's law are discussed.

Guest: Katrina Hedberg, MD Host: Michael Greenberg, MD Who chooses to participate in Oregon's Death With Dignity Act? What's their education level? What type of diagnosis is required? How does religion come into play? In further exploring Oregon's Death With Dignity Act, epidemiologist, Dr. Katrina Hedberg, from the Oregon Department of Human Services addresses the facts and figures with your host, Dr. Michael Greenberg, including the rights and regulation of those physicians writing the lethal prescription.