Saturday, March 31, 2007
Google, Amazon Help Disseminate Illegal Euthanasia Book
From Sydney Morning Herald
THE outlawed euthanasia manual The Peaceful Pill Handbook will soon be available for download on the internet.
Co-author and euthanasia campaigner Dr Philip Nitschke made a deal with Google Books in the US last week. He said the download version, illegal in Australia, would cost about $37.
Dr Nitschke said The Peaceful Pill Handbook had been a steady seller on Amazon.com, often ranking in the top 1000 books in a pool of 2 million but Australian customers ran the risk of customs confiscating it.
"The download version will be illegal but people will take that risk because they feel they won't be tracked down," Dr Nitschke said.
"We've heard there has been some trouble with buying it on Amazon . . . from people not receiving books. We suspect they've been intercepted or something's gone wrong."
THE outlawed euthanasia manual The Peaceful Pill Handbook will soon be available for download on the internet.
Co-author and euthanasia campaigner Dr Philip Nitschke made a deal with Google Books in the US last week. He said the download version, illegal in Australia, would cost about $37.
Dr Nitschke said The Peaceful Pill Handbook had been a steady seller on Amazon.com, often ranking in the top 1000 books in a pool of 2 million but Australian customers ran the risk of customs confiscating it.
"The download version will be illegal but people will take that risk because they feel they won't be tracked down," Dr Nitschke said.
"We've heard there has been some trouble with buying it on Amazon . . . from people not receiving books. We suspect they've been intercepted or something's gone wrong."
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Sad Euthanasia Case from Oregon
I'm taking this one on faith because it has the ring of truth to it.
Hopefully publicizing it will expose the abuse and neglect in Oregon that hides behind the smokescreen of Oregon's advocacy of euthanasia
I've left out the names and other contact information from the original post.
He describes in great detail the months of getting the runaround by the State until the case reaches it's inevitable end:
I don't think the State of Oregon will ever properly police itself. Hopefully the feds will intervene.
Hopefully publicizing it will expose the abuse and neglect in Oregon that hides behind the smokescreen of Oregon's advocacy of euthanasia
I've left out the names and other contact information from the original post.
What I've written here is a true story that must be told. There are people who have gone to great lengths to suppress the information herein. What I
hope to do is compel those reading it to join with me in demanding
accountability from the responsible parties. An investigation
independent of Oregon's Protection and Advocacy agency is needed to
decide exactly who the responsible parties are.
In early April 2006 I found out that a close friend of mine had stage
3 colon cancer. She had a profound developmental disability and was
non-verbal. In order for critical health care decisions to be made on
her behalf, she needed representatives who knew and cared about her to
gather and interpret medical information and weigh all her options. An
Advocacy Team was assembled including myself, two other staff members
from her day program (who knew her well), and her Individual Service
Plan (ISP) team. This consisted of a management staff representative
of the day program provider (who saw her a few times a year), the
owner of her foster home (who supervised her direct caregiver) and a
county case manager (who was assigned my friend a few months earlier,
and didn't know her). A close friend of the day program representative
was brought on board to act as health care representative (who didn't
know my friend prior to her diagnosis). We all met and decided that
the case manager would look into what was covered under her health
plan, the health care representative would get the medical record and
a 2nd opinion. She committed to providing these documents to the team
as soon as she got them. I said that I would look into treatment
options. Without any of this being accomplished, other than the
information I shared about diet and exercise being critical, she was
placed in hospice about two weeks later.
He describes in great detail the months of getting the runaround by the State until the case reaches it's inevitable end:
She continued in her day program until late November, when it was
announced that the cancer had spread and she was back in hospice. At
10:00 A.M. PST on December 14, 2006 my friend gave in to "pain
killers" prescribed while she was on hospice care. I believe my friend
was euthanized. I believe this was because she was unable to say "yes"
or "no". She was someone with a huge spirit and a small body. She was
someone with a quiet demeanor and a profound developmental disability.
In life she was easy to overlook, but the way she died will not be.
On January 10, I submitted a grievance with the P&A regarding their
handling of my friend's case. After not hearing from the executive
director in 15 working days, I sent the grievance on to the board's
grievance committee. After not hearing from them after 30 days, I can
only assume that my friend's death and her life don't merit their
attention.
If you are wondering whether I can back up my claims here, the answer
is YES. I have documentation that supports this true story and will
share it selectively. What I am looking for in sending this out is
feedback, advice, and legal assistance to ensure my friend's death was
not in vain. I also need help in getting as much exposure to this
story as possible.
I don't think the State of Oregon will ever properly police itself. Hopefully the feds will intervene.