Search

Reports that the Northern Territory parliament in Australia will debate a bill seeking to establish the territory as a site of legalized euthanasia. Allowing of terminally ill, mentally capable adults to die; Hastening death through a written request for assistance; Difference from euthanasia in the Netherlands; Reaction of the Parliamentary members; Opposition from the Australian Medical Association.

Editorial. Reports on the establishment of a Select Committee with special reference to euthanasia and treatments regarding the end of life by the House of Lords of England. Case of Tony Bland; Committee's recommendation on the management of euthanasia; Oppositions to euthanasia; Percentage of people in favor of euthanasia; Adequate hospice service as a solution to euthanasia.

Reports that physicians in the Netherlands have expressed their opposition against euthanasia proposals laid out by the government. Concerns on Dutch legislation that would legalize euthanasia; Increased opportunities for euthanasia; Comments from physicians regarding the proposed legislation; Details on the proposed laws on euthanasia.

Reports on the complaint against the Belgian minister of health, Marcel Colla, for contravening the country's laws forbidding euthanasia. Complaint filed by Andre Wynan, president of the Belgian doctors' association Orde van Geneesheren; Colla's confession to requesting euthanasia for his terminally ill mother.

Focuses on the issues of euthanasia and assisted suicide in relation to hospice and palliative care in Great Britain. Stand of hospice associations to reject changes in the law; Rare requests for suicide assistance; Balancing role of ethical principles of care.

Focuses on the consequences suffered by a medical personnel who committed euthanasia or mercy killing to a dying patient. Details of a case concerning the mercy killing of an anencephalic infant; Actions that nurses should undertake when facing criminal charges; Significance of character witnesses in a criminal case.

The article discusses a decision by the French Parliament to reject the legalization of assisted suicides in favor of improved measures in the care of the terminally ill. It mentions the Leonetti Law, passed in France in 2005, which recognizes patients' rights to refuse medical treatment, as well as the right to pain treatments which increase the risk of death.

The Dutch government is regulating terminal care for neonates and introducing legal protections for doctors. Physicians who end the life of severely ill newborn babies will not be automatically investigated for murder. A committee of legal and medical experts will review decisions and consider certain cases of abortion. The profession has lobbied the Netherlands' government for this reform. Groningen University Hospital's Dr. Eduard Verhagen comments on the national pediatric guidelines.

Comments on the ethical aspects of terminal care and a patient's right to die. Comments on the publicity surrounding the deaths of Pope John Paul II and Terry Schiavo; Critique of the media attention given to the health conditions and death of the Pope; Details of the Schiavo case, in which the patient's family pursued legal battles over the removal of life support systems; Impact of the Schiavo case on political culture in the U.S.; Comments on legislation related to euthanasia and assisted suicide in Great Britain; Moral and ethical aspects of a patient's right to die.

Reports that Diane Pretty, who suffers from motor neurone disease, has lost her case in the High Court in London for the right to die at a time of her own choosing with her husband's help. View of the court that public opinion was not ready to legalise assisted suicide; Pretty's request that her husband not be prosecuted for helping her to end her life; Reaction of Pretty and her husband to the decision.

Reports that the Flemish Federation for Palliative Care launched a public campaign demanding that proposed legislation of euthanasia in Belgium include a so-called palliative filter. Fears that doctors unfamiliar with palliative care may inadequately inform patients of alternatives to euthanasia; Plans for the discussion of palliative care in the Belgian Parliament; Details of the proposals.

Reports that Diane Pretty, who suffers from motor neuron disease, won the battle to have her right to die case reviewed in the British high court. Her wish to die when she chooses despite being physically unable to take her own life; How her husband could be prosecuted under the 1961 Suicide Act if he helped to end her life; Argument of the organisations Liberty and the Voluntary Euthanasia Society that Mr. Petty should be allowed to end his wife's life because of the exceptional circumstances of the case.

Argues in favor of physician-assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia in the United States (U.S.). Stand of the U.S. government on euthanasia; Justifications for legalizing euthanasia; Reference to other countries where euthanasia is legal.

Reports on the recommendation of France's National Ethics Committee that the ban on euthanasia should be adapted to allow for exceptional cases. Instances of unrecorded euthanasia in France annually, and efforts to end the secrecy; Opposition to lifting the ban in France and in neighboring Belgium.

Discusses a law in Switzerland that allows assisted suicide that has prompted lawmakers to investigate the so-called gray area between assisted suicide and euthanasia. Investigation of a case involving Exit, a right-to-die organization, and their role in the suicide of a tetraplegic man; Controversial cases that Exit has been involved in.

Reports that on August 10, 1999, the Dutch ministers of justice and health proposed a bill to extend existing legislation on euthanasia and assisted suicide to children 12-16 years, even if their parents disagree. Details of the proposed bill.

Focuses on the government policy of euthanasia in Europe. Modification of the law by doctors and patients; Dismissal of nurses for arranging deaths of patients without reference to the doctor in charge; Issue on abortion.

Comments on the political dilemma involving euthanasia in the Netherlands. The solution proposed by Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers; Views of Christian Democrats; Concerns of some doctors about proposed changes; More.

Presents news briefs related to government policy involving medical issues in March 1997. Canada's Senate as moving toward passage of a private member's bill that would legalize passive euthanasia; How the Criminal Code would be amended; 2000 junior doctors in New South Wales, Australia who are on indefinite strike; Their protest against the federal government's restriction on Medicare training posts.

Reports on the progress of a bill in Australia which would prohibit Australian territories from passing euthanasia laws. The passage of the Andrews' bill in the lower house of the Australian Federal Parliament; Whether the Senate will pass the bill; The effect that the federal legislation would have on the Northern Territory Right of the Terminally Ill Act.

Reports on the passage of the Right of the Terminally Ill Amendment Bill by the Northern Territory Parliament in Australia. The bill as an improved version of an original bill; Specific changes made to bill; The view that the philosophical debate concerning euthanasia was over facilitating the quick passage of the bill; The defeat of an amendment concerning the qualifications of aboriginal translators.

Reports on plans to survey doctors in the Netherlands on their attitudes towards euthanasia to clarify why life-terminating actions are not reported. Agencies involved in the planned research; Government effort to evaluate the guidelines on euthanasia; Increase in the number of reported cases of euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Reports on Canada's Special Senate Committee on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide's recommendations for the amendment of the Criminal Code on euthanasia. Creation of a third category of murder; Creation of a separate offense of compassionate homicide.

Reports on a ruling by the German Federal Supreme Court which strengthened patient's rights for passive euthanasia.

Reports on the ruling by the Dutch Supreme Court recognizing the necessity of euthanasia or assisted suicide for patients with mental suffering. Call on doctors to consult a colleague before deciding on whether to administer euthanasia; Judgment in the case against Dr. Boudewijn Chabot who assisted in the suicide of a 50-year-old divorced woman.

Reports on the British government's response to a House of Lords select committee report on medical ethics. Government opposition to the legalization of euthanasia; Endorsement of the House of Lords' view that `double effect' is not a reason for withholding treatment as long as long as the intention is not to kill; Policy on the management of persistent vegetative state and the punishment for murder.

Reports that the Dutch cabinet will permit doctors involved in euthanasia to have their cases reviewed by doctors, lawyers and ethicists. Separate medical ethical review for doctors who violated the strict guidelines; Reason for the amendment of the notification procedure; Guidelines' provisions; Prosecution process; Significance of the proposals.

Reports on the first legal euthanasia case in the Northern Territory. Rights of the Terminally Ill Act as the basis of euthanasia in the territory; Implications on the future of terminally ill patients; Opposition from `right to life' groups.

Reports on Annie Lindsell's efforts to get government approval of voluntary euthanasia in Great Britain. Lindsell's physical condition; Refusal to be dependent on caregivers for her existence.

Reports on the establishment of a House of Lords Select Committee on Medical Ethics in Great Britain as a result of euthanasia cases. Unanimous opinion of the committee on voluntary euthanasia; Incompetent patients; Advance directives; Resources.

Informs that the Senate of Canada established a Special Senate Committee on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide on February 23, 1994, to report on legal, social and ethical issues related to euthanasia and assisted suicide. Its findings to be presented by December 15; The Supreme Court decision concerning amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patient Sue Rodriguez.