Tag: euthanasia

New Zealand Allows Euthanasia for Coronavirus Patients ‘in Some Circumstances’

New Zealand’s Ministry of Health has confirmed that patients suffering from the Wuhan coronavirus could be eligible for a right to a lethal injection under the nation’s new euthanasia law.

The End of Life Choice Act 2019, which came into force last month, was enacted “to give persons who have a terminal illness and who meet certain criteria the option of lawfully requesting medical assistance to end their lives; and to establish a lawful process for assisting eligible persons who exercise that option.”

The Health Ministry responded to a request for clarification regarding provisions of the Act, declaring that “in some circumstances a person with COVID-19 may be eligible for assisted dying,” the Catholic Herald reported last week.

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First-ever ‘suicide pod’ approved, promises no choking feeling

A 3D-printed pod, intended for use in assisted suicide, has successfully passed a legal review in Switzerland and should be ready for operation in the country next year, its creator has said.

Euthanasia is legal in the European country, with 1,300 people having had recourse to the procedure in 2020, according to data from its two main assisted suicide organizations.

Service-users’ lives were ended through the ingestion of liquid sodium pentobarbital, which puts patients into a deep coma before their passing, but Dr Philip Nitschke, the developer behind the sci-fi-evoking Sarco capsule is suggesting another approach, promising his clients a swift and peaceful death without any drugs.

His pod achieves its goal by being filled with nitrogen, thus rapidly reducing the concentration of oxygen and killing the person inside through hypoxia and hypocapnia.

The user of Sacro “will feel a little disoriented and may feel slightly euphoric before they lose consciousness,” Nitschke explained, in an interview with website SwissInfo on Saturday. He also said death is brought about in 30 seconds through this method, and that “there is no panic, no choking feeling.”

The machine is activated from the inside, and the person in the capsule can press a button “in their own time” without needing assistance, the Australian doctor said. The pod is also mobile and may be transported to any location of the patient’s choosing – be it a special assisted suicide facility or an “idyllic outdoor setting.”

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German euthanasia clinics refusing unvaccinated customers

Irony has been declared many times in this pandemic but now, from Covid-riddled Germany comes the final proof: you can’t kill yourself now unless you’ve been vaccinated. As European countries battle to limit the spread of the virus, Verein Sterbehilfe – the German Euthanasia Association – has issued a new directive, declaring it will now only help those who have been vaccinated or recovered from the disease. In a statement, the association said:“Euthanasia and the preparatory examination of the voluntary responsibility of our members willing to die require human closeness. Human closeness, however, is a prerequisite and breeding ground for coronavirus transmission. As of today, the 2G rule applies in our association, supplemented by situation-related measures, such as quick tests before encounters in closed rooms.

‘Close encounters in closed rooms’ – what a fabulous German euphemism for assisted suicide. The term ‘2G’ meanwhile refers to a system which only allows free movement for leisure activities for the geimpft oder genese— ‘vaccinated or recovered.’ God forbid that a person without the jab should try to end it all – talk about a vaccine passport to the afterlife…

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Facing another retirement home lockdown, 90-year-old chooses medically assisted death

Across Canada, long-term care homes and retirement homes are seeing rising cases of COVID-19 and deaths yet again, a worrisome trend that is leading to more restrictions for the residents.

But these lockdowns are taking another toll among those who don’t get COVID-19.

Residents eat meals in their rooms, have activities and social gatherings cancelled, family visits curtailed or eliminated. Sometimes they are in isolation in their small rooms for days. These measures, aimed at saving lives, can sometimes be detrimental enough to the overall health of residents that they find themselves looking into other options.

Russell, described by her family as exceptionally social and spry, was one such person. Her family says she chose a medically-assisted death (MAID) after she declined so sharply during lockdown that she didn’t want to go through more isolation this winter.

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