Formerly known as Christians Supporting Choice for Voluntary Euthanasia

Category: Voluntary Euthanasia (Page 2 of 6)

Ian Wood gives a Christian response to Catholic Archbishop Prowse, Canberra on voluntary assisted dying

As reported in The Age, 18.5.2018    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/act/assisted-dying-an-ill-considered-and-dehumanising-practice-archbishop-20180518-p4zg5p.html

Assisted dying is an “ill-considered and dehumanising” practice reflecting a society in which there is more loneliness, Canberra’s Catholic archbishop Christopher Prowse has told an inquiry.

He spoke at an ACT Legislative Assembly committee’s second day of hearings into assisted dying in which doctors rubbished claims that palliative care could always manage end of life pain.

Archbishop Prowse told the committee it was a “lonely policy that only an atomised society would think about”, and said people approaching death experienced a “rollercoaster” that saw them take back comments they wanted to die earlier.

He said it would be a “fundamental mistake” to put vulnerable people at “grave risk” by allowing assisted dying.

When asked what was a good death, Archbishop Prowse recounted a time he sat with a woman as she died, and she squeezed his hand.

“I could tell she was on a journey but how grateful she was when she was with us,” he said.

“She was ready to go, ready to go and approach death.”

He admitted people he had spent time with as they were dying had said they wanted to die right away. However they changed their mind later, he said.

“Then people say, ‘I’m feeling a lot better today’.”

Ian Wood responds to Archbishop Prowse, as follows ……

Archbishop C. Prowse,                                                                                                                                                                                                    Canberra, ACT

I refer to the report of your evidence given to the ACT Assisted Dying hearing as reported in The Age, 18.5.2018.

Keith, described here by his wife, was on a “journey” too, but was certainly not “grateful” to still be alive “with us”!  (See attachment 1 below.)

You ignore the fact that over 1/3 of terminal patients in Oregon USA, who are given access to voluntary assisted dying medication, at their considered, repeated rational request, do not go on to take that fatal medication, but it does provide peace of mind in that they can choose to exit life if the suffering becomes unbearable. Having access is palliative in its own right.

Certainly when my sister-in-law Joyce died from ovarian cancer that had spread to her bones, she was not capable of squeezing any hands during her last two days! She said goodbye to her husband and family on a Sunday afternoon, but lingered on in a semi coma for another two days. In moments of lucidity she would ask why am I still here? Her husband is still suffering from the trauma of watching these last days. How much better and more compassionate it would have been for Joyce if she could have asked for, and been given medication to assist her to go to sleep and not wake up, after those final goodbyes.

The truly vulnerable are those who Continue reading

Ian Wood responds to Archbishop Julian Porteous of Tasmania, and his interview – a Christian Alternative to Euthanasia

The Art of Dying – A Christian Alternative to Euthanasia. Archbishop Julian Porteus. His interview on Cradio, Tasmania. https://cradio.org.au/shows-and-audio/exclusive-to-cradio/q-a/art-dying-christian-alternative-euthanasia/#comment-152750

A Christian response to the Archbishop from Ian Wood.

I urge the Archbishop and his listeners on Cradio  to take the time to view two contrasting deaths, from the many I have on file.

The assisted death of John Shields in Canada. “At his own wake” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/25/world/canada/euthanasia-bill-john-shields-death.html

A fascinating depiction of how John, raised in a Catholic family, was ordained as a priest, but left the Church after being barred from preaching when he challenged the church opposition to birth control. Read about John’s life as a social worker, his diagnosis with terminal neuropathy and then his advocacy for Medical Assistance in Dying, and using that choice at the end.

John Shields says goodbye to friends and family at his own ‘Irish wake’

Please compare John’s death with that of Flora Lormier from Multiple Sclerosis.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/help-die-family-release-heartbreaking-9614060#ICID=sharebar_facebook

Flora became paralysed from the neck down as her MS progressed.  Her daughter Tracey Taylor posted these photos on a Facebook page and in media such as the Mirror, UK, in the hope it would alert MPs to the futile horrific suffering endured by some people as they die.

Warning: disturbing images….. Continue reading

Hawaii 7th US state to pass law giving choice for voluntary assisted dying.

An historic day in Hawaii. Governor David Ige has just signed the Our Care, Our Choice Act into law so the residents of Hawaii will now join those of Oregon, Washington, Vermont, California, Colorado, and Washington, D.C. in having the option, should they be terminally ill with less than 6 months to live, to end their lives in a humane and dignified manner. April 6, 2018.  Please share this great news.

Parliamentary Inquiry into End of Life Choices ongoing in Western Australia – please note!

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Victoria has become the first state to legalise assisted dying choice!

In an historic and humane victory for commonsense, Victoria has become the first state to legalise assisted dying choice!  Well done Victoria!

There was a deplorable lack of Christian compassion for the terminally ill with unbearable suffering shown by the MLCs opposing the NSW Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill, resulting in its recent defeat. Indeed, many of the Victorian MPs opposing Voluntary Assisted Dying showed a similar lack of compassion and empathy, but thankfully these were outnumbered when it came to the final vote.

To sum up briefly…..

  • The vote on the NSW Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill was lost in the NSW Legislative Council (upper house) by 20 votes to 19 on Thursday 16 November 2017.
  • The Victorian Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill passed the lower house on Oct 20, 2017, by 47 votes to 36, after a long and sometimes bitter debate. It then moved to the upper house.
  • The Bill passed the Victorian upper house by 22 votes to 18, but with amendments. This meant it had to go back to the lower house for the amendments to be accepted.
  • Back in the lower house, Wednesday 29.11.2017, there was an attempt to defer debate on the Bill indefinitely, but this was lost 46 votes to 37, and the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill then passed “on the voices.”

It is interesting that the reason for the one fewer “Yes” vote in this final session was that one of the supportive MPs, Government minister Natalie Hutchins missed the vote because she was attending her husband’s funeral and was not granted a pair.

Assisted dying choice for those who meet the rigid criteria will be accessible from mid 2019 to allow for processes and training to be implemented.

Other reports including some details on the Bill and accessing assistance, can be found here > http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/euthanasia-to-be-legal-in-victoria-from-2019-20171129-gzuxa8.html

And here > http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-29/euthanasia-passes-parliament-in-victoria/9205472

My sincere thanks to every one who has assisted, lobbied MPs, written letters, donated funds or helped in any way to make this day a reality. We can now move on to either WA or Tasmania, or perhaps South Australia, and there have even been rumblings in Queensland.

Ian Wood

Excellent news from Victoria with the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill passing the upper house, with amendments, by 22 votes to 18

Yes, it is excellent news from Victoria with the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill passing the upper house, with amendments, by 22 votes to 18.  It now goes back to the lower house to see if they will vote to accept the amendments and pass the Bill, so just one more hurdle to cross there!

 

Sincere thanks to Dying With Dignity Victoria and the team, Andrew Denton and the Go Gentle Australia/Stop Victorians Suffering team for your unstinting efforts and to every MP who voted for compassionate choice.

 

Shame that we failed by one vote in our NSW upper house a week earlier.

 

Ian Wood on behalf of all the members Australia-wide of Christians Supporting Choice for Voluntary Euthanasia group.

Relief and jubilation as the Victorian Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017 passes the lower house and proceeds to their upper house.

We have the encouraging news that the Victorian Parliament lower house has passed their Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017 by 47 votes to 37. It now has to go the the upper house for a vote there, so it is certainly not a foregone conclusion.

It was with considerable emotion that I watched the final vote in the Victorian Parliament Lower House on Friday morning 20th October after a debate of marathon proportions.

   The successful vote is announced by the Speaker.

I trust that the Victorian Upper House will be equally supportive Continue reading

Nurse Anne Maxwell – her passionate, emotional plea for voluntary assisted dying choice

Australia’s nurses are on the frontline every day, working with dying patients and their families, providing treatment, care and emotional support. They witness the suffering firsthand, so it is no surprise that the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association support the upcoming Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill.

Nurse Anne Maxwell shares her experience and explains why we need an assisted dying law in Australia. Please share.

Nurse Anne Maxwell

Australia's nurses are on the frontline every day, working with dying patients and their families, providing treatment, care and emotional support. They witness the suffering firsthand, so it is no surprise that the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association support the upcoming Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill. Nurse Anne Maxwell shares her experience and explains why we need an assisted dying law in Australia. Please share.

Posted by Dying with Dignity NSW on Monday, September 11, 2017

Ian Wood response to Catholic Bishop Ingham. “Euthanasia: Bishop says there’s no need.”

In recent weeks nearby papers the Wollondilly Advertiser, the Camden Advertiser and the Macquarie Advertiser in NSW have run a series of articles on Voluntary Assisted Dying Choice. Most of them have been in support. The one exception, as we might expect, is from the Catholic Bishop Ingham of Wollongong. His opinion piece may be found here. http://www.wollondillyadvertiser.com.au/story/4842391/euthanasia-bishop-says-theres-no-need/

This is my response.

So Bishop Ingham believes advances in palliative care and pain management should negate the argument for the option for a dying patient, facing futile unnecessary suffering, to have a choice to end that suffering.

He does not say so, but we can assume he is adhering to the Catholic doctrine that suffering can be redemptive.

Nurse Barnes disputes the Bishop’s claim!

My name is Jen Barnes and I am a nurse of 40 years. I’ve seen a lot of deaths and some of them have been far from ideal. Now I have a terminal illness. It’s an aggressive form of brain cancer and I know that it can lead to a very undignified death.

I don’t want to die. No-one wants to die.

Palliative care is very good but I know that it doesn’t work for everybody. If it comes to it, I will want another option. [Voluntary Assisted Dying]

It’s very important to me to have control of my destiny.

(Abridged) Source: http://www.stopvictorianssuffering.org.au/petition_jen_barnes

Equally important, the Bishop’s claim about palliative care is not supported by Palliative Care’s own data; Inpatients during the terminal phase of their terminal illness: 4.2% report severe distress from breathing problems, 4.6% severe distress from fatigue, and 2.6% report severe distress from pain.

Experience in Oregon, USA, with assisted dying choice for 20 years, shows repeatedly that paradoxically many patients live longer when given the ‘green light’ for assistance. It is palliative in its own right. It is voluntary – the patient has to rationally and repeatedly ask for this assistance.

The issue is all about choice. Not a choice between life and death, but a choice between two ways of dying. Bishop Ingham is entitled to not request assistance for himself, but should not be entitled to use his position to deny other Australians their right to choose.

Governor Jerry Brown of California sums up the option very succinctly. Gov. Brown is a committed Catholic, who had formerly trained as a Jesuit, and as Governor he actually had the right to veto a California Bill allowing voluntary assisted dying.

Instead, in a very rational and compassionate letter, he concluded –

“In the end, I was left to reflect on what I would want in the face of my own death.  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.”

Readers may note that Gov. Brown received support for signing this Bill from Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, one of the world’s most esteemed religious leaders.

Ian Wood   11.8.2017

Rose and Ed – two very different ways of dying!

I have previously posted the story of Ed Ness, in his final hours………..

View the video and see for yourself the peaceful and happy emotional state of Ed Ness, pictured here

and in this video link http://www.cheknews.ca/exclusive-ed-ness-dies-peacefully-in-doctor-assisted-death-324498/  

Ed Ness died from terminal lung cancer after requesting and qualifying for assisted death in Canada, where it is legal.  Ed said goodbye to his closest friends and family. He was given medication that made him fall asleep and his last words to everyone were, “this is perfect.  He passed away peacefully within a few minutes.

Rose is pictured dying from an incurable progressive neuro-degenerative disease. ”Absolute torture!”  Rose was pleading for MPs in South Australia  to pass an assisted dying law.   24 MPs voted against the Bill, 23 MPs for the Bill, so Rose was forced to take the other option within current law, and she stopped eating. She took many days to die. Husband Bernie is still traumatised.  I trust her death is etched on the ‘conscience of those 24 MPs who took away the dignity of Rose. View the emotional distress endured by Rose here.  https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1387705811251031

We are striving for a change in the law to give compassionate choice to people like Rose.

We fully support palliative care but sometimes PC is not enough, and this extra choice is needed.

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