Anti-euthanasia group gets behind clinical trials of neural toxin Interim Staff Euthanasia advocates often cite extreme cases of intractable pain in cancer as a justification for "compassionate" assisted suicide. Now, the argument could be made moot by a little spiny fish popular with Japanese restaurant goers as Fugu, the daredevil dish. This particular fish emits one of nature's strongest neural toxins, a [...]
Alex Schadenberg The Interim On Nov. 4, 2004, Evelyn Martens was acquitted of aiding and abetting the suicide deaths of Leyanne Burchell and Monique Charest. After her acquittal, Martens stated to the media that she has retired from the assisted suicide cause. But her acquittal has opened a door for the assisted suicide issue in Canada. Two weeks later, in response to [...]
Following a string of disappointments from the Florida judiciary, friends and family of Terri Schindler-Schiavo received some good news in the battle to save the Florida woman from starvation and dehydration. On Oct. 27, the Florida Supreme Court granted a month long stay to Governor Jeb Bush, during which time Michael Schiavo is prohibited from removing Terri's feeding tube. In an unrelated [...]
Parents consider new tactics as daughter's life back in jeopardy In old Greek plays, the main character often finds himself trapped in tragedy when, unexpectedly and out of nowhere, the miraculous means of his survival appears. Students of classical literature call this the Deus ex machina - the god from the machine. While the plight of Terri Schindler-Schiavo is a tragedy for [...]
Right-to-life and disability advocates were shocked this past September, as a new document surfaced in the battle to save Terri Schindler-Schiavo from her husband and the Florida state judiciary. The reported document appears on "Hospice of the Florida Suncoast" stationary under the title, "Exit Protocol." It lays out, in chilling detail, the anticipated physical and medical deterioration Terri would suffer should her [...]
New calls to change law concerning 'compassionate homicide' rejected On July 31, police in London, Ont. responded to a 911 call from a sixth-floor room at the Holiday Inn on Exeter Road. Shortly thereafter, David Carmichael was charged with first-degree murder in the death of his 11-year-old son, Ian. Ian was believed to have regular seizures and was diagnosed with an aneurysm [...]
Section 241 of the Canadian Criminal Code is being challenged by Evelyn Martens, a founding member and former membership director of the Right to Die Society of Canada. Martens has been charged with aiding and counselling in the suicide deaths of Monique Charest, who died Jan. 7, 2002 in Duncan B.C., and Leyanne Burchell, who died June 26, 2002 in Vancouver. The [...]
For Bob and Mary Schindler, this past spring proved tumultuous in the battle to save their daughter's life. Terri Schindler-Schiavo's situation garnered international attention last fall when Michael Schiavo, Terri's husband, had her feeding tube removed. Only the last-minute intervention of Governor Jeb Bush prevented the young woman's death from starvation and dehydration. Bush ordered her feeding tube reinserted after the Florida [...]
LifeSite News The Florida Supreme Court has decided 4-3 to take on the case of Terri Schindler-Schiavo and the constitutionality of the law that saved her life last October. "Terri's Law," passed in emergency session of the state legislature, ordered the re-insertion of a feeding tube, the only "life support" Terri needs, after her husband Michael had ordered it removed. Michael Schiavo's [...]
Raises concerns that assisted suicide will be legalized Alex Schadenberg The Interim A Canadian study that was sponsored by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and published in the Archives of Internal Medicine has found that seniors have the highest rate of suicide in Canada. As people age or become sick, the risk of suicide goes up substantially, with the highest suicide [...]
Euthanasia, often referred to as "mercy killing," is an act or failure to act which of itself and by intention causes a person's death, with the intention to end suffering. Legally, euthanasia is classified as homicide. "Active euthanasia" refers to an act which intentionally causes the death of another person. This can be done in many ways, but is usually associated with [...]
Same-sex 'marriage' Without a doubt, the biggest news story of 2003 is the June 10 Ontario Superior Court decision granting marriage rights to homosexual couples. This decision, in which three judges ignored millennia of tradition and replaced the law with their personal wishes, has serious implications for the family, our society, national politics and the future of our democracy. The first and [...]
Consumer's Guide to a Brave New World by Wesley Smith (Encounter Books, $38.95 in bookstores or $35.00 through the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, toll free at: 1-877-439-3348, 219 pgs ) Reviewed by Alex Schadenberg The Interim Consumer's Guide to a Brave New World (Brave New World) is Wesley J. Smith's latest book. Smith, a senior fellow with the Discovery Institute and the legal [...]
Representatives of Canadians with disabilities decry Edmonton 'Anno Domini exhibit By Mike Mastromatteo The Interim Disabled rights activists in Alberta and across Canada are again fighting attempts suggesting that Saskatchewan farmer Robert Latimer was motivated only by mercy in the 1994 murder of his handicapped daughter Tracy. The latest effort centres on the Anno Domini: Jesus Through the Centuries exhibit at the Provincial [...]
Karen Shoffstall is dead. She was young, she was pretty, she had so much to live for. But she is dead. At the age of 30 the New York resident and Guelph, Ontario native was diagnosed as suffering from multiple sclerosis. The illness is a terrible one, but there are numerous people who live with it for many years, enjoying a fine [...]