Since they introduced euthanasia for those aged 18 and older in 2002, Belgium has seen a nearly 500% increase in deaths by euthanasia. Now, Belgium’s Parliament is considering extending euthanasia to children 17 years and younger. The Senate approved a bill last December and Belgium’s lower legislative house will vote on the legislation this Thursday. A video has been making … Read More
Star Trek, Pope Francis and TOB for the Aged
After I wrote this post about an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation that I thought responsibly handled disability and assisted suicide, I was informed by multiple people about another episode of TNG that seemed to be a little more pro-suicide. The episode was Half a Life and it involved a planet on which all of its members voluntarily … Read More
Germany Memorial Planned for Nazi Euthanasia Victims
This is good news: Work has begun on a memorial in Germany for the 300,000 people murdered by the Nazis for having mental and physical disabilities or chronic illnesses. A 30m (100ft) long glass wall is being built in the centre of Berlin, near the former site of the Nazi-era office that organised the “euthanasia” programme. In 1939, Adolf Hitler … Read More
Moving, Mercy, Killing and Chris Farley
Dearest readers, I’m afraid my writing/blogging has taken a backseat lately to moving preparations (moving back to Florida next week!!!). Besides all the packing on top of trying to keep up with my other work, the past few weeks have been a marathon of lunches, dinners and drinks with good friends of mine here that I may never see again. … Read More
Setting the Record Straight on the Latimer Case
In 1993, Robert Latimer murdered his 12-year old disabled daughter, gassing her to death with fumes from his truck. He was convicted of second degree murder with a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for at least 10 years. For nearly two decades, Robert has received widespread sympathy and support from the Canadian public as … Read More
There is Beauty in Human Weakness
At the National Right to Life Convention I went to several presentations that dealt with euthanasia, assisted suicide, and society’s view of people/life with disabilities. It got me thinking about a post I did a while back on the beauty of human weakness, which I sort of re-visited in a post for Creative Minority Report last week: G. K. Chesterton … Read More
Authentic Love
“Authentic love is not a vague sentiment or a blind passion. It is an inner attitude that involves the whole human being. It is looking at others, not to use them but to serve them. Love, in a word, is the gift of self.” – Blessed John Paul II In today’s culture it is considered “loving” for families to end … Read More
Right to Die? Watch Out. Another Forgotten Holocaust Fact
William Oddie has a must-read post at the Catholic Herald UK blog responding to a program that ran on the BBC’s this week which featured fantasy author and campaigner for assisted suicide Sir Terry Pratchet, watching the physician-assisted death of Peter Smedley, badly afflicted by Motor Neurone Disease. Hundreds of complaints have been filed since accusing the BBC of running … Read More
The Doctor and the Bioethicist
Via Wesley Smith: Bioethicists are a mixed bag. On the one hand, you’ve got exemplary defenders of life and human dignity like Leon Kass, on the other you have people like Peter Singer, who think “quality of life” should determine a person’s dignity and worth. In other words, bioethics is like a box of chocolates – you never know what … Read More
Baby Joseph Transferred to St. Louis Hospital!
This is great news for Baby Joseph and his family! From FoxNews: The baby who was hours from being pulled off life support at his Canadian hospital has been rescued by the national director of Priests for Life and taken to the U.S. for treatment. Thirteen-month-old Joseph Maraachli, who is currently kept alive by a respirator and was recently denied … Read More