Queensland Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Counselling Suicide to Obtain Life Insurance

Justice Peter Davis

To view original article, click here

“However, one can imagine many circumstances arising where people in positions of trust and responsibility could succumb to the temptation to counsel suicide for personal gain.”

By Hope Australia

These confronting words were spoken last week by Justice Davis in the Supreme Court of Queensland, as he sentenced Graham Robert Morant to 10 years imprisonment for counselling his wife to commit suicide.

The judge’s words articulate the risk that family members and others in positions of trust and responsibility can persuade a person to take their own life, particularly when they stand to gain financially as a result of the death. Such risks would only be exacerbated in an environment where assisted suicide and euthanasia was legal.

Man Convicted of Assisting Wife's Suicide

An Australian man has been convicted of aiding his wife's suicide, after a court heard he had coveted payouts from her life insurance.

Jennifer Morant, 56, had suffered from chronic pain but was not terminally ill when she died in 2014, a court heard.

A jury found that Graham Morant, 69, counselled and aided his wife to take her life. He had denied both charges.

Euthanasia Bill Defeated

"[T]he title of their legislation
gave the game away."

By Denis Strangman

In a narrow vote the Australian Senate today (Thursday) defeated by 36-34 a move to permit the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory to enact laws on euthanasia and assisted suicide. Most of the Australian media was campaigning for the pro-euthanasia move. A lot of work went on in the background with the group established by Paul Russell (Hope) encouraging a joint-Party meeting for Senators and staff to hear from two experienced Doctors from Victoria.

Victoria's Euthanasia Bill Not What it Was Promised to Be

Fabian Stahle, of Sweden, has issued a thoughtful and detailed report regarding Oregon's six months of live criteria, which is determined in practice to include people with years to live, and not necessarily on a voluntary basis.

The material below is on page 4 of his report, regarding Victoria, which recently enacted a similar standard. I urge readers to also consider his entire report at this link.

Is Self-Administration Enforceable?

By Margaret Dore, Esq.

Victoria's deceptively named Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill uses the term, "self-administer," at least 30 times.[1] Indeed, self-administration of the lethal dose was a major selling point of the bill, to convince the public and Parliament that patients would be in control.

But, the term is not defined.

Wrap Up Australia

Rachel Carling-Jenkins, Victoria MP

Two weeks ago, the Upper House of New South Wales defeated a bill seeking to legalise assisted suicide and euthanasia.[1] Last week, Victoria's Upper House went the opposite direction, voting to approve a similar bill 22 to 18.[2]

The vote in Victoria was disappointing, but featured a marathon debate in which MPs, such as Rachel Carling-Jenkins, focused on what the bill actually said and did, which is not what proponents claim.

The Victoria bill is expected to return to the Lower House to address amendments.

Victoria Bill: "Offence to Induce Self-administration of a Voluntary Assisted Dying Substance" Is an Oxymoron and Unenforceable

Oxymoron

By Margaret Dore, Esq.,

The bill, Clause 86, contains the "offence to induce self-administration of a voluntary assisted dying substance." The Clause states:

A person must not, by dishonesty or undue influence, induce another person to self-administer a voluntary assisted dying substance in accordance with a self-administration permit. 

This clause is too vague and uncertain to be enforced for the following reasons. The terms, "dishonesty" and "undue influence" are not defined in the bill. The clause, itself, is an oxymoron, i.e., a combination of contradictory and incongruous words  ("dishonesty" or "undue influence" to induce another person to administer a "voluntary" substance "in accordance" with a "self-administration" permit). The offence is unenforceable.

Assisting Persons Can Have an Agenda

Michelle Carter assisted boyfriend's suicide,
"wanted sympathy, attention"

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

Persons assisting a suicide can have an agenda. Consider Tammy Sawyer, trustee for Thomas Middleton in Oregon. Two days after his death by assisted suicide, she sold his home and deposited the proceeds into bank accounts for her own benefit.[1]

In other US states, reported motives for assisting suicide include: the “thrill” of getting other people to kill themselves; a desire for sympathy and attention; and “want[ing] to see someone die.”[2]

If Victoria Follows Oregon, "Six Months to Live" Will Include Young Adults With Insulin Dependent Diabetes

William Toffler, MD

By Margaret Dore, updated 11/19/17.

On Friday, William Toffler, a physician and professor of family medicine in Oregon, explained the implications of a six months to live criteria proposed for euthanasia/assisted suicide in Victoria. In a letter and declaration to Members of the Legislative Council, Dr. Toffler stated:

In Oregon, a similar six months to live criteria is interpreted to include people with chronic conditions, such as chronic lower respiratory disease and insulin dependent diabetes (more formally known as "diabetes mellitus").

New South Wales Defeats Assisted Suicide & Euthanasia

NSW Legislative Council

Today, the New South Wales' Upper House voted against a purported "Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill."

The bill would have legalized assisted suicide and euthanasia, on both a voluntary and non-voluntary basis, for dying and non-dying people. The vote was 20 to 19.

HOPE: Bill in New South Wales Provides For Assisted Suicide and Direct Killing

Dear Friend

The Legislative Council debate on the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017 will begin today. (11/16/17)

The long title of the Bill states that Bill is about assistance to persons to “end their own lives”.

However, Clause 5 also provides for a medical practitioner or a nurse to directly kill a person by administering a lethal substance to the person.

The Australian: "Patient’s Recovery Convinces Doctor to Fight Euthanasia Laws"

For a pdf version, click here, to  see article as published, click here.

Dr. Stevens, Jeanette Hall ("I am so happy to be alive!")

When American doctor Kenneth Stevens heard about Victoria’s plan to introduce assisted dying for the terminally ill he couldn’t help but recall the story of his ­patient Jeanette Hall.

Hall, then 55, came to Stevens in 2000 after being diagnosed with inoperable colon cancer in Portland, Oregon, a state that in 1997 introduced laws enabling doctors to prescribe fatal pills to the terminally ill.

Assisted Suicide Is a Prescription for Abuse

Nancy Elliott

I am a former three-term State Representative in the state of New Hampshire USA. I was alarmed to see that Victoria may be close to passing a bill to legalize assisted suicide.

Four years ago, the New Hampshire House of Representatives voted down a similar bill in a bipartisan vote. The vote was an overwhelming 3 to 1 defeat, 219 to 66.*

Many representatives who initially thought that they were for the law, became uncomfortable when they studied it further. Contrary to promoting “choice” for older people, assisted suicide laws are a prescription for abuse. They empower heirs and others to pressure and abuse older people to cut short their lives. This is especially an issue when the older person has money. There is NO assisted-suicide bill that you can write to correct this huge problem.

Margaret Dore Analysis Opposing Victoria Euthanasia Bill

Council Chamber

To view this analysis as a pdf, click the following links containing, an index; a memo; and an appendix

I.  INTRODUCTION

I am an attorney in Washington State USA where assisted suicide is legal.[1] I am also president of Choice is an Illusion, a nonprofit corporation opposed to assisted suicide and euthanasia. Last year, I met with a parliamentary delegation from the Legal and Social Issues Committee, Parliament of Victoria, to discuss Oregon’s law and related issues.

Washington’s law is based on Oregon’s law. Both laws are similar to the proposed bill, titled the “Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill.” The bill, however, is not limited to voluntary deaths or to people near death. I urge you to reject this measure.

Oregon's Statistics Provide Little, If Any, Support for Passage Due to Physical Pain

By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

According to Oregon’s official government statistics, there were 47 people who died under its assisted suicide law in 2016, who expressed the following concerns:

Inadequate pain control or concern about it. (Emphasis added).[1]

With use of the word, “or,” the total number of persons with inadequate pain control could have been zero. In the alternative, the total number could have been as high as 47.

Elder Abuse Demands No Vote on Euthanasia Bill

Margaret Dore

Margaret Dore, an experienced attorney specialising in elder law in Washington State, where assisted suicide is legal, has urged Victorian MPs “to reject the proposed bill seeking to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.”

Her analysis of the purported "Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017," which would legalise euthanasia as well as assisted suicide, can be read in full here.

Dore points out that in “Oregon and Washington State, most people who die under their [assisted suicide] laws are elders, aged 65 or older. This demographic is already an especially at risk group for abuse and financial exploitation. This is true in both the US and Australia.

An Open Letter to the Parliament of Victoria: Say "No" to Assisted Suicide & Euthanasia

I am a lawyer in Washington State USA where assisted suicide is legal. Last year, I presented as an expert on assisted suicide to a Victoria Parliamentary Committee in Oregon USA. I am writing to urge you to vote "No" on the proposed euthanasia bill, which allows non-voluntary deaths for non-dying people.  

Specific problems:

1. Patient protections are unenforceable due to the bill's "accordance" language;
2. Assisting persons can have an agenda, for example, to obtain an inheritance, or in the case of a doctor, to obtain cover for medical error.
3. The bill allows the death to occur in private without witnesses. If the patient objected, or even struggled, who would know?

" If Dr. Stevens had believed in assisted suicide, I would be dead"

Jeanette Hall with her son Scott in 2000.

By Jeanette Hall

I live in Oregon where assisted suicide is legal. Our law passed in 1997 by a ballot measure that I voted for.

In 2000, I was diagnosed with cancer and told that I had 6 months to a year to live.  I knew that our law had passed, but I didn’t know exactly how to go about doing it. I tried to ask my doctor, Kenneth Stevens MD, but he didn’t really answer me. In hindsight, he was stalling me.

I did not want to suffer. I wanted to do our law and I wanted Dr. Stevens to help me. Instead, he encouraged me to not give up and ultimately I decided to fight the cancer. I had both chemotherapy and radiation. I am so happy to be alive!

This last July, it was 17 years since my diagnosis. If Dr. Stevens had believed in assisted suicide, I would be dead. Assisted suicide should not be legal.

Worldwide Theater Protest: Backlash Bigger Than Anyone Expected

John Kelly, Not Dead Yet
"It's exhilerating"

Excerpts from Buzzfeed:

In the face of the filmmaker's contention that the film is "just

about one character,” protesters maintain that they’ve been bombarded with movies about assisted suicide for disabled people for a century.

Worldwide Theater Protest Melbourne

http://thevine.com.au/entertainment/disability-activists-boycotting-hashtag-mebeforeeuthanasia/

While rom-com ‘Me Before You’ was only released in Australia today [06/15/16], it’s already receiving a growing amount of backlash. . . .

Activists . . .  argue the film promotes the notion that disabled lives are considered less valuable and that the film romanticises death. . . .