Daily Archives: March 27, 2017

A new bid for euthanasia laws will be presented when the Western Australian parliament resumes.

WA Greens MP Robin Chapple says he will work with new Labor minister Alannah MacTiernan to introduce mirror legislation to the upper house, as the state's laws do not allow joint bills.

Mr Chapple told AAP on Monday they were waiting on the outcome of a Victorian inquiry into the best model for euthanasia before moving forward and were looking for Liberal Party support after fellow advocate Tony Simpson lost his seat at the recent election.

Premier Mark McGowan supports voluntary euthanasia but he doesn't wish to politicise the issue by introducing law reform, so he would be giving Labor MPs a conscience vote on the bill.

Health Minister Roger Cook told The Sunday Times he supported euthanasia and that he would welcome a parliamentary committee inquiry prior to a bill being introduced.

Mr Chapple said that while the Greens had a euthanasia policy, he was working with Ms MacTiernan to ensure politics didn't prevent progress.

"We don't want people to see it as a Greens bill, we don't want the politics to be involved with this," he said.

"Politics gets in the way of good legislation."

He said the South Australian government handled a euthanasia bill poorly in November last year, which resulted in a rushed vote against legalising the right for terminally ill patients to end their lives.

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Euthanasia push in new WA parliament - SBS

NEW Health Minister Roger Cook is calling for euthanasia to be legalised in WA in response to a growing demand for terminally ill patients to have the right to end their life.

Mr Cook said he supported voluntary euthanasia and wanted the WA public to have a considered and informed debate about law reform.

I support voluntary euthanasia and I think we need to legislate to enable people to take control of their lives in their final stages, he said.

Any debate in parliament on assisted suicide for terminally ill patients would have to be part of a wider community debate. Mr Cook said that while the Labor Government would not introduce law reform as part of a policy, it supported individual members to table a private members Bill.

He said Labor would allow MPs to exercise a conscience vote on euthanasia.

Labor MLC Alannah MacTiernan and Greens MLC Robin Chapple have been working towards introducing a Bill to allow assisted dying.

Mr Cook said he would welcome an inquiry by a parliamentary committee in the lead up to any Bill.

Last year, The Sunday Times WA Speaks survey of more than 10,000 West Australians showed almost 90 per cent supported voluntary euthanasia.

Mr Cook said the tragic death of the former executive director of the WA Cancer Council, 75-year-old Clive Deverall, should not be in vain.

Mr Deverall took his life on March 11 after suffering for 20 years from a rare form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

His wife, Noreen Fynn, revealed at his funeral on Monday that he had a left a note that said suicide is legal, euthanasia is not.

Mr Cook said if anything was to be gained from this very sad event then it should be proactive legislative change.

Ms MacTiernan, who is the new Agriculture Minister, said she would continue her work on law reform for dying with dignity.

I will ensure this legislation is introduced, she said.

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Bid for voluntary euthanasia in WA - Perth Now

Doctors in the Netherlands should refer their patients to another doctor if they can not or do not want to grant a euthanasia request themselves, according to the foundation Levenseindenkliniek(End of Life Clinic), ANP reports.

As expertise center in the field of euthanasia, the clinic mainly wants to deal with complex euthanasia cases, such as when it involves patients with dementia or psychiatric disorders. Yet a relatively large number of the cases they receive involve so-called "non-complex" euthanasia requests - involving patients with a terminal illness. These requests can be handled by the patient's own doctor, or a colleague, according to the foundation.

The clinic therefore wants to arrange a meeting with the professional group for doctors to discuss the matter.

Doctors organization KNMGalso wants to support doctors in referring euthanasia requests. "If a doctor can not agree to a request for euthanasia due to personal reasons, it is important that he speaks to the patient about it in a timely manner and helps him find another doctor", chairman Rene Heman said. "It is not a legal obligation, but a moral and professional responsiblity."

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Dutch GPs should refer rejected euthanasia requests to another doctor: end of life foundation - NL Times

Last updated10:38, March 24 2017

ROSS GIBLIN/FAIRFAX NZ

Supporters of Susan Austen outside the Wellington District Court at an earlier court appearance.

The charges against a woman accused ofimporting a euthanasia drug have been further postponedwhile another unspecified charge is laid.

Susan Dale Austen, 66, a Lower Hutt teacher, was charged in October, 2016, with having twice importedacontrolled drug pentobarbitone.

At the Wellington District Court on Friday Judge Ian Mill remanded her on bail to appear in court again on April 7.

Austen's lawyer,Donald Stevens, QC, consented to the delay.

READ MORE: *Susan Dale Austen appears in court facing charges relating to importation of euthanasia drugs * Charges laid over importing euthanasia drug *Wellington woman Annemarie Treadwell's death trigger for Police euthanasia furore

Police prosecutor Carmen Stewart said another charge would be laid for Austen's next appearance.

A large group of supporters were at court with Austen.

The Independent Police Conduct Commission launched an investigation into complaintspolice useda vehicle checkpoint operation to identify people who had been to an Exit Wellingtonmeeting in early October, 2016. Exit Wellington is a pro-voluntary euthanasia group.

-Stuff

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Susan Austen in court on euthanasia drug charges | Stuff.co.nz - The Dominion Post

Ken Palmer, Lansing State Journal , WZZM 12:28 PM. EDT March 21, 2017

Iraq War veteran Allen Hustin embraces one of his two dogs. A judge ordered that both dogs, along with another canine, be killed after they were found inside a pen with three dead goats. (Photo: Courtesy)

IONIA, MICH. - Major, Mario and Luigi are on canine death row.

The three dogs were found inside a pen with three dead goats last July in Ionia County, and a judge ordered that they be killed.

But their owners, including an Iraq War veteran who relies on the animals to calm and comfort him, say they have evidence that exonerates the dogs in the goats' deaths. And they are asking another judge to spare the animals' lives.

"This is just one of those things where you scratch your head and say, 'how is this really happening in our state,'" said Lansing attorney Mary Chartier, who filed a brief in support of the families on behalf of the State Bar of Michigan's Animal Law Section. "They just dont want to admit that a mistake was made. It's troubling that this prosecutor refused to do that."

Ionia County Prosecutor Kyle Butler said he is simply enforcing the law and that the dog owners had their day in court

"Cases like these are unfortunate all around," Butler said in a prepared statement. "Nobody wins in a case like this."

The case appears to be pitting Ionia County Animal Control against Butler's office, which prosecuted the case based on a complaint filed by the agency.

Ionia County District Judge Raymond Voet ordered the dogs be destroyed after a hearing in late July, nearly three weeks after the dogs escaped from a backyard and were later found inside the pen with the dead goats. A dead cat also was found on the premises.

Family members later learned that an investigation by the county's animal shelter manager showed the dogs didn't kill the goats, their attorneys said. The manager determined the dogs found their way inside the goat pen long after the goats had died. None of the dogs had any blood on its fur or collar, indicating they could not have killed the goats, she said.

The shelter manager, Robin Anderson, also said the dogs were friendly and had shown no signs of aggression toward humans or other animals.

"It was never my opinion or the opinion of the Animal Control officer that these dogs should be destroyed," Anderson said in an affidavit dated both Aug. 2 and Oct. 13. "If I felt in any way that these animals were a danger to the public I would have no problem euthanizing them because public safety, above all else, comes first. However, I do not feel that way in this case."

The owner of the goats and cat initially told animal control staff that he didn't want to press charges but later indicated he wanted the dogs destroyed, according to the affidavit. The dog owners were cited for allowing their animals to run at large and for causing damage, it says.

Ionia County Circuit Judge Ronald Schafer affirmed Voet's ruling during a Jan. 20 appeal hearing. Schafer confined his review to the facts presented at trial and didn't find any errors in the proceeding, attorneys for the dog owners said.

Two of the dogs pit bull-mixes named Mario and Luigi are owned by Allen Hustin, of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, a U.S. Army veteran who served two tours of duty in Iraq and received the Purple Heart for injuries received in the conflict, attorneys for the families said. The dogs were recommended to him by a veterans group to help him cope with trauma, they said. He and his wife, an active service member stationed overseas, were visiting family in Ionia when the dogs got loose last summer.

The third dog - Major - is owned by Hustin's mother-in-law, Susan Owen. Attorneys said the dogs escaped from the yard through a hole in a fence caused by a lawnmower.

Mario and Luigi are in county custody. Major also was being held at the shelter but is now missing. The Ionia County Sheriff's Department is investigating the dog's disappearance, Butler said.

Until recently, the dog owners had represented themselves in court. Clarkston attorney Celeste Dunn and Grosse Pointe Farms attorney David Draper stepped in on their behalf after the appeal to circuit court failed. Dunn is donating her time. Draper is receiving some limited compensation from animal welfare groups.

They are asking Schafer to dismiss the case or grant a new trial, alleging important information was withheld from the trial judge. The court has the power to correct a "manifest injustice," Dunn said.

"This court can go beyond that (district court) record and say, 'there is a wrong here that needs to be corrected,'" she said.

A hearing is set for Wednesday morning, she said.

Butler said his office didn't withhold any information in its possession at the time of the hearing.

He said the owners of the dogs submitted evidence, questioned witnesses, testified on their own behalf and called a witness who does shepherd rescue work.

Butler also noted that his office is one of the few in the state that has a canine staff member to help crime victims, primarily children, feel more comfortable during court proceedings.

"However, despite the strong, positive emotions that our office has towards dogs, our office is also charged with the duty to enforce the law," he said in the statement. "In this case, the law was enforced, the accused had their due process and the judge ruled in accordance with the law."

Lansing State Journal

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Iraq War vet fighting in Michigan court to save dogs from euthanasia ... - WZZM13.com