Category Archives: Euthanasia

Full of familiar themes and tropes, Irving's meandering brick-of-a-novel is as much about the writing life as it is about finding belonging

THE LAST CHAIRLIFT by John Irving (Knopf Canada, 912 pages). $45. Rating: NNNN

After seven years, 80-year-old John Irving returns with his fifteenth novel in a storied and celebrated career that includes The Hotel New Hampshire, A Prayer For Owen Meany, A Widow For One Year, Until I Find You, and In One Person, books that place him at the heart of our culture, a Dickens for our time.

Narrator Adam Brewster, born in 1941 to an unwed mother, is a novelist and screenwriter in many ways a cipher for Irving himself: his fourth novel, for example, his first bestseller, makes him self-supporting as a writer, just as The World According To Garp did in 1978. Almost a quarter of this one, however, is written as a screenplay (remember Irving won an Academy Award for best adapted screenplay of The Cider House Rules), a choice that spurs the narrative drive, even though at times the content is repetitive.

Adams lesbian mother Rachel, a.k.a. Little Ray, is a diminutive expert skier who spends many months of each year of his childhood away from him, so he is raised by his grandmother who he considers his winter mom. Nana Brewster reads him Moby-Dick, and young Adam becomes enthralled, a fact that his older cousin Nora insists shaped and screwed up the rest of his life, a life we witness unfold over seven decades.

If, like me, you are an Irving completist, you will warm to the familiar themes and tropes wrestling, sexual politics, secrets, war, perverse accidental death, euthanasia, grief, empathy, love and first-person narrative of this meandering brick-of-a-novel that is as much about the writing life as it is about finding belonging in our own lives.

Many of the characters are outsiders, perhaps even iconoclasts, who push against conformity, like Nora, who interprets her partner Ems pantomime in their comedy club show of biting political and social satire,Two Dykes, One Who Talks. The snowshoer, the little Phillips Exeter Academy English teacher Elliot Barlow, marries Adams mom, takes to wearing her clothes, cross-dressing for pleasure in their little New England town, eventually coming out as a transgender woman in her forties.

Because Adam writes fiction, Mr. Barlow rightly observes hes a worrier with a heightened imagination for worst-case scenarios. But Adam is also correct when he notes, When you love someone whos different, you worry about them more youre always looking out for them. He explains, The sexual-minority subject had been near-constant background music in the years I was growing up. These outliers, nevertheless, are devoted to family life and, as Little Rays long-time love Molly reminds Adam, Theres more than one way to love people. Family is who loves you.

Love abounds in this story and takes many forms as the characters push up against the troubled history of their time including the Vietnam War, the AIDS crisis and the rise of tyranny with the election of Trump in 2016. Irving faces it all head on, defaulting to compassion at every opportunity. But violence is a part of Irvings imaginative universe. Corpses stack up as in a Shakespearean tragedy: car crashes, train derailment, avalanche, murder, electrocution, suicide, AIDS and fright all snuff out lives along the way. Darlings are not spared. Its not fair; neither is real life.

There are ghosts, real and imagined, who keep Adam company and also torment him in his quest to discover who his father is. He freely acknowledges that not every ghost is seen by everyone. Yet he is comforted decades later when his own son Matthew sees the ghosts of his grandparents larking about on Torontos TTC and matter-of-factly reports: Theyre not getting any older all those two do is goof around.

Although the repetitive aspects of the plot may be trying at times, it is Irvings affection and empathy for his characters that shines. Little Ray is right: We have to be who we are. And her one and only Adam is right, too: we do meet people who change our lives. In person and in words.

Janet Somerville (@janetsomerville) is the author of Yours, For Probably Always: Martha Gellhorns Letters Of Love & War 1930-1949, available now in audio, read by Tony Award-winning Ellen Barkin.

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John Irving's latest novel is full of empathy and affection for his characters - NOW Toronto

Background: Euthanasia can be thought of as being either active or passive; but the precise definition of "passive euthanasia" is not always clear. Though all passive euthanasia involves the withholding of life-sustaining treatment, there would appear to be some disagreement about whether all such withholding should be seen as passive euthanasia.

Main text: At the core of the disagreement is the question of the importance of an intention to bring about death: must one intend to bring about the death of the patient in order for withholding treatment to count as passive euthanasia, as some sources would indicate, or does withholding in which death is merely foreseen belong to that category? We may expect that this unclarity would be important in medical practice, in law, and in policy. The idea that withholding life-sustaining treatment is passive euthanasia is traced to James Rachels's arguments, which lend themselves to the claim that passive euthanasia does not require intention to end life. Yet the argument here is that Rachels's arguments are flawed, and we have good reasons to think that intention is important in understanding the moral nature of actions. As such, we should reject any understanding of passive euthanasia that does not pay attention to intent.

Short conclusion: James Rachels's work on active and passive euthanasia has been immensely influential; but this is an influence that we ought to resist.

Keywords: End-of-life care; Euthanasia; Intent; James Rachels; Passive euthanasia; Withholding treatment.

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What passive euthanasia is - PubMed

Mehmet Oz, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, is facing accusations over his treatment of animals following a report that dozens of his experiments at Columbia University resulted in the deaths of hundreds of dogs.

The issue went viral after Jezebel published a report Monday about Ozs time at the Columbia University Institute of Comparative Medicine labs, where he served as a principal investigator for a number of years. Between 1989 and 2010, he published the results of 75 experiments that involved 1,027 animals.

Of those experiments, at least 34 killed about 329 dogs, two killed 31 pigs, and 38 killed 661 rabbits and other rodents, Jezebel reported.

Questions over treatment of animals in research that Oz oversaw at Columbia date back to the early 2000s, when the animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals detailed allegations from a whistleblower. The USDA eventually ordered Columbia to pay a $2,000 penalty for violations of the Animal Welfare Act as part of a settlement.

And this isnt the first time the allegations against Oz, a celebrity doctor, have popped up on the campaign trail. In September, Billy Penn published an investigation into Ozs time at Columbia, as well as the fallout over the experiments.

An Oz spokesperson called the Jezebel story preposterous, and said Oz was not present during the research and does not condone the mistreatment of animals.

Here is what you need to know about the allegations and Ozs role in the research:

Oz oversaw studies involving animals that focused on cardiac functions, ailments, and surgical procedures.

Whistleblower Catherine DellOrto, a postdoctoral veterinary fellow at the school, went public in the early 2000s about research at the university, saying that it inflicted needless suffering on research animals. PETA detailed some of the allegations in letters to the USDA and Columbia in 2003 and 2004, saying experiments by Oz and other researchers included serious violations of the Animal Welfare Act.

In one letter from 2003, then-director of PETAs research and investigations department Mary Beth Sweetland detailed an incident in which a litter of fully conscious puppies was placed in a plastic bag and killed with an expired euthanasia drug.

The puppies cried out as they received the IC injection because it is, of course, very painful and should not be done without first anesthetizing animals, Sweetland wrote.

Ozs name, however, did not appear in PETAs letters until 2004, when Columbia and the USDA agreed to a $2,000 settlement in connection with animal abuse allegations. That settlement came following an internal investigation by Columbia.

The settlement agreement detailed a number of findings, two dealing with dogs. In one, pups whelped from a dog being used in a research study were euthanized with outdated euthanasia solution and were not properly sedated at the time. Another finding notes that a dog exercise plan does not provide evidence that plan is approved by the attending veterinarian. Other findings deal with primate enclosures, facility conditions, and procedures for evaluating pain and discomfort in animals.

After the allegations began spreading online last month, at least one viral tweet indicated that Oz pumped injections into puppies hearts without sedation. However, The Inquirer was unable to find documentation from the time of the experiments that Oz himself euthanized any of the dogs.

DellOrto corroborated as much in an interview with Billy Penn, saying that it wasnt him that did the euthanasia of the puppies. Billy Penn also noted that administering euthanasia is rarely, if ever, left to department leaders or directors.

Despite the lack of evidence that Oz personally mistreated dogs, animal rights activists still believe he bears responsibility.

As principal investigator, Oz was tasked with undertaking full scientific, administrative, and fiscal responsibility for the conduct of his studies, according to the schools animal research handbook. But an Oz campaign spokesperson told The Inquirer that Oz was not alerted to any issues until after the cases were finished, and was not present for operations or treatments on animals.

It does not appear that anyone from [Columbias Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee] actually bothered to inspect the dogs used in Ozs experiments despite the invasiveness of the experiments and the strong potential for suffering, Sweetland wrote in a 2004 letter to the USDA. She added that the USDA ought to require that Columbia University suspend all further use of animals by Dr. Mehmet Oz.

DellOrto echoed a similar sentiment to Billy Penn, saying that when your name is on the experiment, and the way the experiment is designed inflicts such cruelty to these animals, by design, theres a problem.

DellOrto, Sweetlands letter says, took her concerns to then-head veterinarian Sulli Popilskis, who allegedly told her: You still dont understand do you? Its all political.

Popilskis, meanwhile, reportedly told Billy Penn last month that PETA isnt a reliable source.

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Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the Democratic nominee for Senate, seized on the controversy, tweeting on Monday that some sick people like Dr. Oz get their jollies by harming animals, and called Oz a puppy killer. Fetterman also shared a photo with his rescue dogs Levi and Artie, writing that he would be hugging them extra tight tonight.

The Fetterman campaign also called Oz a puppy killer in a Monday news release. Fettermans wife, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, called the Jezebel article a truly heartbreaking report.

Ozs campaign denied the allegations in a statement to The Inquirer on Tuesday, and accused Fetterman of using the viral story to distract from other issues.

While Dr. Oz was busy operating on human lives, researchers and veterinarians were in the Columbia University research labs finding new approaches to treat patients with atrial fibrillation which impacts millions of Americans including John Fetterman, said Oz spokesperson Brittany Yanick. Dr. Oz was not in the operating room when the operations were done, he wasnt present during the post op treatments, no one alerted him of the problem until after the cases were finished and he does not condone the mistreatment of animals.

(c)2022 The Philadelphia Inquirer

Visit The Philadelphia Inquirer at http://www.inquirer.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Mehmet Oz is facing accusations of animal abuse tied to medical research. Here's what you need to know - The Morning Call

Animals are reportedly being kept in cages, crates, rolling cages and any containers available as permanent housing and are doubled, tripled and quadrupled in each.

Also, unaltered males and females are not being separated, which can lead to violent incidents. Our L.A. City shelters have become guilty of the same hoarding and animal cruelty that it is the duty of LAAS to prosecute.

Ironically, while this suffering is allowed in L.A. City animal shelters to assure No Kill, the University of California at Davis (UC Davis)one of the worlds foremost schools conducting animal experimentation and the resultant euthanasia of animals they have bred for that purposewas selected to distribute $50 million dollars to animal shelters across California to assure a No Kill state.

KORETZ FAR TOO LATE TO BE RELEVANT

Paul Koretz, who oversees the Department for the City Council, and now candidate for Controller, announced this week that he is almost ready to give his response on the horrific conditions and overcrowding in Los Angeles Animal Services shelters as they strive to keep every animal alive and meet Best Friends No Kill goalafter Best Friends admitted that this program cannot be sustained.

In fact, Dr. Kate Hurley of U.C. Davis. Koret School of Medicine, was designated to distribute the funding to the States animal shelters and LAAS received $200,000.

Koretz is undoubtedly going to offer more money as his solution, which will not resolvebut just better fund-- the issue of underlying mismanagement and employees not coming to work because they cant tolerate the conditions for the animals and inability to improve their lives under Interim General Manager Annette Ramirez.

It was reported in a comment at last weeks Commission meeting that one day no employee was there to open the West Valley shelter, but, fortunately, the volunteer coordinator came in on his day off to unlock the doors and let volunteers enter.

However, a further report indicated that none of the West Valley employees were there for the week and East Valley employees were temporarily transferred to keep the shelter functional. This is the result of gross mismanagement and low morale among very dedicated employees.

Koretz has had ten years to give his report and he has ignored all the problems that have been sizzling just under the surface that was held together by the experienced shelter personnel, many of whom have now left LAAS due to the out-of-control problems at the upper level of this department and lack of concern by the appointed Commission, the Mayor, and the Council.

Koretz began his destruction of LAAS immediately after appointing himself to oversee it by removing this law-enforcement Department from oversight by the Public Safety Committee of the Council and placing it under his control in the Personnel and Animal Welfare Committee, which he created and has headed for over ten years.

(See: GM Brenda Barnette's Decade at LA Animal Services

NO REVIEW OF LAAS AFTER BARNETTE

Until the recent Los Angeles Times reports, Koretzs PAW Committee only agendized items for LAAS since ex-GM Barnette retired have been approval of major donations by humane groups and the two administrative positions for his Citywide Cat Program.

However, his absence of interest also resulted in him not hearing Ramirez report to the Commission that at a playgroup, organized as a result of volunteer complaints of animals not getting time out of kennels, two dog fights broke out and a volunteer sustained a severe bite. Apparently the basic rules of assuring sufficient staff is present at these events where numerous animals are put together to play were unknown or ignored.

Koretz also changed the long-established Animal Welfare Trust Fund from use only to improve the conditions of the shelters to being able to be used for any purpose by the General Manager and has never called for an audit of the expenditures.

(See: Should a Grand Jury Investigate Allegations of Misconduct at L A Animal Services?)

It is disappointing that Councilman Marquese Harris-Dawson (also on the PAW committee) states that he was unaware of problems at LAAS, when he was informed early after his first election and vowed to call for an audit of South Los Angeles services, which would have led him to be aware of the greater problems in this department and affecting his constituents.

(See: Homeless Animals in South LA Not Forgotten by Councilman Harris-Dawson)

So, in order to save his campaign for Controller, during the last few weeks before the election, Koretz is suddenly going to come up with a way to increase staff at shelters and fix all the problems.

(See: LA Cannot Risk Having Animal Activist Paul Koretz as Controller?)

THE AFTERMATH OF LAAS VOLUNTEER COMPLAINTS

Of course, the shelters can use more staffing and management will always seek more money, but from what is shared by those close to the situation, it isnt just the numbers, but the fact that the employees say they are burned out under the current lack of organization and support. That is demonstrated by the fact that staff is not coming to work and employees are using the maximum COVID leave option, even though they could be tested and potentially return.

Even the most dedicated employees in an animal shelter cannot stand to see the overcrowding, refusal to euthanize animals that are suffering emotionally, as well as physically, under long-term confinement and will never find a homeso that others can have space to be taken in and potentially be adopted.

Animals are doubled, tripled and quadrupled in cages. When any living creature (animal or human) is deprived of all free will and placed in a position where it must eat and sleep in constant fear of attack or being killed, the stress can turn into insanity. A visitor from one of the national organizations recently visited an LAAS shelter and said the conditions are like those in a third-world country.

The Mayor also assured a continuation of the downward spiral by appointing Annette Ramirezwho has not managed a shelter, and best known for her role in the controversial Small Animal Rescue Team (S.M.A.R.T) movie, which was made using City equipment and on City work hours to solicit funds for a private corporation involving the team members, and was not approved by the City Attorney at that time or since, although it is still offered for sale on-line. (See: Why is GM Barnette Protecting LA's Animal Services SMART Leaders?)

KENNETH MEJIA CANDIDATE FOR CONTROLLER SPEAKS OUT

Kenneth Mejia, who was far ahead of Koretz in the primary race for Controller, spoke at the last Commission meeting and said he is appalled at what he is hearing from volunteers and will be looking intonot only the conditions at the sheltersbut also how the money that is pouring into this Department is being spent! He vowed to audit the contracts that seem to be shams, and find out what is really going on with the money.

Yet, Koretz has not agendized even one Personnel and Animal Welfare Committee regarding the LAAS Department since Interim GM Annette Ramirez was appointed without public reviewother than to accept donations from large humane organizations and to assure the hiring of two administrative positions for the Citywide Cat Program.

(See: LA's Animal Dept Needs a Qualified New GM at the Reins)

THE HYPOCRISY OF NO KILL & GOV. NEWSOMS $50-MILLION GRANT

It appears LA Animal Services hasnt heard No Kill has failed nationwide in the light of reality and has left in its wake deaths, injuries, heartache and in many cases a commitment to buy a dog from a breeder, rather than risk a shelter dog.

Best Friends, which supposedly set the standard for No Kill, admitted publicly that it is not supportable in the real world.

(See: 'No Kill' Has Failed. 'Best Friends' Leaves LA City Animal Services Shelters)

EUTHANASIA A HUMANE CHOICE, ACCORDING TO U.C. DAVIS

CA Gavin Newsom was persuaded by someone to announce a $50 million proposal in the 2020-21 budget for statewide No Kill animal shelters, meaning at least 90% of the animals impounded in shelters are released alive (not necessarily adopted into homes).

See: Best Friends: CA Gov. Newsom's $50M Budget Proposal for No Kill was a campaign promise

BUT, the irony is that Governor Newsoms $50-million to assure CA becomes a No Kill state was given to Kate Hurley (Koret School of Medicine) at UC Davis. This is mind-boggling.

The University of California at Davis boasts of having one of the worlds leading animal-experimentation programs and is also the national expert in euthanasia (listing how to euthanize laboratory animals and others on its site)which it must perform on the animals after the experiments are completed. They consider it a peaceful ending.

This places euthanasia in an entirely new light.

Newsom was persuaded by someone to announce the $50 million proposal in the 2020-21 budget for statewide No Kill animal shelters, meaning at least 90% of the animals impounded are released alive (not necessarily adopted into homes). Although that someone is not named, it had to be a very powerful and influential group or individual.

See: Best Friends: CA Gov. Newsom's $50M Budget Proposal for No Kill was a campaign promise

ANIMAL SHELTER EUTHANASIA A NEW LOOK AT MERCY

It is important to understand that the same chemical solution that put humans and animals into a comatose state for surgery are those used to peacefully and humanely end a life of a shelter animal which has a future of suffering, endless confinement or causing injury or death to other animals or humans. Veterinary professionals in animal shelters have the obligation to make this decision to provide a peaceful end of life when advisable in their opinion.

Keeping animals in cages for months andyes, LAAS has far too many that have been there over well over a yearis cruelty. Keeping them with numerous other animals in one cage/kennel is torture.

See this video filmed in Los Angeles city shelters after the Hayden Bill was first enacted to understand the potential consequences of a true No Kill shelter

No Kill - the Hayden Bill (SB 1785) - YouTube

I AM NOT A PROPONENT OF MEDICAL RESEARCH OR HOARDING

Personally, I abhor the thought of animals being used for experimentation and applaud every effort to find other methods of developing medical treatments to save human (and animal) lives.

However, overly long stays in shelters can be an even more cruel living death for animals, and it must be the decision of the veterinary experts as to what is the humane thing, physically and emotionally, in each particular casenot a rescue or the shelter manager, who is focused on an arbitrary euthanasia statistic instead of the welfare of the animalsand definitely not a politician.

(Phyllis M. Daugherty is a contributor to CityWatch and a former Los Angeles City employee.)

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L.A. Animal Servicesa Ticking Time Bomb, and the Hypocrisy of No Kill - City Watch

Scampie, a one-year-old Jack Russell crossbreed, faced euthanasia this year when his family could no longer keep him.

After being refused help by the rescue that was originally responsible for him, Scampie was handed in to Paws and Whiskers Sussex.

He is currently living with the organisations behaviourist, Lucia Harvey, but requires permanent fostering in an adult-only, pet-free home where he can be given the attention and training he requires.

Lucia said: Scampie has been pulled around by five kids from a young age and has learned that the way to keep his space and his stuff is to bite.He is very loving outside the home and playful with other dogs, but cannot have toys or food of any kind if there is another dog in the house.

"It's not his fault and he's not a mean dog, just defensive."

Scampie has begun training in his foster home and wears a muzzle which must always be worn outside of the home.

In his new foster home, he must have access to his own space where he will not be disturbed, ideally behind a baby gate, as he does not tolerate a crate.

While Scampie is not the kind of dog that will cuddle with you on the sofa, PAWS said he is a sweet-natured, loving boy who deserves a home of his own with a family who will take the time to understand him.

Director Hannah Carter said: Scampie is a lovely dog 99 per cent of the time but needs the correct environment.

We believe his behaviour will improve without other dogs or children in the home, but if not, PAWS will provide full training.

Permanent fostering is a joint-ownership agreement between the carer and the rescue. Paws and Whiskers Sussex will cover the animals insurance and unexpected vet visits, while the foster carer is asked to cover the cost of food, annual health checks, flea and worm treatments, and any toys and bedding.

Scampie is currently in Eastbourne but can be fostered anywhere in Sussex as PAWS operates across the whole of the county.

To apply to become a permanent foster for Scampie, click here.

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Paws and Whiskers Sussex issues urgent foster appeal for dog it saved from euthanasia - SussexWorld

"We could learn so much from them," Bath Township wildlife rehab center founder says.

"We could learn so much from them," Bath Township wildlife rehab center founder Cheryl Connell-Marsh says.

Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal, Lansing State Journal

BATH TWP. Little tongues licked little noses as 15 frivolous fawns frolicked, nibbled on tall grass and sheltered in their Fawn Haven sanctuary.

It wasnt a Disney movie; the scene unfolded on Cheryl Connell-Marsh's property Tuesday afternoon where she released the animals shes fawned over the past couple months.

I love it because its what theyre supposed to be, she said. But now Im sad, right?

Connell-Marsh operates Nottingham Nature Nook, a licensed rehabilitation facility that handles mammals and non-federally regulated birds. It specializes in foxes and deer, euthanasia, and advice, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Connell-Marsh has been rescuing fawns and other wildlife since 2013. Every October she releases rescued fawns into the wild, as required by the DNR's Wildlife Conservation Order.

The early October release is important so the fawns have time to acclimate to the wild before winter, DNR Wildlife Division Permit Specialist Casey Reitz said in an email.

We want them to be able to learn (to) forage before food production begins to diminish," Reitz said. "Releasing them in the late fall lowers their chance of survival due of the lack of food resources available.

Does usually give birth and start raising their fawns in late May and early June, according to the DNR.

Fawns that arrive at the Bath Township center can bevery dehydrated and emaciated, have broken bones, and be in critical condition. Last year, Connell-Marshwas able to save and release 18 of 50 fawns she received.

She names the fawns, with monikers like Cinderella and Pongo.

Connell-Marsh was sure Cinderella and Pongo were among the several deer wandering the property as she released this year's group of fawns.

This year she named the deer after national parks, including Sequoia, Bryce (Bryce Canyon), Royale (Isle Royale) and Joshua (Joshua Tree). Yellowstone, in particular, stuck close to Connell-Marsh during the release, occasionally nibbling on the corner of her jacket.

Connell-Marsh described the fawns as her little flock of sheep, and they sounded like it, too, with soft bleats every now and again. Some were a little skittish, and chose to remain in the pen named Fawn Haven at first while others followed Connell-Marsh into a field, their ears and tails twitching.

She spends hours, all afternoon sometimes, with the deer on release day. She cant put food out for them after the release, per regulations, but they do often stick close by, bedding on her property.

Connell-Marsh saves all sorts of animals: foxes, songbirds, squirrels. But fawns are different.

They're just so kind and gentle, she said.

She wishes people could see the relationships that develop between the animals and hopes people understand why shes so involved in trying to prevent culls from happening in her area.

U.S. Department of Agriculture biologists trained in firearms have removed deer in East Lansing the past two yearsunder a DNR permit. The culling areaincluded the aquatic center and complex, less than a mile from Nottingham Nature Nook at 16848 Towar Ave.

East Lansing reduced the deer population, in part, because the city averages more than 40 deer-vehicle crashes per year within city limits and the deer population continues to grow. All venison from removals was donated to the Greater Lansing Food Bank, according to the city's website.

Connell-Marsh said if she were to tranquilize the fawns and move them somewhere else, it would be very hard on them. And, she asked, why should she?

This is it, this is nature guys, Connell-Marsh said. You dont get to pick and choose.

Contact Bryce Airgoodat 517-267-0448 or bairgood@lsj.com. Follow her onTwitter @bairgood123.

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Nottingham Nature Nook releases 15 fawns into the wild in Bath Township - Lansing State Journal

By Cole DeSantis, Rhode Island Catholic Correspondent

PROVIDENCE Were swimming upstream trying to live the culture of life, and the evil one wants to isolate us, separate us, make us second guess ourselves in the value of what we are doing. But the power of love, when joined to the Cross of Christ, is tremendous, and we just have to keep doing what we are called to do.These were the words of columnist and Our Lady of Mercy, East Greenwich, parishioner Genevieve Kineke summarizing in her talk the general message of Bishop Thomas J. Tobins Human Life Guild Day.The annual event, at the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul on Oct. 1, was a day for local Catholics to listen to scholars and clergy discuss various issues related to the pro-life movement, as well as to honor pro-life activists from throughout the diocese.The days events began at 9 a.m. with Holy Mass with Bishop Thomas J. Tobin as the principal celebrant.The bishop was assisted by several priests from throughout the diocese. The homily was delivered by Father Stephen Dandeneau, pastor of St. Eugenes parish in Chepachet who also serves as chaplain of the Human Life Guild. Father Dandeneaus homily focused on the intersection of the pro-life cause and the broader, spiritual elements of human life.As we begin this day, with all its ruminations on human life and working for justice, a most worthy and important reflection for each of us to begin with is the Kingdom of God, and the fact that were called to receive it as little children, Father Dandeneaus homily began.He went on to emphasize that any violation of human dignity is a violation of the image of God within us, which in turn is an offense against God, and the best way to bring the message of the dignity of all human life into the public realm is by living in close union with Christ and imitating Him.After Mass, Bishop Tobin honored several pro-life awardees, including two local youths, with the Human Life Guild Recognition Awards. Those honored were Andrew Morse of St. Pauls in Cranston; Mary Fountaine of St. Marys in Carolina; Christine Eiva of St. Pius X in Westerly; Shane Fagan, a junior at Bishop Hendricken High School and a parishioner of St. Philips in Greenville; and Monica Scimeca, a parishioner at St. Brendans in Riverside, who was nominated for her service as a student at St. Lukes school in Barrington.Theres a lot of good work in the pro-life movement going on everywhere, said Morse, and if everyone just helps out a little bit, it becomes something special, something magical, something holy.People want to help one another out, Morse continued. Theres a lot of love in the world, a lot of people who want to bring their unique talents, their special gifts, to helping other people, not just to survive, but to thrive in the world, and when they work together, it can do a lot of good.Morses biggest piece of advice for those interested in joining or supporting the pro-life movement is to get involved on a local level, helping people on a one-on-one level and getting involved in local initiatives, quoting the oft-repeated phrase all politics is local politics.The award ceremony was followed by brunch for those in attendance and a series of lectures in the cathedral hall on issues pertaining to the pro-life effort.The first presentation was offered by Dr. Peter J. Colosi, an associate professor of philosophy at Salve Regina University, who provided a summary of the traditional Catholic view on euthanasia.Colosi went on to note how an increased acceptance of euthanasia has led not only to a negligence of human dignity, but also to a radical change in how modern society views death. He contrasted the contemporary view of death, which sees death merely as the end of physical existence, which most people desire to be quick and painless, with the traditional Catholic view, which sees suffering as an opportunity to grow in holiness and virtue and death as a transition into eternity.Following Dr. Colosi was Genevieve Kineke, a local Catholic writer and public speaker. Kineke is also the author of many books on the nature of femininity and motherhood from the perspective of Catholic theology and philosophy, including The Authentic Catholic Woman, and has also published a critical edition of Pope St. John Paul IIs 1988 encyclical Mulieris Dignitatem, which concerns the nature of womanhood and the role of women. Kineke also publishes her work on her website, Feminine Genius.Her presentation centered on the nature of motherhood in the modern world. She began her lecture by meditating upon the ideological confusion that defines the modern era, which has undermined the traditional views on gender and motherhood. Kineke asserted that the true nature of femininity, and by extension motherhood, is built into the very nature of the human person as created by God, and the concept of motherhood reaches its fullest expression when examined in light of Gods Plan of salvation and the mission of the Church, which is symbolically described as a spiritual mother.The last speaker was Father Paul Desmarais, the pastor of St. Marys Church in Carolina.Father Desmarais lecture situated the pro-life movement within the framework of spiritual warfare, noting that one tool the devil uses to promote a culture of death was to tempt people to dehumanize their follow humans, and to demonize those who speak out in favor of the culture of life. The best way to counteract this, he said, is to affirm the reality of human dignity and to spread a message of love and repentance to those who have undergone abortion.I thought it was very inspiring, said Ann Marie Vale, a parishioner of St. Patricks in Providence, said of the presentations delivered during Human Life Guild Day.I believe it really helped to solidify my belief as a Catholic in the right to life, the gift of life, and how every moment, from the moment of our birth to natural death is precious.

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Human Life Guild Day celebrated with Mass, awards and words of wisdom - Rhode Island Newspaper

The word euthanasia comes from two Greek wordseu meaning good and thanatos meaning death. Euthanasia is defined as a merciful release from life in order to end suffering.

Like any responsible open-admission, socially conscious shelter, PETA provides a peaceful, painless release from life for animals who cannot be safely or humanely placed in a new home or who are sick, injured, dying, or otherwise suffering (physically or psychologically) and whose guardians often cant afford the service at a private veterinary practice.

At PETA, we will never turn our backs on animals in needand sometimes the most humane thing we can offer them is a peaceful release from a world that has betrayed them.

Every day, PETAs fieldworkers help abused and neglected dogsmany of whom are pit bulls kept outside 24/7 on chains heavy enough to tow an 18-wheeler. We provide them with food, clean water, lightweight tie-outs, parasite prevention and treatment, free spay or neuter surgeries, sturdy wooden doghouses stuffed with straw bedding, and much-needed affection.

What we see on a daily basis is enough to make you lose faith in humanity. The vast majority of the animals we take in were never treated as companions but instead spent their entire lives penned or chained up outside in all weather extremes. They were never socialized or allowed out of the small dirt circles to which they were confined, let alone allowed inside a home. They exist in perpetual fear and anxiety, struggling to cope with the daily challenge of surviving in inadequate living conditions. Others are indeed beloved companions who are elderly, ailing, injured, dying, aggressive, or otherwise unadoptable, and PETA provides them with a gentle release from suffering, always at no charge to their guardians. The adoptable animals we take in are placed through our adoption program or transferred to trusted local shelter partners.

So, how does euthanasia fit into PETAs work to alleviate suffering? One pit bull we gained custody of, namedAsia, looked like a skeleton covered with skin when PETA released her from the 15-pound chain that had weighed her down for years. She suffered from three painful and deadly intestinal obstructions, which prevented her from keeping any food down, and faced an agonizing, lingering death, so a veterinarian recommended euthanasia to end her suffering. We pursued criminal charges against those responsible for her condition, leading to their conviction for cruelty to animals. And that was just one of the dozens of sad cases that we see every month.

Almost all the animals we take in have been living in abysmal conditions, and we frequently work with local law-enforcement agencies to pursue charges against their abusers to prevent them from owning and harming animals again.

To combat suffering and animal homelessness, PETAs low- to no-cost spay-and-neuter mobile clinics have sterilized nearly 197,000 animals since 2001, preventing hundreds of thousands of unwanted puppies and kittens from being born, neglected, abandoned, abused, or euthanized. And on a national level, PETA focuses on the root of the problem through ourcelebrity spay/neuter and adoption campaigns and other efforts.

As long as companion animals are still bred on purpose and people arent spaying and neutering their dogs and cats, open-admission animal shelters and organizations like PETA will have to deal with the results in a caring and humane manner. PETA is proud to provide a safe haven for animals who have no other place to turnhere, they are welcomed with open arms.

Please, if you care about animals, help prevent more of them from being born, only to end up chained and left to waste away in someones backyard, suffering on the mean streets where people just kick them or shoo them away, tortured at the hands of animal abusers, or having to be euthanized to prevent them from coming to further harm. If you want to save lives,have your animals spayed or neutered, and when youre ready to welcome a new companion into your home,adopt, dont buy.

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Why We Euthanize | PETA

While some pets die of old age in the comfort of their own home, many others become seriously ill, get injured in some way or experience a significantly diminished quality of life as they grow very old. In these situations, it may be necessary for you to consider having your pet euthanized in order to spare it from pain and suffering. Here are some suggestions for dealing with this difficult decision, as well as some information about the euthanasia procedure itself.

Talk to your veterinarian. He or she is the best-qualified person to help guide you through this difficult process. In some cases, your veterinarian may be able to tell you definitively that it is time to euthanize your pet, but in other cases, you may ultimately need to make the decision based on your observances of your pets behavior and attitude. Here are some signs that may indicate your pet is suffering or no longer enjoying a good quality of life:

Once you have made this very difficult decision, you will also need to decide how and where you and your family will say the final goodbye.

Making the decision to say goodbye to a beloved pet is stressful, and your anxiety can often be exacerbated if you do not know what to expect during the euthanasia procedure.

Your veterinarian can offer you a variety of options for your pets final resting place.

Read the rest here:

Euthanasia: Making the Decision - American Humane

A Canadian armed forces veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury was offered medical assistance in dying by an employee of Veterans Affairs Canada.

The VAC released a statement last week admitting to an incident "where medical assistance in dying was discussed inappropriately" with the veteran. The department pledged that "appropriate administrative action will be taken" after the veteran expressed outrage at the suggestion, according to a report in Global News.

According to the report, the veteran called VAC seeking support for PTSD when the employee brought up medical assistance in dying, or euthanasia, unprompted. The veteran was reportedly shocked by the suggestion. His family told Global News that the soldier had been making positive progress in his physical and mental rehabilitation and that he felt betrayed by an agency that is tasked with assisting veterans.

ON PTSD AWARENESS DAY, IMPORTANT HELP FOR VETERANS, MILITARY SERVICE MEMBERS IN SEARCH OF BETTER SLEEP

Canadian soldiers, joined by personnel from British, US, and Afghan forces, attend a Remembrance Day ceremony at Forward Operating Base Masum Gar. (JOHN D MCHUGH/AFP via Getty Images)

The veteran's ordeal has since raised fears that the exchange may not have been an isolated incident, leading to questions about how often the agency has offered or discussed MAID with those suffering from PTSD.

The agency has since apologized to the veteran in follow-up call after the incident resulted in several complaints, with the VAC saying it "deeply regrets what transpired."

Canada legalized MAID in 2016, with 2021 amendments broadening eligibility for those requesting the procedure. People suffering from mental disorders will also be allowed access to MAID starting in 2023.

But discussing MAID with veterans is not within the scope of the VAC, an agency in charge of the care of a population already at higher risk of suicide.

Members of the Canadian Forces. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)

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"Providing advice pertaining to medical assistance in dying is not a VAC service," the VAC said.

In 2017, the Canadian government introduced a new suicide-prevention strategy for military personnel and veterans which promised improved care and services. The plan also provided training to medical staff on how to respond to the warning signs of suicide.

Reached for comment by Fox News, a VAC spokesperson said "advice pertaining to Medical assistance in dying is not a VAC service."

"VACs Case Managers, Veteran Service Agents, and Veteran Service Team Managers have no mandate or role to recommend medical assistance in dying to Veteran clients," the spokesperson said. "Considerations for medical assistance in dying are the subject of discussions between a patient and their primary care providers to determine appropriateness in each individual context. It is covered through the provincial and territorial health authorities and is administered by a physician or nurse practitioner directly to the individual.

"We are investigating what occurred. We have not found any other similar incidents," the spokesperson continued. "This isolatedincidentis not indicativeof a pattern of behaviour or a systemic issue."

Michael Lee is a writer at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter @UAMichaelLee

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Canadian soldier suffering with PTSD offered euthanasia by Veterans ...