Category Archives: Euthanasia

When we talk about euthanasia, what exactly do we mean? Today, we usually hear about euthanasia in the health care context. For our purposes, euthanasia amounts to doing, or not doing, something to intentionally bring about a patients death. Because theres so much confusion surrounding the term, lets make sure we understand what euthanasia is not.

It is not euthanasia to administer medication needed to control painthats called good medical care. It is not euthanasia to stop treatment that is gravely burdensome to a patientthats called letting the patient exercise the moral option to refuse extraordinary medical means. It is not euthanasia to stop tube-feeding a patient whose diseased or injured body can no longer assimilate food and waterthats called simply accepting death.

In these circumstances, pain control, refusing extraordinary means, and stopping feeding may all allow death. Butand this is crucial to our understandingunlike euthanasia, their purpose and intent is not to bring about death.

Actually, euthanasia could be called a form of suicide, assisted suicide, or even murder, depending on the patients level of involvement and consent. To define euthanasia this way, though, seems to diminish its threat. After all, arent there laws or, at the very least, strong social taboos against suicide, assisted suicide, and murder?

Unfortunately, when it comes to the sick and disabled, this is no longer entirely true. And, the rationale and cultural forces behind the movement that brought this about threaten even more to tear down the legal and social barriers to killing.

Most of us know about Jack Kevorkian and his efforts to help ailing people commit suicide. Many of us may not realize, though, that Kevorkians maverick image masks a serious crusade that is building on emerging legal and cultural trends. Our society is poised to accept euthanasia on demandand worse. What we dont know about that could kill us.

In sum, it is vitally important to understand that everyones most basic rightthe right to lifeis in jeopardy when our law and collective morality no longer view all persons as equally worthy of life, solely on the basis of our common humanity. Not only is it the right thing to do, it is also in our own best interests to protect and cherish weak and vulnerable members of our human family.

In order to do that, we must educate ourselves and others about the growing threat of euthanasia, vigorously oppose its legalization, and pray for the wisdom and compassion to properly comfort, care for and dissuade those considering suicide.

The information on euthanasia is a PowerPoint Presentation (2007) prepared for American Life League by Julie Grimstad, Executive Director of Life is Worth Living, Inc.

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Euthanasia - Learn | American Life League

Judy Putnam, Lansing State Journal Published 4:50 p.m. ET March 10, 2017 | Updated 13 hours ago

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The Detroit Zoo's warthog piglets were names after characters from "Game of Thrones." Detroit Zoo

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Visitors at the Jacksonville, Fla., Zoo were introduced to the three newest members of the lion family on New Year's Eve. Gannett-USA TODAY

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Kathleen Talbot was not expecting to find a two-headed turtle when she stepped out of her house in Hudson, Maine. You've got to see this little guy...or guys?!

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Iyesta, a 13-year-old tabby, was euthanized after suffering from cancer. Her owner now regrets the decision.(Photo: Courtesy)

A Delta Township woman who regrets euthanizing her cat is angry at Michigan State Universitys veterinary clinic for what she described as continued pressure to end her pets life.

Though a veterinary hospital official said its an unusual accusation and consent for euthanasia was given in the case, it offers a window into the tough decisions for pet owners. Many of us consider our pets as members of our families.

For some people, these are children for want of a better word, said Dr. Chris Gray, director of the MSU Veterinary Medical Center.

In Faye Norris case, money wasnt among the considerations. Shes a retired state employee who was willing to spend what it took to help her beloved cat, a 13-year-old tabby named Iyesta.

Norris said she doesnt believe in euthanasia and told staff repeatedly at the Medical Centers Small Animal Clinic that she didnt want that option for Iyesta. She said MSU has a culture of euthanasia.

I dont believe in euthanasia because I feel God created people and animals, and I believe he created us and he should decide when we die, she said.

Iyesta was diagnosed with cancer in June after Norris discovered a lump on her neck. She took Iyesta to the clinic 28 times, including at times daily for bandage changes, and paid for expensive chemotherapy. She said treatments totaled $8,600. Her cat developed sores and had low energy.

Norris said the clinics staff of oncologists, veterinarians and a social worker brought up euthanasia again and again.

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The doctors at MSU think they know when your animal's life isn't worthwhile ... and then they keep pressuring you to euthanize your pet until it happens, she wrote in a follow-up e-mail.

On Iyestas last day in October,Norris rushed her to the clinic for help with pain. After she said she wouldnt put her cat to sleep unless there were no other options, she said the vet examining Iyesta told her there was nothing left to do. Her sweet cat was in pain. She consented.

The next day she checked on the cats lab report and found that Iyestas vital signs and oxygen levels were good, and her hydration had been improving after afeeding tube was inserted. She was angry and filed a complaint, feeling robbed of time with Iyesta.

Gray reviewed the case after Norris complained and has a different story. In a letter to Norris, Gray said that the vet who took care of Iyesta did not recall her objections to euthanasia. The vet agreed that she said she didnt want her cat in pain.

The cat was so weak, she had difficulty lifting her head, Gray wrote. Norris disputes that description.

None of our clinicians would force euthanasia upon an owner nor undertake euthanasia without owner consent, Gray wrote.

He did agreeto continue to ensure that the discussions of euthanasia are as empathetic and compassionate as possible.

Gray said in an interview that there are no rigid guidelines on when to suggest euthanasia. He said its also hard to summarize how decisions are made.

Different vets will advise in different ways, and different owners will make decisions at different points, he said.

He said a small percentage of pet owners, in his experience, oppose it completely.

They are few and far between, he said.

Gray said he can recall no other cases of complaints like Norris. In fact some pet owners have complained that their animals were treated too long before euthanasia was offered.

Because the clinic takes animals referred to them from veterinary practices and it is a teaching hospital with more options we are less prone to euthanasia than other practices, Gray said.

Norris is not only sad, shes angry. She is still grieving hard, feeling like she didnt do everything she could for her cat. She has seven other felines.

Her story made me recall my own experience in 2013. My 13-year-old Brittany spaniel was failing. She had been diagnosed with a disease involving the pituitary gland, Cushings disease. I remember a friend gently suggesting that maybe we were keeping Phoebe alive when she didnt have a good quality of life. I protested. Her quality of life seemed OK but my familys wasnt with lots of interrupted sleep and messes and handling of medications.

But when Phoebe suddenly started falling down and could no longer walk, we decided it was time and made the appointment. The power was out, it was bitterly cold, and I wrapped her in a blanket in front of a fire, stroking her red-and-white fur and saying goodbye.

By the appointment time, however, she had perked up and was back on her feet, even snapping up dog treats at the vets office. Should we postpone?

My husband and son made me decide, probably because she was considered my dog except during bird hunting season when she shadowed my husband constantly.

I resented being handed the final call but I made it and she died in my arms.

It was tough. I felt selfish and, like Norris, I had second thoughts. In the end, I decided that she had lived a good life and that I should focus on that.

I still miss her.

Judy Putnam is a columnist with the Lansing State Journal. Contact herat 517-267-1304 or atjputnam@lsj.com. Write to her at300 S. Washington SquareSuite #300Lansing, MI, 48933. Follow her on Twitter@JudyPutnam.

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Euthanizing cat haunts Michigan woman - Detroit Free Press

I have no ambition, ever, to be the oldest man in Ireland. I do not want the media traipsing to my nursing home bed where I am propped up before an icing-covered sponge cake with 118 candles.

I do not want cameras there as I am presented with a cheque from the President, or bored reporters asking me that underwhelming question: What is the secret of your long life? Then again . . .

Were it to happen, there is just one reason why I would ever like to be 118. I would love to be asked that question. I would love to reply to them: Loads of late nights. A bottle or two of brandy a day. Plenty of red meat. Forty cigarettes between sunrise and sunset. No religion. Sex whenever with whomever/whatever, wherever I could get it. And a very bad temper. It might stop them asking that daft question again for fear theyd get an honest answer.

I have always believed our life design is upside down. Where people vaunt in their youthful sap, at height decrease/And wear their brave state out of memory, as Shakespeare put it. We grow; hold our perfection briefly; we decline. Might it not be more humane were it the other way around?

Some suggest that is what happens, how with old age we revert to childhood. That, however, is accompanied by a stripping away of our independence, our dignity, as control disintegrates and we become a humiliation to ourselves.

Old age has little to offer. We should not be trying to prolong it. Who wants to end up incontinent in mind and body? Why should anyone be forced to endure such final humiliation against their will?

It is said that some years ago, when asked his opinion on euthanasia, a rural TD responded: I suppose theyre no better than our own youth here at home. He could be forgiven as few talked about euthanasia then. Now, its different.

In this newspaper last month we featured Kate Tobin, a former nun who worked for 13 years as a palliative care nurse. She has MS and wants the right to die when it progresses. Who are we to say she should be forced against her will to suffer the humiliating latter stages of that awful disease?

Euthanasia, from Greek meaning an easy, good, or happy death. From eu/good plus thanatos/death.

inaword@irishtimes.com

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In a Word . . . Euthanasia - Irish Times

By Charles Lewis

It ran in The Ottawa Citizen in December at a time when most people were thinking about the glad tidings of Christmas.

Health Canada, the story said, had struck a committee of experts to study expanding the current euthanasia law to mature minors and those with mental illness. The term mature minors was not defined, the story said. The committee will also look at adding an advance consent clause such as to specify desire to be killed in a living will. It must report by December 2018.

It was a confirmation the slippery slope argument against legalized euthanasia was not just a paranoid fantasy to scare supporters of state-sanctioned death but a living, breathing menace.

The law passed last June was supposed to be restrictive and safe. It said only adults whose suffering was unbearable and whose death was reasonably foreseeable could legally die at the hands of their physicians. From the time of legalization to mid-December, the last statistics made available, 744 Canadians had died under the new death regime. The same act that was considered murder just over a year ago is now an acceptable part of medical practice.

We know nothing about those 744. The specifics are private. Those physicians and ethicists who oppose euthanasia will tell you the current law allows for judgment calls since reasonably foreseeable is not an exact science. End-of-life predictions have become more difficult which should be something to celebrate. We all know those who have had cancer, a diagnosis that was a death sentence a generation ago, living for many good years and in some cases beating the disease completely. Euthanasia has the potential to destroy those years beyond which a reasonable diagnosis can predict.

This is one of the perverse things about euthanasia. For years medical science has made huge strides in fighting deadly diseases and finding ways to quell pain. Yet, just as progress was soaring a collective decision was made to throw death into the mix.

As for the Health Canada review, no one should be surprised. Those of us who have been battling euthanasia have long known how Belgium and The Netherlands degenerated into death societies over the past two decades. In those countries almost any reason is good enough to die. It is embedded in those countries cultures and it will not be long before the vast majority of citizens of those countries will be unable to remember a time when life was precious and worth saving.

The evidence for the slippery slope was also made apparent during the run-up to legalization.

The Supreme Court of Canada decision in February 2015 to scrap the Criminal Code prohibitions against euthanasia and a subsequent parliamentary committee charged with creating new legislation demanded by the court, recommended those with chronic pain, psychiatric issues and those who were dying be given access to death. There was also a call to study euthanasia for teens.

The Liberal government of Justin Trudeau seemed to choose a more reasonable law, hailed by some as a Solomon-like compromise. But now the ghosts of those earlier extreme proposals loom.

Euthanasia is a corrupter of society. It destroys law, medicine, and care. It destroys the sense of nobility in which men and women strive to save and restore lives. We still sorely lack palliative care for those of us who do not want to kill ourselves but live our days as if each was a gift from God. At last count 70 per cent of Canadians who need palliative care cannot get it.

How we got here is now less important than what we will do now. There is no political party who will save us. At least on this issue, politics is dead.

Having said that, we should lobby provincial MPPs [Member of Provincial Parliaments] to make sure doctors whose conscience tells them euthanasia is murder are not penalized for their refusal to cooperate in any way with the killing of their patients. The Archdiocese of Toronto along with many allies is gallantly fighting for conscience protection.

Beyond that there will still be doctors who are willing to kill. And God only knows what the next generation of medical school students will be taught.

We must find ways of taking care of ourselves. It will have to happen at the parish level, sometimes the only true communities left in our ultra-mobile world. And it will have to mean that those Catholics who present themselves for the Eucharist, who harbor support for killing, better wake up and remember who they are. You may fool some but not God.

Get ready. Learn as much as you can. A new dark age is already happening. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.

Editors note. Mr. Lewis is a Toronto writer. This appeared in The Catholic Register.

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Euthanasia's slippery slope is no longer a fantasy - National Right to Life News

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Recall EXPANDED: Evanger's Dog and Cat Food, sold nationwide ... fox6now.com Out of an abundance of caution, Evanger's Dog & Cat Food is voluntarily expanding its recall of Hunk of Beef dog food, and is also recalling Evanger's Braised ... Evanger's pet food recall due to euthanasia agent found in dog foodWRCB-TV Recall of dog food tainted by death drug widened - USA TodayUSA TODAY Dog Food Maker Expands Recall Over Contamination FearsOpposing Views all 4 news articles »

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Recall EXPANDED: Evanger's Dog and Cat Food, sold nationwide ... - fox6now.com

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Go grab your favorite pet gently, gently and sit down to share some great news about shelter dogs and cats.

New data put out by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and shared exclusively with TODAY, shows that many fewer animals are landing in shelters in the United States. Those who do have a much, much better chance of getting out alive.

In 2011, 2.7 million animals per year were losing their lives. Today, that figure is 1.5 million, according to the ASPCA.

As of now, about 6.5 million cats and dogs per year are winding up in the country's animal shelters. That's 3.3 million dogs and 3.2 million cats. It's a positive change from the last time the ASPCA looked at this kind of shelter data in 2011. Then, the figure was 7.2 million.

On the adoption front things are getting better, too. About 3.2 million shelter animals are being adopted every year now, up from 2.7 million. In other words, an additional half a million cats and dogs are being adopted out of shelters annually.

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Shelter euthanasia has correspondingly gone down. In 2011, 2.7 million animals per year were losing their lives. Today, that figure is 1.5 million 670,000 dogs and 860,000 cats. For those who don't love doing math: that's an additional 1.2 million animals per year whose lives are being saved.

And another bit of cheer: More pets entering shelters as strays are being reclaimed by their owners 710,000 lucky dogs and cats now, versus 649,000 in 2011.

Pumpkin the cat and Winnie the dog were adopted from different shelters, but now they are family.

What accounts for these improvements? Emily Weiss, the ASPCA's vice president for research and development, tells TODAY there are a number of likely factors.

One is that many shelters are doing away with cumbersome adoption procedures, in favor of what's known as "open adoptions" this helps more animals find their ways into loving homes.

At the same time, the increased availability of low cost and free spay/neuter surgeries is helping reduce the number of unwanted animals to begin with. Programs to help people care for their critters, even when they are going through rough times themselves, also keep pets out of the shelter. These include pet food banks, veterinary funds, and fosters to take pets temporarily while their owners are coping with an emergency.

RELATED: Dog left at shelter comes with heartbreaking letter from kid who loved him

Skeeter the dog loves his kitten, Roo.

Jurisdictions scrapping "breed specific legislation" laws that regulate pit bulls and other dogs based on breed or appearance, rather than behavior are an additional positive step. These breed bans, among their other ills, place an enormous barrier toward adoption.

Additionally, more folks are microchipping their cats and dogs, meaning more lost pets can be returned. (Though significantly more dogs than cats are microchipped, and returned, as of now so go microchip your cats!)

This all dovetails with a major cultural shift in how we, as a society, view our animal companions, says Weiss.

"They are increasingly viewed as a part of the family," she said in an email.

HarleyQuinn the dog and Memphis the kitten were both adopted from the city shelter in Brooklyn, New York.

But how can we do even better keep more animals out of the shelter, get more shelter pets into homes?

One important way is by expanding safety-net programs "to provide financially challenged pet owners with easy and affordable access to vital pet care services," said the ASPCA's president and CEO Matt Bershadker. "When communities focus on ways to keep pets in the safe and loving homes they have, more animals will be saved from suffering, and more room will be available at local shelters for other pets in need."

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We can also work toward repealing the breed bans still in effect in hundreds of North American communities, put resources toward rehabilitating animals rescued from cruelty, and develop more robust transport networks to move homeless pets from parts of the country where they are unlikely to be adopted, to places with a shortage of adoptable animals.

Then there's the one tail-waggingingly easy way you can help right now.

"Make adoption your first option," said Bershadker. "There are still far too many amazing dogs and cats in shelters who need and deserve loving homes."

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ASPCA reveals historic data for shelter pets: Adoptions are up, euthanasia is down - Today.com

OTTAWA Anti-euthanasia groups have expressed dismay at a political push in Quebec for advanced directives for dementia patients, following the murder of a woman by her caregiver husband last month.

If Quebec opens up euthanasia for those who sign advanced directives before they become incapacitated, the rest of Canada could follow, warns Aubert Martin, the executive director of the Quebec grassroots group Living with Dignity/Vivre dans la Dignit.

Quebecs euthanasia law is more restrictive than the federal law, limiting the killing of patients to those who have the capacity to consent and who are terminally ill.

Martin noted the federal euthanasia law passed last year included a study on contentious issues such as advanced directives and euthanasia for consenting minors and for those with mental illness. Whats happening in Quebec will have a great impact on the ongoing studies that started in December, he said.

The slippery slope is really a logical extension, said Alex Schadenburg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition. Once you legalize killing it becomes discrimination not to allow it for someone under 18, for mental illness alone, or for those with advanced directives.

The mistake was allowing it in the first place, he said. Now how do you put a lid on it?

Schadenburg expressed concern groups like his are not part of the federal government study, which instead seems to be relying on research from euthanasia advocates.

The pressure to open up euthanasia to the mentally incapacitated follows the laying of second-degree murder charges on Feb. 21 against Michel Cadotte for the death of his wife Jocelyne Lizotte, 60, who had Alzheimers disease.

Its going at a very fast speed, the pressure to include advanced directives, said Martin. At first, we were shocked by the reaction of the Quebec government and all parties, actually.

He noted the investigation into the death is only beginning and Cadotte had admitted on Facebook that he had cracked under the pressure of caring for his wife, who had been living in a long-term care facility.

Instead of questioning the lack of resources to support caregivers, the government and all parties jumped to the conclusion that we should open euthanasia to incapacitated people, Martin said.

Its quite shocking. Its not the kind of reaction we would expect a government to have. Its like they are eager to open the debate, as if they were waiting for that somehow.

The Physicians Alliance Against Euthanasia expressed sadness at Lizottes death and outrage at the loneliness her husband experienced, and that of so many other caregivers, relatives or spouses of patients suffering from Alzheimers.

But what is most disturbing is the reaction of politicians for whom the solution to this tragedy is to propose euthanasia by advance directive for people suffering from dementia, said the groups Feb. 27 news release.

Imagine killing a person, who does not ask to die, with composure, because earlier in her life she wrote that she did not want to get where she is now, the Alliance said, noting a case like this happened recently in the Netherlands where a woman had to be held down by her family while a doctor administered a lethal injection she resisted receiving.

Most people with dementia quickly lose consciousness of their condition, the Alliance said.

The vast majority are happy, in a safe and welcoming environment, whether in society, in family or in specialized residences.

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Groups push back against widening Quebec euthanasia law - The Catholic Register

March 6, 2017 5:51 PM

Courtesy: FDA

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) A dog food recall has been expanded due to possible contamination with a drug that is used for euthanasia.

Last month Illinois-based Evangers Dog & Cat Food Company recalled cans of Hunk of Beef Au Jus for possible interaction with the drug pentobarbital, an anti-seizure drug that can be fatal in large doses. Now the company has voluntarily recalled two more types of food as an abundance of caution, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

Following is the list of 12 oz. cans of dog foods that are being voluntarily recalled.

The numbers listed after the name of the product are the second half of the barcode, which can be found on the back of the product label:

Symptoms of exposure to pentobarbital are drowsiness, dizziness, excitement, loss of balance and nausea, the FDA statement said.

Customers can return the recalled products wherever they were bought for a full refund. Anyone with questions can call Evangers between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday at 1.847.537.0102.

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More Dog Food Recalled For Possible Contamination With ... - CBS Los Angeles

(KMSP) - Representative Jon Applebaum of Minnetonka recently introduced a bill that would prohibit the use of gas chambers as a method of euthanizing pets at animal shelters in Minnesota. Currently, 27 other states either fully or partially ban the practice.

Rep. Applebaum said he finds the practice repulsive, and said that he looks forward to working with the Humane Society and animal welfare organizations to bring an end to the practice.

According to the Humane Society, an animals death must be free of pain, stress and fear in order to qualify as euthanasia

The organization believes gas chambers do not meet that standard because pain, stress and fear are experienced when animals are placed in unfamiliar, confined gas chamber spaces.

It also argues that many gas chambers are old and may not be well-calibrated, leading to situations where an animals vital organs begin to shut down while still conscious.

The American Veterinary Medical Association guidelines state that euthanasia by intravenous injection remains the preferred method for euthanasia of dogs, cats and other small companion animals, and that gas chambers are not recommended for routine euthanasia of dogs and cats in shelters and animal control operations.

The bill, HF 2054, already has bipartisan support and awaits action by the House Agriculture Policy Committee.'

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Minnesota rep introduces bill to ban gas chambers for pet euthanasia - KMSP-TV

The importance of stories in the euthanasia debate - MercatorNet MercatorNet (blog) The pro-euthanasia case is compact and quick and easy to make: It focuses on a terminally ill, seriously suffering, competent adult who gives informed consent ... and more »

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The importance of stories in the euthanasia debate - MercatorNet - MercatorNet (blog)