When pro-life people hear of crisis calls we often think of a pregnant teenage girl who is in need of help or counselling. The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition receives a different type of crisis call. Lately we have been regularly receiving calls from family members and friends of people who are either in long term care or who have recently died. These calls seem to follow a similar pattern: the family ... (Continue reading)
Consumer's Guide to a Brave New World by Wesley Smith (Encounter Books, $38.95 in bookstores or $35.00 through the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, toll free at: 1-877-439-3348, 219 pgs ) Reviewed by Alex Schadenberg The Interim ... (Continue reading)
On Jan 18, 2001, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the decision of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal that Robert Latimer serve the mandatory minimum sentence for second-degree murder: 10 years in prison before parole eligibility. Some Canadians believe that Robert Latimer's sentence was too harsh. They are asking Parliament to grant him the royal prerogative of mercy. Only a misguided mercy would result in leniency for Robert ... (Continue reading)
The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition is selling a video that exposes the horror and illegality of a suicide device distributed by the Right to Die Society of Canada. The Exit Bag Video features EPC executive director Alex Schadenberg interviewing three guests on various aspects of this grisly product. Wesley Smith, author of Culture of Death : The Assault on Medical Ethics in America, discusses the mentality behind the kind of organization that ... (Continue reading)
The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition presented its petition, Protecting People With Disabilities - The Supreme Court of Canada Latimer Decision to Parliamentary Pro-life Caucus co-chair Paul Steckle (Lib, Bruce). The petition, signed by over 31,500 Canadians, supports the needs of people with disabilities and other vulnerable Canadians by rejecting the use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy for Robert Latimer whose conviction ... (Continue reading)
Responding to public pressure organized by supporters of Robert Latimer to have the federal government grant a royal prerogative of mercy negating his mandatory 10-year sentence for the murder of his daughter Tracy, a Nova Scotia MP presented a private member's bill opposing the granting of leniency to killers of people with disabilities. Wendy Lill (NDP, ... (Continue reading)
Canadian-made 'Exit Bag' goes global The Right to Die Society of Canada has moved into the domain of recklessly breaking the law for the sake of its macabre cause. Wesley Smith, internationally known anti-euthanasia activist and author of the award winning book The Culture of Death - The Assault on Medical Ethics in America, has uncovered the unsavoury activities of the Right to Die ... (Continue reading)
For many pro-lifers, euthanasia may seem less of an issue than abortion, yet it is a reality that many Canadians face daily and one that is no less horrendous. One such Canadian is Patrick McGurran. He has been in and out of hospitals, undergoing 61 surgeries on his back, legs and elsewhere, as well as many treatments. He has arthrogryposis, a ... (Continue reading)
A recently published study in The Lancet indicates that people primarily desire euthanasia and assisted suicide not because of intolerable pain and symptom management but rather because they fear a "loss of self." The study, carried out by the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, interviewed 32 people with HIV-1 or AIDS, questioning them on their thoughts concerning euthanasia, assisted suicide, and end-of-life medical care issues. The study found ... (Continue reading)
An anti-euthanasia group says poll results from a survey they commissioned earlier this year illustrate there is no way to provide safeguards to protect those vulnerable to euthanasia and that many Canadians have a eugenic attitude when it comes to people with disabilities. In April, the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC) collaborated with the Environics Research Group on the Focus Canada Omnibus Survey of 2035 Canadians. ... (Continue reading)
Wesley Smith is optimistic about resisting euthanasia, but only if pro-lifers get more active In an exclusive 75-minute interview with The Interim following the day program at the Euthanasia Symposium in London, Ontario, April 28, Wesley Smith outlined what the average person can do to fight euthanasia and bring about a "genuine culture of life." Smith, the author of Culture of Death: The Assault on Medical Ethics and ... (Continue reading)
Experts from Canada and the U.S. gather to reflect and plan strategy Those bracing themselves for a downer were surprised to discover a recent euthanasia symposium remarkably upbeat. One audience member asked what the future could hold for her five-year-old nephew who lives with cerebral palsy. Without missing a beat, disability activist and quadriplegic Catherine Frazee replied, "He ... (Continue reading)
The announcement by the Liberal government that it has given prominent euthanasia proponent Senator Sharon Carstairs special responsibility for overseeing palliative care has drawn a mixed reaction from pro-life groups. In March, Prime Minister Jean Chretien named Carstairs, already the Leader of the Government in the Senate, Special Advisor to the Minister of Health for Palliative Care. A point of contention for some pro-lifers is the fact that ... (Continue reading)
LifeSite News Terri Schiavo, 37, of St. Petersburg, Florida, has received food through a feeding tube for the past eleven years, after an incident in which her heart stopped and she was deprived of oxygen for five minutes. Although unable to move, Terri can breathe on her own and her parents attest that she moans, smiles and cries and opens and closes her eyes in response to their care. However, ... (Continue reading)
The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition of Ontario (EPCO) has launched a petition to counter a pro-Robert Latimer petition being distributed by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA). The CCLA petition seeks executive clemency for Latimer from his 10-year sentence for the second-degree murder of his daughter Tracy, and that minimum sentences be abolished to allow judges greater discretion, presumably to allow reduced sentences for so-called mercy-killings. It is claimed the petition has 300,000 signatures already. The EPCO petition wants the ... (Continue reading)