{"id":498,"date":"2023-02-11T01:16:48","date_gmt":"2023-02-11T01:16:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edenreports.com\/?p=498"},"modified":"2023-02-11T01:16:49","modified_gmt":"2023-02-11T01:16:49","slug":"dyings-not-a-crime-oregons-a-death-tourism-hub-as-euthanasia-deaths-spike-due-to-doctor-linked-to-hemlock-society","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edenreports.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/11\/dyings-not-a-crime-oregons-a-death-tourism-hub-as-euthanasia-deaths-spike-due-to-doctor-linked-to-hemlock-society\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Dying’s Not a Crime’: Oregon’s a Death Tourism Hub as Euthanasia Deaths Spike Due to Doctor Linked to Hemlock Society"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Oregon has become a main destination for “death tourism,” as terminally ill individuals from states where assisted suicide is illegal travel to the state to obtain a lethal mixture of drugs to end their lives, reports the\u00a0Daily Mail<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least one clinic in Portland has begun accepting patients<\/a> from out-of-state who have a prognosis of fewer than six months to live and fulfill the stringent criteria set by the state’s Death with Dignity (DWD) legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Nicholas Gideonse, the director of End of Life Choices Oregon, recently spoke to a panel<\/a> and revealed that he is advising terminally ill individuals who are not residents of the state to travel to Oregon to end their lives. This is despite the legal ambiguity<\/a> surrounding the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Gideonse and the clinic operate in a legally uncertain area<\/a> – while the state approved access to physician-assisted suicide for individuals outside of the state last year, it is not expected to be officially established as law until later this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critics argue<\/a> that the emergence of “death tourism” in Oregon and attempts to establish similar practices in Vermont highlight the U.S.’s descent into following Canada’s liberal approach to euthanasia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Canada, minimal regulations<\/a> have resulted in individuals with conditions as minor as hearing loss being granted access to assisted death. This has led to over 10,000 people<\/a> being euthanized in Canada in 2022, making it one of the leading causes of death<\/a> in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A patient in Canada with a degenerative brain disease reported<\/a> that a hospital staff member told him that keeping him alive in the hospital would cost $1,500 per day and suggested euthanasia<\/a> as an alternative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critics claim<\/a> that the legalization of euthanasia can create a disincentive for hospitals to provide proper care for patients, as they may opt for euthanasia instead to reduce the strain on the healthcare system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This concern has been reflected in the rising number of euthanasia deaths<\/a> in Oregon, where 383 people<\/a> were reported to have received prescriptions under the DWDA in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of January 21, 2022, 238<\/a> of these patients had passed away from taking the prescribed medications, with 20 of them having received their prescriptions in previous years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This trend could signify the start of a dangerous pattern<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reports<\/a> suggest that there has been a marked increase<\/a> in instances of euthanasia in the Western world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some question the motivations<\/a> behind this trend, particularly given the connections<\/a> of Dr. Gideonse to the advocacy group Compassion & Choices. This group originated<\/a> from the Hemlock Society and the controversial actions of Jack Kevorkian, the infamous “Dr. Death” who was implicated in numerous assisted suicides before being convicted of murder<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

A judicial determination should be made when it is necessary to hasten the death of an individual, whether it be a demented parent, a suffering, severely disabled spouse or a child.
– Former Hemlock Society Executive Director Faye Girsh.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Hemlock Society<\/a>, named after the deadly plant, was an American advocacy group that aimed to promote the right-to-die and assisted suicide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It believed<\/a> that individuals should have the right to determine what happens to their own bodies, including the choice to end their lives<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It celebrated the practice<\/a> of mercy killings of individuals who were disabled or suffering from mental illness, with Derek Humphrey<\/a> as its leading advocate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Humphrey himself helped facilitate the deaths<\/a> of his first wife, who was suffering from bone cancer, and his second wife’s parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The phrase “medical assistance in dying” is misleading, as it implies<\/a> that utilizing medicine to end a person’s life is acceptable. This contradicts the purpose of medicine<\/a>, which is to save and preserve life. Instead, we should prioritize<\/a> providing proper care to those who may recover, as every life has intrinsic value and should not be terminated prematurely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oregon has become a main destination for “death tourism,” as terminally ill individuals from states where assisted suicide is illegal travel to the state to obtain a lethal mixture of drugs to end their lives, reports the\u00a0Daily Mail. At least one clinic in Portland has begun accepting patients from out-of-state who have a prognosis of fewer than […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[129,92,96,341,342,91,86],"tags":[78,126,488,490,231,487,16,343,445,42,39,346,446,443,66,489],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/edenreports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/edenreports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/edenreports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edenreports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edenreports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/edenreports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":500,"href":"https:\/\/edenreports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498\/revisions\/500"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edenreports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/edenreports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edenreports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edenreports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}