http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/euthanasia/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/take-control-of-your-own-death-before-its-too-late/ It’s the Saturday morning of the Queensland election and I’ve just boarded a Virgin flight to Sydney. As embarking passengers jostle to stow their luggage, I wonder who my travelling companions will be: young or old, tourists or business travellers, chatty or silent? I rather enjoy the ‘lucky dip’ of travelling on planes. A well-dressed, middle-aged couple approach and indicate that ‘this’ is their row. After take-off, we exchange some mild pleasantries, but spend rest of the flight in amicable silence. As Sydney Harbor comes into view, the woman leans across her dozing husband and asks, “What are you doing in Sydney, today?” “I’m giving a speech for Dying with Dignity,” I reply, with some trepidation. “Euthanasia?” she says, eyes widening. “Are you for or against?” penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/take-control-of-your-own-death-before-its-too-late/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/take-control-of-your-own-death-before-its-too-late/#item8173 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Some people effectively work as plants; double agents within a lobby group, party or organisation who undermine the very thing they purport to be working for. It’s anti-astroturfing. Chameleon white-anting. Dr Philip Nitzsche is, I suspect, one of these. The ghoulish right-to-die campaigner has won Therapeutic Goods Administration approval to import Nembutal, a drug used for voluntary euthanasia, for suicide, and for executions – including in the recent case of Troy Davis. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/euthanasia-when-dr-death-comes-knocking/ Some people effectively work as plants; double agents within a lobby group, party or organisation who undermine the very thing they purport to be working for. It’s anti-astroturfing. Chameleon white-anting. Dr Philip Nitzsche is, I suspect, one of these. The ghoulish right-to-die campaigner has won Therapeutic Goods Administration approval to import Nembutal, a drug used for voluntary euthanasia, for suicide, and for executions – including in the recent case of Troy Davis. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/euthanasia-when-dr-death-comes-knocking/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/euthanasia-when-dr-death-comes-knocking/#item6791 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Some people effectively work as plants; double agents within a lobby group, party or organisation who undermine the very thing they purport to be working for. It’s anti-astroturfing. Chameleon white-anting. Dr Philip Nitzsche is, I suspect, one of these. The ghoulish right-to-die campaigner has won Therapeutic Goods Administration approval to import Nembutal, a drug used for voluntary euthanasia, for suicide, and for executions – including in the recent case of Troy Davis. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-christian-lobby-versus-christian-compassion/ Christians do support legal assisted dying. This may come as a surprise to most readers, but it is true.  What’s more, 74 per cent of people who claim to have a religion strongly support the right of doctors to provide a lethal dose, according to a 2007 Newspoll. Newspoll - a reputable public opinion polling company, as distinct from newspaper polls that can give skewed results. Exclude religion and we find a massive 91 per cent are in favour of medically assisted dying. Included in this support are four out of five Anglicans and three out of four Catholics. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-christian-lobby-versus-christian-compassion/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-christian-lobby-versus-christian-compassion/#item5520 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Some people effectively work as plants; double agents within a lobby group, party or organisation who undermine the very thing they purport to be working for. It’s anti-astroturfing. Chameleon white-anting. Dr Philip Nitzsche is, I suspect, one of these. The ghoulish right-to-die campaigner has won Therapeutic Goods Administration approval to import Nembutal, a drug used for voluntary euthanasia, for suicide, and for executions – including in the recent case of Troy Davis. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/nurses-not-neutral-on-lethal-needle/ With the battle over legalised euthanasia touch and go in South Australia and Tasmania, the president of the Australian Nursing Federation, Coral Levett, has taken the extraordinary step of personally endorsing it. Not that she has done much thinking for herself. Writing in last month’s Australian Nursing Journal, Ms Levett recycled a Powerpoint presentation given last year by the vice-president of NSW Dying With Dignity, Sara Edelman. Most of the paragraphs in her editorial reproduced the slides almost word for word. (To be fair, she does acknowledge Edelman’s “assistance”.) In one of the few original bits, Ms Levett says, “I urge all nurses and midwives to actively participate in the VE [voluntary euthanasia] debate”. But after reading her screed, there is only possible side nurses could take: Unconditional support. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/nurses-not-neutral-on-lethal-needle/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/nurses-not-neutral-on-lethal-needle/#item5575 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Some people effectively work as plants; double agents within a lobby group, party or organisation who undermine the very thing they purport to be working for. It’s anti-astroturfing. Chameleon white-anting. Dr Philip Nitzsche is, I suspect, one of these. The ghoulish right-to-die campaigner has won Therapeutic Goods Administration approval to import Nembutal, a drug used for voluntary euthanasia, for suicide, and for executions – including in the recent case of Troy Davis. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/politics-has-no-place-in-how-we-choose-to-die/ There’s nothing like a good euthanasia debate to make you wary of doctors. Sure, they come across all innocent with their gentle bedside manners, illegible handwriting and attempts to cure what ails us. If euthanasia opponents are to be believed, though, they’re actually dastardly devils with a desire for death. Give ’em an inch when it comes to helping us die and they’ll take a mile – not to mention solicitations from family members who want to knock us off and take our riches, too. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/politics-has-no-place-in-how-we-choose-to-die/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/politics-has-no-place-in-how-we-choose-to-die/#item5537 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Some people effectively work as plants; double agents within a lobby group, party or organisation who undermine the very thing they purport to be working for. It’s anti-astroturfing. Chameleon white-anting. Dr Philip Nitzsche is, I suspect, one of these. The ghoulish right-to-die campaigner has won Therapeutic Goods Administration approval to import Nembutal, a drug used for voluntary euthanasia, for suicide, and for executions – including in the recent case of Troy Davis. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/euthanasia-clinic-a-publicity-stunt-that-muddies-debate/ Dr Phillip Nitschke’s pre-emptive move to set up a euthanasia clinic in Adelaide shows he has missed the purpose of the legislation before the Parliament. The Criminal Law Consolidation (Medical Defences – End of Life Arrangements) Bill 2011 is purely aimed at giving a family doctor who has a long history with their patient the ability to use this legislation as a defence against a criminal charge should the medication given to their patient at the request of the patient result in the patient’s death. The legislation does not legalise voluntary euthanasia.  The legislation does not legalise assisted suicide. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/euthanasia-clinic-a-publicity-stunt-that-muddies-debate/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/euthanasia-clinic-a-publicity-stunt-that-muddies-debate/#item5514 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Some people effectively work as plants; double agents within a lobby group, party or organisation who undermine the very thing they purport to be working for. It’s anti-astroturfing. Chameleon white-anting. Dr Philip Nitzsche is, I suspect, one of these. The ghoulish right-to-die campaigner has won Therapeutic Goods Administration approval to import Nembutal, a drug used for voluntary euthanasia, for suicide, and for executions – including in the recent case of Troy Davis. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/will-australia-soon-have-its-first-euthanasia-clinic/ Exit International director, euthanasia advocate Dr Philip Nitschke has begun scouting locations for Australia’s first ‘euthanasia clinic’. His Adelaide visit comes as the South Australian Parliament prepared to debate new laws decriminalising assisted suicie. The Punch asked Dr Nitschke about his euthanasia clinic plans. Q) What would a euthanasia clinic offer? A) A euthanasia clinic offers the provision of coordinated services for those wishing a peaceful death. Not only providing the necessary lethal barbiturates, but also required counseling for the patient and their family, and the chance to ensure that palliative options have been properly explored and any underlying psychiatric issues uncovered. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/will-australia-soon-have-its-first-euthanasia-clinic/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/will-australia-soon-have-its-first-euthanasia-clinic/#item5499 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Some people effectively work as plants; double agents within a lobby group, party or organisation who undermine the very thing they purport to be working for. It’s anti-astroturfing. Chameleon white-anting. Dr Philip Nitzsche is, I suspect, one of these. The ghoulish right-to-die campaigner has won Therapeutic Goods Administration approval to import Nembutal, a drug used for voluntary euthanasia, for suicide, and for executions – including in the recent case of Troy Davis. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/gillards-gay-marriage-and-euthanasia-minefield/ Prime Minister Julia Gillard has been confronted by concerned members of the Labor Right over legislation that would restrict the ability of the Commonwealth to overturn territory laws. Their fear is that it would allow the territories to introduce their own laws on same-sex marriage and euthanasia, and the Prime Minister has been forced to delay her support for the bill.  Wayne Swan this morning has said the concerns are “legitimate.”  It’s a statement of the obvious that Julia Gillard is squeezed from the left by her coalition with the Greens, and from the right by the Labor party’s right wing concerned it will lose touch with increasingly angry base. Perhaps what is less clear is what the territories’ legislation will actually allow.  Legally it doesn’t actually allow gay marriage or euthanasia, but there is a divergence between legal and political realities which would open up the door to their legalisation. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/gillards-gay-marriage-and-euthanasia-minefield/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/gillards-gay-marriage-and-euthanasia-minefield/#item5296 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Some people effectively work as plants; double agents within a lobby group, party or organisation who undermine the very thing they purport to be working for. It’s anti-astroturfing. Chameleon white-anting. Dr Philip Nitzsche is, I suspect, one of these. The ghoulish right-to-die campaigner has won Therapeutic Goods Administration approval to import Nembutal, a drug used for voluntary euthanasia, for suicide, and for executions – including in the recent case of Troy Davis. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dr-death-makes-suicide-a-laughing-matter/ Jim Carrey. Ricky Gervais. Adam Sandler. Steve Martin. All well-known funny men. Well, move over, guys. Philip Nitschke, the world’s best-known euthanasia activist, is considering a career change. Life must have been pretty dreary for Nitschke lately. He has spent the last fortnight or so touring the British Isles in the dead of winter, touting his message of suicide on demand. It must be a bit demoralising to give a passionate lecture to a sea – a pond actually – of blue rinsed and bald heads in chilly local halls week after week. But things are looking up. Dr Nitschke is contemplating a career as a stand-up comedian. No, this is not, repeat, not a joke. He told the newspaper Wales on Sunday, “There is a proposal to do some sort of stage stand-up comedy. It will be comedy associated with the issues of death and dying directed more at entertainment, that’s what we are looking at.” penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dr-death-makes-suicide-a-laughing-matter/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dr-death-makes-suicide-a-laughing-matter/#item5273 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Some people effectively work as plants; double agents within a lobby group, party or organisation who undermine the very thing they purport to be working for. It’s anti-astroturfing. Chameleon white-anting. Dr Philip Nitzsche is, I suspect, one of these. The ghoulish right-to-die campaigner has won Therapeutic Goods Administration approval to import Nembutal, a drug used for voluntary euthanasia, for suicide, and for executions – including in the recent case of Troy Davis. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/south-australia-risks-turning-doctors-into-agents-of-death/ Today the parliament of South Australia is due to debate a bill to legalise medically assisted suicide in that state. Should the bill pass, Australia’s “festival state” will assume the dubious and rather un-festive honour of being the first to make doctor assisted suicide available to its residents. Unlike the Northern Territory’s 1996 legislation, the federal government would be unable to overturn the South Australian Bill should it pass into law. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/south-australia-risks-turning-doctors-into-agents-of-death/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/south-australia-risks-turning-doctors-into-agents-of-death/#item4549 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Some people effectively work as plants; double agents within a lobby group, party or organisation who undermine the very thing they purport to be working for. It’s anti-astroturfing. Chameleon white-anting. Dr Philip Nitzsche is, I suspect, one of these. The ghoulish right-to-die campaigner has won Therapeutic Goods Administration approval to import Nembutal, a drug used for voluntary euthanasia, for suicide, and for executions – including in the recent case of Troy Davis.