1. Cabinet stands firm on assisted suicide – Swissinfo.org 2. Profile: Peter Singer – SMH 3. Sleeping Pill May Reverse Comatose Patients, Study Says - CNSNews 4. Australia's Most Trusted - Readers Digest
1. Cabinet stands firm on assisted suicide
Swissinfo.org May 31, 2006
Laws governing assisted suicide in Switzerland are sufficient, according to the cabinet, which said on Wednesday it had no plans to tighten the rules.
Pressure has been mounting for the practice to be more tightly controlled, partly because Switzerland has gained a reputation for "death tourism".
Announcing the decision on Wednesday, Justice Minister Christoph Blocher said "the cabinet had come to the conclusion that [new legislation] was not necessary".
Parliament had called on the government to examine the law which forbids euthanasia, but tolerates assisted suicide, for example by allowing patients to be deprived of life-saving medicine or sustenance, or to be given medicine that shortens their life.
Several organisations in Switzerland exist to advise on and facilitate assisted suicide, and this has led to increasing numbers of foreigners coming to the country specifically to die.
The decision sparked criticism from three of four political parties in government, which accused the cabinet of ignoring the will of parliament.
Guidelines enough The cabinet decision was based on a report by the justice ministry, which concluded that overarching rules relating to assisted suicide were not practical since each case was different. It said the guidelines of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences were more suited to dealing with the practice.
The cabinet also balked at outlawing assisted suicide in which it is legal to help someone to die provided the person providing assistance has no direct interest.
"All experts were unanimous on this question," Blocher told a news conference. "The law is sufficient here, too."
The cabinet also has no plans to rein in organisations which arrange assisted suicide, including Exit and Dignitas. The cabinet said monitoring their activities would lead to too much bureaucracy and would have the effect of legitimising such groups.
Drugs The only measure the cabinet said it would consider was whether to make it more difficult to obtain drugs used in assisted suicide. It will consider whether to revise the law in this regard by the end of the year.
The centre-right Radical Party said it intends to file a parliamentary initiative in this month's summer session to force the issue to be revisited.
Blocher's rightwing People's Party is the only one in favour of leaving the legislation untouched on the law books. It opposes assisted suicide and says it doesn't want certain forms to be permitted by law.
CONTEXT: Swiss law tolerates assisted suicide where the act is committed by the patient and the helper has no direct interest.
There are several organisations in Switzerland, such as Exit and Dignitas, which help terminally ill patients choose how to die.
Euthanasia, illegal in Switzerland, is defined as administering a lethal drug to a person by a doctor or medical staff.
The Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences issued guidelines to doctors in 2004 laying down for the first time conditions under which they could help terminally ill patients die.
In Europe, only the Netherlands and Belgium permit taking the life of a person who wishes to die. swissinfo with agencies
******
2. Profile: Peter Singer
Sydney Morning Herald By Lucinda Schmidt May 31, 2006
Photo: Erin Slattery
The furore over Peter Singer's appointment as professor of bioethics at Princeton University has died down, but even now, seven years later, he gets the occasional threatening email.
"My views are still quite controversial," the Melbourne-born philosopher and ethicist says with some satisfaction.
Best known for kick-starting the animal rights movement with his first book, Animal Liberation, published in 1975, Singer has since expounded views supporting abortion, euthanasia, infanticide for severely disabled babies and stem cell research using material from embryos. He's been accused of playing God, attacked by disability rights groups and compared to the Third Reich - despite having three grandparents killed by the Nazis.
The career academic, who lectured in philosophy at LaTrobe and Monash Universities before taking up the Princeton appointment, agrees that questioning the absolute sanctity of all human life gets him into more trouble in the neo-conservative
US heartland than it does here, although he notes that he lives in New York, where only one in five people voted for President George W. Bush.
"The one thing you do notice is the place is a lot more religious," says Singer, 59. "You notice the influence of fairly conservative Christianity, even at Princeton. Things you can say here [in Australia] quite easily are seen as offensively hostile [in the US]."
He's now back in Australia for part of each year, lecturing in philosophy at Melbourne University. The second half of the year he will return with his wife, Renata, to New York and Princeton.
Singer's latest book, The Ethics of What We Eat, returns to his original concerns about animal rights, updating the approach of his 1980 book Animal Factories.
He says there has been a big increase in awareness of food ethics over the past 30 years. "In 1975, people didn't even know what vegan meant. And there was only one brand of soy milk in the UK [where he lived at the time]."
Still, he says, we have a long way to go. Part of the problem, he believes, is that most animal factory farms are highly secretive and do not allow visitors or video cameras.
The Ethics of What We Eat looks at a typical meal eaten by three families and traces the meals' ingredients back through the production process, examining the ethics of our everyday food choices, including animal suffering, child labour and environmental degradation.
One family favours meat, potatoes and fast food; another describes itself as "caring carnivores", eating meat only from animals that have been treated humanely; and the third is vegan, eating nothing that comes from animals.
Singer says that the first family was "a little disturbed" by what the book uncovered, while the family that took great care to check the treatment of animals was still making some "bad seafood choices" and not aware of some of the environmental issues.
"If you are going to eat seafood and meat, you need to be quite informed," says Singer, who describes himself as vegan when he has complete control over what he eats, although his frequent travelling means that he occasionally eats free-range eggs and is not really strict about avoiding all dairy products.
THE BIG QUESTIONS Biggest break: Going to Oxford University as a 24-year-old, and coming across the issue of the ethics of how we treat animals.
Biggest achievement: Writing Animal Liberation [his first book, published in 1975, now translated into 18 languages]. There was not much around then and it brought me international prominence.
Biggest regret: I don't have any huge regrets. Both in my professional and my family life, I've been very fortunate. Some people think it's a pity I got into euthanasia - in terms of the effectiveness of my work in animal rights - and that's probably true, but I don't regret it. That's a debate we had to have.
Personal philosophy: Trying to live an ethical life is something I find really satisfying. Thinking about ethics and putting it into practice - that has been central to my life since I was an undergraduate.
Attitude to money: It's important to try and do things that will make a difference rather than buy more luxuries. [Singer donates 20 per cent of his income to charity].
Best investment: Education.
******
3. Sleeping Pill May Reverse Comatose Patients, Study Says
CNSNews.com Dawn Rizzoni Correspondent
(CNSNews.com) - Scientific researchers have revealed in the medical journal NeuroRehabilitation that a commonly-used sleeping pill, zolpidem (brand name Ambien), can be used to temporarily awaken patients in a persistent vegetative state (PVS), coma, or other brain-injured state.
The discovery has attracted the interest of The Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation for Health Care Ethics. The Foundation was named in memory of the brain-damaged Florida woman who died in March 2005 after her husband Michael Schiavo won a long legal battle to cut off her off from all nutrition.
In light of the medical breakthrough, The Schindler-Schiavo Foundation has called for a moratorium of "ordinary care removal for persons diagnosed in a PVS condition." Terri's parents and siblings do not believe Michael Schiavo would have allowed her to be administered the Ambien even if it had been suggested.
"Sadly, we will never know if any of these drugs or treatments that were available would have improved Terri's condition," the Schindler family stated in their press release. "Terri's family pleaded for years with Terri's guardian, Michael Schiavo, and the courts to try and use different treatments of medicine that could possibly help improve Terri's condition, but were denied."
Doctors R.P. Clauss and W.H. Nel reported that the stimulation effects of zolpidem reverse the damaging effects in brain injured patients, to the point that they are able to wake up and interact with their environment. The benefits were maintained as long as the drug stayed in a patient's system, according to Clauss and Nel.
The drug was given daily to patients in the study which lasted six years. Each patient had been in a PVS for at least three years.
The discovery that zolpidem had such promising effects came about when Dr. Clauss gave a PVS patient the drug for restlessness. The drug, which normally induces sleepiness, also has an arousing effect on certain areas of the brain, the Clauss/Nel report indicates.
After being given zolpidem, the patients in the study could "interact, make jokes, and speak on the phone," Clauss stated in the journal, and one patient even played catch with his family.
Stephen Drake, research analyst for the pro-disabilities group Not Dead Yet, said it's not that zolpidem helped PVS patients, but that "misdiagnosis is the real issue."
"We put out a moratorium (on removal of ordinary care in PVS patients) a year ago," Drake said. "Persistent Vegetative State should really be called Persistent Non-Responsive State because that's all we can tell from the outside. There's no way to really know at the present time" whether someone is truly PVS or temporarily non-responsive.
"There's so much evidence that we're making mistakes" in these PVS diagnoses, Drake said. "So to us, (the zolpidem news) is interesting, but it doesn't change anything."
The Schindler family members also touched on the misdiagnosis issue in their press release.
"A report released by the British Medical Journal in 1996 found that 43 percent of the diagnosed cases of PVS they studied were in fact misdiagnosed," the statement reads. "We at the Foundation are seeing that the PVS diagnosis is being commonly misdiagnosed. Consequently, it has become very obvious we don't know enough about this so-called diagnosis, and common sense dictates that the removal of food and water based on this misclassification must end until further studies can be conducted."
Bobby Schindler, Terri's brother, told Cybercast News Service that he believes "the PVS diagnosis is a very subjective diagnosis."
"It is now being used in most states as one of the criteria to allow doctors to recommend terminating life. We are seeing a growing amount of evidence that suggests that the PVS diagnosis is often being misdiagnosed. And now there are certain drugs that could provide help to persons that are being labeled as PVS," Schindler said.
Other drugs have been successfully used in the past to help PVS patients. In December 2000, Patricia White Bull awoke after 16 years of what doctors called a persistent vegetative state, after being given the drug Amantadine. The drug is commonly used to stimulate individuals with Parkinson's disease and brain damage.
The pharmaceutical group NeuroHealing was just granted "orphan drug status" by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on a drug labeled NH001 that worked much like Ambien in PVS and comatose patients, but with longer-lasting effects, according to the company's president, Daniel Katzman.
"With the growing amount of uncertainly regarding this diagnosis, and drugs that could potentially help, it is only common sense we stop using it, particularly when the decision to terminate life can't be undone," Bobby Schindler said.
Michael Schiavo's political group TerriPAC did not respond to requests for comment, nor did the pro-euthanasia group Death With Dignity.
******
4. Australia's Most Trusted
Readers Digest June 2006
Who do you trust the most? Euthanasia campaigner rated 62
CONTROVERSIAL FIGURES This year, we added to our list of 100 well-known Australians some names that have sparked dinner-table debates nationwide.
Taking sides about them is a national sport - but do we trust them? Here's what we found:
Schapelle Corby: Arrested at Denpasar Airport in 2004 after customs officers found marijuana in her bodyboard bag; sentenced in May 2005 to 20 years' prison. Trust ranking out of 100: 95.
Dr Philip Nitschke: Assisted in 1996 in the world's first euthanasia by legal lethal injection; Australia's most vocal campaigner for laws in support of voluntary euthanasia. Trust ranking: 62.
Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton: Said a dingo snatched her baby daughter Azaria from an Uluru campsite in 1980; jailed for murder in 1982, pardoned four years later. Trust ranking: 81.
John Laws: Accused of accepting "cash for comment" on his morning radio show; in Sydney, still rating as the third most popular presenter in his time slot. Trust ranking: 79.
AUSTRALIA'S 100 MOST TRUSTED LIST 1. Dr Fiona Wood, burns specialist and 2005 Australian of the Year 2. Professor Ian Frazer, cancer researcher and 2006 Australian of the Year 3. Professor Barry Marshall, medical researcher and Nobel laureate 4. Princess Mary of Denmark, formerly Mary Donaldson of Tasmania 5. Dr Harry Cooper, TV veterinarian, Harry's Practice 6. Ian Kiernan, founder, Clean Up Australia 7. Olivia Newton-John, actress and singer 8. Ernie Dingo, TV presenter, The Great Outdoors 9. The Wiggles, children's entertainers 10. Andy Thomas, astronaut 11. Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, author, TV and radio science commentator 12. Dick Smith, adventurer, entrepreneur and philanthropist 13. Dawn Fraser, swimmer and former Olympian 14. Rolf Harris, TV personality, artist and singer 15. Grant Hackett, swimmer 16. Queen Elizabeth II 17. John Farnham, singer 18. John Wood, actor, Blue Heelers 19. Mel Gibson, actor and director 20. Patrick Rafter, retired tennis player 21. Sigrid Thornton, actress 22. Peter Cosgrove, retired chief of the Australian Defence Force 23. John Williamson, singer 24. David Koch, finance expert and TV host, Sunrise 25. Michael Caton, actor and TV host, Hot Property 26. Lisa McCune, actress 27. Ricky Ponting, captain, Australian cricket team 28. Ian Thorpe, swimmer 29. Geoffrey Rush, actor 30. Marcia Hines, singer and judge, Australian Idol 31. Nicole Kidman, actress 32. Bryce Courtenay, author 33. Andrew Denton, TV host, Enough Rope 34. Cate Blanchett, actress 35. Steve Waugh, cricketer 36. Reverend Tim Costello, chief executive, World Vision Australia 37. Delta Goodrem, singer and actress 38. Jamie Durie, TV host, Backyard Blitz 39. Eric Bana, actor 40. Tom Williams, TV presenter, The Great Outdoors 41. Jennifer Hawkins, Former Miss Universe and TV presenter, The Great Outdoors 42. Sarah O'Hare, model and charity spokesperson and patron 43. Rove McManus, TV host, Rove Live 44. Cathy Freeman, runner and former Olympian 45. Elle Macpherson, model, entrepreneur and lingerie designer 46. Bert Newton, TV host, Bert's Family Feud 47. Ray Martin, journalist and TV host 48. John Eales, former rugby union captain 49. Kylie Minogue, singer 50. Thomas Keneally, author 51. Jessica Rowe, TV host, Today 52. Megan Gale, model, actress and TV presenter 53. Tim Winton, author 54. Michael Jeffrey, Governor-General 55. Naomi Watts, actress 56. Missy Higgins, singer 57. Greg Norman, golfer 58. Keith Urban, singer 59. Murray Gleeson, Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia 60. Steve Irwin, TV host, Crocodile Hunter 61. Daryl Somers, TV host, Dancing With the Stars 62. Dr Philip Nitschke, doctor and euthanasia campaigner 63. Collette Dinnigan, fashion designer 64. Harry Kewell, soccer player 65. Bec Cartwright, actress and wife of Lleyton Hewitt 66. Graeme Samuel, chairman, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) 67. Heath Ledger, actor 68. Simone Warne, estranged wife of Shane Warne and contestant, Dancing With the Stars 69. Jackie O, radio presenter and TV host 70. Peter Garrett, ex-Midnight Oil singer and federal MP 71. Gerry Harvey, business mogul 72. Janette Howard, wife of Prime Minister 73. Eddie McGuire, former TV host and Nine Network CEO 74. Ian MacFarlane, governor, ReserveBank of Australia 75. Lleyton Hewitt, tennis player 76. Russell Crowe, actor 77. Cardinal George Pell, Catholic Archbishop of Sydney 78. James Packer, media executive 79. John Laws, radio presenter 80. Lachlan Murdoch, media executive 81. Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton, mother of missing infant 82. Alan Jones, radio presenter 83. Kyle Sandilands, radio personality and judge, Australian Idol 84. John Howard, Prime Minister 85. Rupert Murdoch, media mogul 86. Bob Hawke, former Prime Minister 87. Jeff Kennett, businessman and former Premier of Victoria 88. Bob Brown, federal senator and leader of the Australian Greens 89. Alexander Downer, federal Minister for Foreign Affairs 90. Malcolm Turnbull, businessman and Liberal MP 91. Kim Beazley, leader of the federal Labor Party 92. Tony Abbott, federal Minister for Health and Ageing 93. Peter Costello, federal Treasurer 94. Barnaby Joyce, Queensland National Party senator 95. Schapelle Corby, convicted drug smuggler 96. Paul Keating, former Prime Minister 97. Amanda Vanstone, federal Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs 98. Sol Trujillo, Telstra CEO 99. Shane Warne, cricketer 100. Mark Latham, former federal Labor Party leader
* Independent market-research company The Leading Edge conducted the online survey on behalf of Reader's Digest. The brands section was conducted between January 24 and February 5, 2006. The remainder of the survey took place between March 16 and 21.
To read more about this exclusive poll, check out the June issue of Reader's Digest
END
Deliverance Daily Newsserver Provided to Exit International members To unsubscribe: