Euthanasia: Time For Some Honesty

Medical and nursing professionals should be more forthcoming over the covert practice, among some, of assisting terminal patients to die earlier than they otherwise would, ACT New Zealand MP Gerry Eckhoff said today.

"I personally have heard of a case where a GP directed a nurse to administer `a little bit extra' morphine, which hastened the death of a patient suffering the end stages of a respiratory disease," Mr Eckhoff said.

"It would seem that it is acceptable for a GP to end a patient's suffering, but unacceptable for a suitably qualified family member - like Lesley Martin - to help a loved one.

"My wife, a hugely experienced nurse, was prepared to assist her own father - who was suffering from bone cancer - to die with dignity, had he requested such help. In a way, it was a blessing he died suddenly of pulmonary embolus, as the sad reality is that palliative care does not always ensure the terminally ill die devoid of pain.

"It is time health professionals and society in general were totally honest and open about helping the dying to end their suffering. It is a shame that the Euthanasia Bill did not make to Select Committee stage, so that New Zealanders could have their say," Mr Eckhoff said.

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>