TheRepublic.com - Death and dying News

Vermont is 4th state to legalize assisted suicide

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:59:27 -0400

MONTPELIER, Vermont - After years of debate, Vermont became the fourth state in the country Monday to allow doctors to prescribe lethal doses of medicine to terminally ill patients seeking to end their lives.

5 things to know about Vt.'s assisted suicide law

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:43:22 -0400

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin signed the End-of-Life Choices law on Monday, effective immediately. Some basics about the new law:

EU court finds Swiss assisted-suicide laws vague

Tue, 14 May 2013 13:49:11 -0400

GENEVA - An elderly Swiss woman who would rather end her life now than decline further in health found sympathy Tuesday from the European Court of Human Rights, which called on the Swiss to clarify their laws on so-called passive assisted suicide.

Program features students who've experienced loss

Tue, 14 May 2013 13:26:20 -0400

WASHINGTON - "Present Tense" begins with a heartbeat. Six teenagers, all of whom have experienced a death in the family, create what the Arena Stage Voices of Now program calls "a group breathing tableau."

Vt. poised to allow lethal meds for terminally ill

Tue, 14 May 2013 02:34:08 -0400

MONTPELIER, Vermont - Vermont is poised to join three other states permitting doctors to prescribe lethal doses of medication to terminally ill patients after the state House approved a compromise bill similar to Oregon's 1997 law.

Counseling program faces major funding loss

Sat, 11 May 2013 13:29:10 -0400

MORGANTOWN, West Virginia - A counseling program for troubled teens and college students in Morgantown is facing the possible loss of a major funding source.

Largest US hospice company sued for Medicare fraud

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:14:24 -0400

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida - The Department of Justice is suing the hospice company founded by Florida's Senate president, accusing it of submitting tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent Medicare claims for more than a decade, including while Don Gaetz was vice chairman of the board.

Fight over assisted suicide moves back to court

Wed, 08 May 2013 18:48:19 -0400

HELENA, Montana - The fight over physician-assisted suicide in Montana is moving back to the courtroom after the Legislature failed this session to clarify that the practice is specifically legal or illegal.

Vt. Senate compromise seen likely on aid-in-dying

Wed, 08 May 2013 16:15:25 -0400

MONTPELIER, Vermont - The Vermont Senate is poised to debate a compromise proposal on aid-in-dying legislation that supporters are giving a strong chance of passage.

Vt. Senate votes down version of aid-in-dying bill

Tue, 07 May 2013 21:22:07 -0400

MONTPELIER, Vermont - The fate of legislation to allow doctors to prescribe lethal doses of medication to terminally ill patients who request it remained unresolved Tuesday evening after the Senate rejected compromise language. Further action was put off until Wednesday.

Belgian Nobel Prize winner de Duve dies at 95

Mon, 06 May 2013 07:16:25 -0400

BRUSSELS - A Belgian university says that biochemist Christian de Duve, who won the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 1974, has died in an act of euthanasia. He was 95.

DOJ sues Chemed, says overbilled Medicare

Fri, 03 May 2013 14:42:33 -0400

CINCINNATI - The Department of Justice has sued Chemed Corp., saying it and its Vitas hospice business submitted tens of millions of dollars in false Medicare claims for patients who were supposed to be receiving emergency services.

Irish court: No 'right to die' for paralyzed woman

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:55:27 -0400

DUBLIN - A paralyzed Irish woman who wants to die cannot legally commit suicide with her partner's help, Ireland's Supreme Court ruled Monday in a case that moved some in the courtroom to tears.