An employee who was fired after repeatedly testing positive for cannabis, in breach of company rules, has failed in their bid to be reinstated. The company had a zero-tolerance policy towards alcohol and drugs requiring employees to undergo regular tests. After failing several weekly tests the employee was charged with breaching the company’s Alcohol and Substance Abuse Policy and was fired. Johannesburg Labour Court Acting Judge Makosho Ntsoane held that the employee was at all times aware of the policy which had been applied consistently to all employees. He said in light of the dangerous environment, the company was entitled to its zero-tolerance policy and the Constitutional Court judgment on cannabis did not offer protection to employees who breach company policies.
LIFEAlerts
Decriminalization of cannabis, five teens, three year old girl, suffer from cannabis side effects (Thailand)
Six children suffered from cannabis side effects between June 21 and 26, 2022, Dr Opass Putcharoen, head of Chulalongkorn University’s Emerging Infectious Diseases Clinical Centre, reveals. People have bought food, beverages and products with cannabis as an additive after the plant was legalised for medical and commercial use on June 9. “The legalization of cannabis has caused medical staff to work harder, especially psychiatrists and neurosurgeons, as many children and teenagers have begun to suffer from side effects,” Opass said. Citing the Royal College of Paediatricians of Thailand, cases included a 3-year-old girl suffering from “dizziness” after consuming cannabis cookies and a 16-year-old male who suffered from “confusion and tried to use a knife to harm himself” after smoking cannabis.
Real World Data: More Than 800 000 lives saved by Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers since 2016 (USA)
Analysis of a nationally representative dataset reveals that since 2016 more than 800 000 lives have been saved through the community based care of pro-life pregnancy centers. Charles Donovan, President of CLI said, “ Pro-Life Centers help women fulfill their dreams by listening to their concerns and building a network of community support to partner with the mother through pregnancy and beyond. This is what the violent activists are trying to silence.” The new analysis was based on a nationally representative group of more than 1100 Care Net Pregnancy centers’ de-identified data since 2008. Moira Gaul MPA, lead author of the analysis explained: “More than any other group, pro-life centers are best equipped to support women facing unintended pregnancies in a post.”
Japan passes bill to prevent exploitation of young people in porn (Japan)
A bill to prevent young people from being exploited in pornographic productions was passed in an effort to end the abuse of young people. The bill allows people who agree to appear in pornographic content to terminate their contracts at any time before the film’s public release as well as up to a year afterward. If the contract is terminated, video vendors are obliged to recover the products and delete the footage, and cannot claim compensation from the performers. False representations or acts of intimidation will be punishable by a prison term of up to three years or a fine of up to 3 million yen ($22,000) for an individual, or 100 million yen for a corporation.
Euthanasia included in advance directives (Spain)
On May 31, a royal decree amended the law relating to euthanasia in Spain. Since its legalization on March 18, 2021 (cf. Spain legalizes euthanasia and assisted suicide), the procedure was regulated by a decree published on February 2, 2022. With this revision, the request for euthanasia can be made by “a third person”, parent or doctor, if the patient no longer has the capacity to decide for himself and has formulated advance directives to this effect.
Quebec: expansion of “medical assistance in dying” postponed (Canada)
In Quebec, the Minister of Health had to face the facts on Thursday: the examination of the extension of “medical assistance in dying” to patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease requires more time than the deputies had it before the end of the parliamentary session on June 10. Bill 38 consisted of about fifty articles. In particular, he would have authorized “advance requests” for “medical assistance in dying”, for patients with “serious cognitive disorders”. It had been tabled at the end of May, following recommendations issued by a cross-partisan commission in December. The resumption of parliamentary work is scheduled for October.
Two methods to legalize euthanasia or Medical Aid in Dying (France)
In a webinar, Henri de Soos, lawyer describes 2 methods employed to legalize euthanasia. The first one consists of multiplying the legislative proposals to stimulate a national debate and ultimately obtain a majority vote. The second method consists of obtaining a judgment from the constitutional court to oblige the government and the parliament to decriminalize euthanasia or MAD. It was implemented for the first time in Canada, then between 2019 and 2020 in Italy, Germany and Austria. In these 3 countries the judges have interpreted their constitution in a new sense and declared that henceforth, assisted suicide could not be prohibited. The parliaments concerned are thus obliged to create a mechanism to make this possible in the months to come.
Nearly 8 in 10 Koreans support legalizing euthanasia, doctor-assisted suicide (South Korea)
A survey conducted by Professor Yoon Young-ho at Seoul National University Hospital showed that 76.3 % of Koreans favored euthanasia or doctor-assisted suicide. Reasons for approval included meaninglessness of life extension (30.8 %), patient’s right to have a death with dignity (26 %), alleviation of pain (20.6 %), family suffering (14.8 %), alleviating social burdens (4.6 %), and that it does not violate any human rights (3.1 %). In contrast, 23.7 percent opposed their legalization. The opponents cited respect for life (44.3 %), infringement on the right to self-determination (15.6 %), the risk of abusing the system (13.1 %), violating human rights (12.2 %), the possibility of doctors’ misdiagnosis (9.7 %), and recoverability (5.1 %).
Dutch Council of State refuses to endorse “death wish” suicide bill (Netherlands)
The Dutch Council of State has rejected a draft “death wish” assisted suicide bill that seeks to extend existing legislation to over-75s who are “tired of life”. The Council of State, the highest-ranking advisory body in the Netherlands, previously released a report on the bill, explaining that the “government has a duty to protect its citizens against involuntary, hasty or ill-informed decisions about ending their lives and to prevent abuse”. “In 2020, 53% of people killed by assisted suicide in the US state of Oregon said that they feared “being a burden on family, friends/caregivers” if they continued to live. In Scotland, too, 36% of over-50s recently reported they were seen as a “burden” by others, as reported by SPUC.
Voluntary Assisted Dying in Australia (Australia)
On 19 May 2022 the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2022 (NSW) was passed by the New South Wales Parliament. Voluntary assisted dying (VAD) is a major legal, ethical and social policy issue. In Australia, VAD laws have been passed in all States. Victoria’s and Western Australia’s VAD laws have commenced operation. VAD will commence in Tasmania on 23 October 2022, South Australia in early 2023, and Queensland on 1 January 2023. The date for commencement of New South Wales’ laws is to be confirmed, but will likely be in late 2023/early 2024.This webpage discusses the laws on VAD both in Australia and internationally, and their intersection with palliative care and medical treatment decision-making.