News
End-of-life care in South Africa: Important legal development (South Africa)
In 2015, a terminally ill Robin Stransham-applicant asked for the “right to die with dignity”. Judge Fabricius of the North Gauteng High Court found that he had a constitutionally protected right to do so. The applicant passed away a few hours before the judgement. Supreme Court concluded that assisted suicide is not unlawful in all … Read more
The ethics of euthanasia in dementia (2012–2020) (Netherlands)
151 Dutch case reports on euthanasia in dementia (2012–2020) were analyzed. In 2011, the first advanced-dementia-case has been authorized. The reported numbers amounted from 5 in 2005 to 170 in 2020. Ethically relevant is the prevalence of psychological and spiritual suffering (99.1% and 84.7). The study questions the factors of euthanasia requests: How voluntary is … Read more
Assisted suicide: the Federation of Swiss Doctors revises its guidelines (Switzerland)
On May 19, 2022, the Federation of Swiss Doctors (FMH) reviewed its directives concerning the support of people at the end of life and has revised its guidelines to follow those applied by the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences (ASSM) since 2018. The new text explicitly states what was implicit until now: assisted suicide of … Read more
From reviewing cases of euthanasia to warning Uruguay parliament (Uruguay)
Theo Boer was invited by the NGO Prudencia Uruguay to give a lecture in Parliament as the euthanasia project is being studied in the Chamber of Deputies. He worked almost ten years reviewing cases of euthanasia practiced in the Netherlands. In total, about 4,000 cases passed through his hands in that decade. While he agrees … Read more
Copycat suicides after reports on celebrity suicides (South Korea)
Since 2003 Korea has experienced the highest suicide rate among OECD countries. One of the societal risk factors that triggers suicide is the contagious nature of suicide. The number of public suicides soars after media reports on celebrity suicides (increased by 16.4% within just one day after the reports) while celebrity deaths by accidents or … Read more
Internet service providers must find and remove online child pornography (Belgium)
Under new European Commission laws, Google, Meta and other online service providers will be compelled to detect and remove online child pornography. Companies who do not follow the requirements face fines of up to 6% of their annual revenue or global turnover, as determined by EU countries. The EU executive said on Wednesday that its … Read more
European Union (EU) commission proposes plan to fight child pornography (Belgium)
The EU’s executive arm unveiled a plan to require online platforms to detect and report the sharing of child sex abuse images on the internet. This would force companies operating in the EU to detect, report and remove the material. An increase in online child sex abuse has been noticed globally. Reports of internet child … Read more
Increased cardiovascular risk with cannabis consumption and partial reversal through genistein (UK)
Cannabis use increases the risk for cardiovascular disease. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (the psychoactive substance of cannabis) binds the CB1 receptors in blood vessels causing the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines involved in the development of atherosclerotic plaques and cardiovascular disease. This has been showed in plasma concentrations of patients smoking cannabis, cell lines and mice models. Genistein, … Read more
Marijuana legalisation and its effect on adolescents (USA)
Legalization of marijuana for medical purposes/recreational use coincides with a decrease in perceived harmfulness of the drug and increases adolescent use. 9% of children in grade 9-12 use marijuana daily/almost every day. Marijuana exposure in adolescence is associated with use of other illicit drugs and increased emergency unit visits in the pediatric population. 17% of … Read more