Thaddeus Mason Pope

I understand that people are terrified of dementia. Believe me, I get it. My mother died of Alzheimer’s. But I can’t wrap my head around the fact that advocacy for killing/suicide as the answer to the difficulties caused by the condition is becoming ubiquitous. Noted bioethicist and lawyer Thaddeus Mason Pope has written an essay, to be published in an edited volume, on this very issue. It lists eleven ways people can “avoid late-stage dementia,” and almost all involve intentionally ending life. Remember when we were told that advance medical directives are the key to not receiving life-extending treatment one does not want? They are, but that’s not good enough for Pope, because it doesn’t guarantee death: This strategy is Read More ›

Another “strict guideline to prevent abuse” of assisted suicide has just been euthanized in Washington State, continuing an ongoing trend of loosening assisted suicide laws and practices. The legalization law requires annual reports to be issued by the state to promote transparency. Well, from now on, opaqueness will be the order of the day. From the Medical Futility blog, by pro-assisted-suicide activist Thaddeus Mason Pope (whose blog is a reliable source of information on these issues): Like almost all other aid-in-dying jurisdictions, the Washington State statute requires the “department of health shall generate and make available to the public an annual statistical report of information collected.” In response, the Washington DOH dutifully published 15 reports between 2009 and 2023. But Read More ›