Doctor Death: The new assisted suicide clinic in California

Last updated on: July 14, 2016 at 9:24 pm by CNA Daily News

Doctor Death: The new assisted suicide clinic in California 2016-07-14T21:24:00+00:00 CNA Daily News

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Oakland, Calif., Jul 14, 2016 / 03:24 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- You can’t put a price on most things in life. But you can, apparently, put a price on death – $2,000.

That’s what Dr. Lonny Shavelson is charging patients at his brand-new physician-assisted suicide clinic in Berkeley, California.

Last month, California became the fifth and most populous state to adopt a law legalizing physician-assisted suicide. The state's End of Life Option Act went into effect June 9.

Shavelson, who had retired from practicing medicine, was drawn back after Calif. Governor Jerry Brown signed the End of Life Option Act last year. Shavelson recently opened the state’s first End of Life Options clinic in the Bay Area, where he will consult with and provide lethal prescriptions for patients who request them – and who may not be given the prescription by other doctors who refuse to write such prescriptions.

Under the California law, two doctors must agree that a mentally competent patient has six months or fewer to live. The patient then agrees in writing to administer the lethal prescription themselves. Currently, the law does not mandate doctors to provide lethal prescriptions if they choose not to do so.

Shavelson’s sudden reappearance in medicine and his past advocacy for assisted suicide has left many critics sceptical of his motivations.

“I think that what we have said about assisted suicide is predictably happening, which is [that] some individuals in the healthcare industry will take advantage (of these laws) and see this as a business opportunity, and take advantage of people and families at their most vulnerable time,” Tim Rosales, political director for the Patients Rights Action Fund, told CNA.

One of Shavelson’s most vocal critics is Wesley Smith, a lawyer, author, and a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism.

In the '90s, Shavelson wrote a book called A Chosen Death, in which he chronicles the deaths of five people who had asked for assisted suicide. Shavelson was present for each person’s death.

In the book, Shavelson recounts how he watched the murder of a man who is suffocated to death, and how he did nothing to stop it. Smith takes Shavelson to task in his own book Forced Exit: Euthanasia, Assisted Suicide, and the New Duty to Die.

In it, Smith writes of Shavelson: “The right, proper, ethical, and humane thing for Shavelson to do as he watched Sarah asphyxiate Gene would have been to knock Sarah off the helpless man and then quickly dial 911 for an ambulance and the police. But Shavelson did not do anything…as he watched the Sarah-Gene tableau, just before the old man tried to rip the bag off his face…”

Critics of legalized assisted suicide argue that it overwhelmingly targets the poor, elderly and disabled, that it creates a slippery slope to doctor-enforced euthanasias, and that there can never be enough safeguards in place to prevent abuse.

Although the California law only applies to the mentally competent and terminally ill, a terminal diagnosis can be uncertain, with many people living well beyond their initial prognosis.

Countries such as the Netherlands, where assisted suicide and euthanasia have been legal since 2002, have recently witnessed the erosion of such safeguards as mental competence. Earlier this year, a young woman in her 20s was euthanized in the country because doctors had determined her mental health condition was “insufferable.”

Rosales said he hopes that states considering legalizing assisted suicide or euthanasia will find Shavelson’s practice troubling.

“It’s targeting folks and seeing this as something that is profitable or a business venture, and that certainly is troubling, and I think instructive for states that are considering similar laws.”

Previous Post

July 14, 2016

Vatican event draws heavy hitters to discuss faith, sports

Next Post

July 15, 2016 What the Holy See has to say about conflict in the Middle East

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Americas Asia - Pacific Europe Middle East - Africa Uncategorized US Vatican

Select a Month November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Gospel was written by a doctor?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Matthew John Mark Luke