Oregon reports that there were “71 known assisted suicide deaths in 2011, up from 65 the year before.”  Wesley Smith notes that the reports are based solely on self-reporting by doctors, because there are no mandatory reporting requirements.

Seeing that no one escapes death – we (individually and as the Church) need to discuss death and dying.

Read the latest from the bizarre world of Kevorkian, who spent years behind bars after he showed the euthanasia death of a disabled man on television

Here is the transcript from keynote speaker, Dr. Diane Meier, at a recent palliative care conference.

We should care about a philosophy of life that says that how valuable you are depends on how well you function and a philosophy of medicine that says that if someone is going to die anyway, there’s no benefit in prolonging life.

Dehydrating a patient to death, known as The Third Way, is extremely common, according to the executive director of Hospice Patients Alliance.

Acting on the speculation that such chilled air could not be good for the patient, the tube was removed. One month later, the woman came out of the vegetative state and was verbal and able to respond to questions.

Do you know someone living in Vermont-or leading a church there? Encourage them to get educated so they know the agenda for death being promoted by the new governor.

National Public Radio and CNN report how doctors decided to end patients' lives in hospitals in the chaotic days following the storm.

Read important information about the Living Will and the Durable Power of Attorney.

Euthanasia deaths are on the rise in the Netherlands since 2003 when it became the first nation to legalize the practice.

Dr. Kevorkian told an audience that he would be violating the terms of his parole to discuss euthanasia in an expanded sense, but did admit to killing about 20 percent of the people who came to him and asked him for his help in taking their lives.

"Seventeen years ago I [Alison Davis] decided I could no longer face life. I wanted to die - a strong wish that lasted over 10 years. If euthanasia were legal then, I would no longer be here to write this. But I have changed my outlook on life." 

The Dutch government wants to include children under euthanasia law.

An Enterprise Marketing and Research Services (EMRS) poll that estimated Tasmanian support for legal euthanasia at 78%. However, opponents of the bill are calling for pause on the part of the Tasmanian government.

On April 21, a British judge rejected the pleas of parents whose daughter is brain-damaged, in continual pain, and likely terminal.

Wesley Smith shares ways of treating the sick and dying. Specifically he studies the deaths of Ronald Reagan and Alzheimers patients in the Netherlands.