Pro-life

Opiate use and euthanasia

Opiate use and euthanasia

Mary McCleary

Without adequate guidance from health care professionals, many terminally ill patients and their caregivers question the appropriate use of morphine and other opiates at the end of life. When is the medicine palliative and when is it euthanizing? The answer is found in timing, dosage, and intent.

Pain is one of the greatest concerns for people with a terminal prognosis. The fear of suffering and loneliness can cause tremendous distress, exacerbating already grave physical symptoms. Euthanasia opponent Dr. Jenny Driver, a member of the Brigham and Women's Hospital Division of Aging and Co-Director of the Older Adult Hematologic Malignancy Program at Dana Farber, includes "freedom from severe pain and uncontrolled symptoms during the dying process" as one of three crucial goals of a good death.  Driver, who also teaches at Harvard Medical School, identifies the other two elements as the need to be surrounded by loved ones, and to have no "unfinished business," i.e., being at peace with oneself, with family, and with God.

Narrowing rift, US and Russia entertain cooperation in Syria
Russia

Narrowing rift, US and Russia entertain cooperation in Syria

Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — In a striking shift, President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin are embarking on a tentative path toward closer ties and possible military cooperation, as the bitter rift over Ukraine gives way to common cause against the Islamic State group.

After weeks of accusing Moscow of trying to prop up Syrian President Bashar Assad by bombing U.S.-backed rebels, Obama changed his tune on Wednesday, praising Putin as a "constructive partner" in a nascent diplomatic effort to resolve Syria's civil war. Putin, too, has issued conciliatory signals, softening his tone about the U.S. and calling for the U.S. and Russia to "stand together" against the extremist threat.

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