SHOULD SUICIDE IN THE ELDERLY BE MORE ACCEPTABLE? IS IT HARMLESS TO SOCIETY? SEPTEMBER 2018 Alliance for Life International, P.O. Box 1314, Lake Forest, CA 92609-1314 Phone: 949-340-7332 LIFEWATCH A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF ALLIANCE FOR LIFE INTERNATIONAL Louise, our President, is planning a trip to Uganda from Oct. 14 to Nov. 20. Here is a brief outline of what she plans to accomplish: Continue to refine our Sexual Integrity Education program. We were offered a new curriculum which emphasizes Abstinence Education. We will evaluate how to implement this program Offer Introduction to the Billings Ovulation Method of natural fertility regulation in Moyo and surrounding regions on Uganda/Sudan borders. More than a million refugees live in this area. NGOs are enjoined to provide services in some meaningful way Evaluate our new radio outreach: LIFE MATTERS Provide continuing education and supervision for our Pregnancy Resource Center staff and Billings Life Center (Cont. p. 3) The letter below was sent to our local newspaper in response to an article on suicide [1]. The author had shared how his mom passed away. She lived in Laguna Woods where I live. She was 89 year old, in good health for her age. She was an active senior living in a beautiful community. Thirty years ago, Derek Humphry, the founder of the Hemlock Society (now under a different name) came to Laguna Woods three times. He was promoting assisted-suicide. The law finally passed in California after several attempts. It has now been challenged in court. His mom did not use that law. She was not terminally ill. Nevertheless, she committed suicide. See my response to the journalist, the son of the deceased. It may help you defend life in your own sphere of influence. In reference with your article, 09/18, please accept my sincere condolences. Your mom’s sudden death left a void in your life. You were unprepared even though you seemed to have had a premonition about it. Obviously, you need to share about such an event. Even though we tell ourselves that many people do it, it is still unnatural and disturbing. Suicide’s impact on others is very significant. To excuse the loved one from taking such a drastic step, we robe our language with distortions or half-truths. Per example, when we refer to it in the elderly, we call it “death with dignity”. Does that mean that dying without killing oneself is undignified? The dying process may bring psychological and or physical suffering but it does not subject us to a loss of our (cont. p. 2) ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE ARE FROM OUR PRESIDENT, LOUISE ALLARD AN UPDATE FROM UGANDA A male counselor at last: Nobert at school
Transcript
SHOULD SUICIDE IN THE ELDERLY BE MORE ACCEPTABLE? IS IT HARMLESS TO SOCIETY?
SEPTEMBER 2018
Alliance for Life International, P.O. Box 1314, Lake Forest, CA 92609-1314 Phone: 949-340-7332
LIFEWATCH A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF ALLIANCE FOR LIFE
INTERNATIONAL
Louise, our President, is planning a trip to
Uganda from Oct. 14 to Nov. 20. Here is a brief
outline of what she plans to accomplish:
Continue to refine our Sexual Integrity
Education program. We were offered a
new curriculum which emphasizes
Abstinence Education. We will evaluate
how to implement this program
Offer Introduction to the Billings
Ovulation Method of natural fertility
regulation in Moyo and surrounding
regions on Uganda/Sudan borders.
More than a million refugees live in this
area. NGOs are enjoined to provide
services in some meaningful way
Evaluate our new radio outreach: LIFE
MATTERS
Provide continuing education and
supervision for our Pregnancy
Resource Center staff and Billings Life
Center (Cont. p. 3)
The letter below was sent to our local
newspaper in response to an article on suicide
[1]. The author had shared how his mom
passed away. She lived in Laguna Woods
where I live. She was 89 year old, in good
health for her age. She was an active senior
living in a beautiful community. Thirty years
ago, Derek Humphry, the founder of the
Hemlock Society (now under a different name)
came to Laguna Woods three times. He was
promoting assisted-suicide. The law finally
passed in California after several attempts. It
has now been challenged in court. His mom
did not use that law. She was not terminally ill.
Nevertheless, she committed suicide. See my
response to the journalist, the son of the
deceased. It may help you defend life in your
own sphere of influence.
In reference with your article, 09/18, please accept my sincere condolences. Your mom’s sudden death left a void in your life. You were unprepared even though you seemed to have had a premonition about it. Obviously, you need to share about such an event. Even though we tell ourselves that many people do it, it is still unnatural and disturbing. Suicide’s impact on others is very significant. To excuse the loved one from taking such a drastic step, we robe our language with distortions or half-truths. Per example, when we refer to it in the elderly, we call it “death with dignity”. Does that mean that dying without killing oneself is undignified? The dying process may bring psychological and or physical suffering but it does not
subject us to a loss of our (cont. p. 2)
ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE ARE FROM OUR PRESIDENT, LOUISE ALLARD
AN UPDATE FROM UGANDA
was very special and may lead to
introducing the method to
another African country. Please
pray. We will keep you posted.
This time, we were three
representatives from WOOMB, two
from Canada. We held a workshop
entitled: Women’s Empowerment
through Fertility Awareness
Using the Billings Ovulation
Method. Louise’s part focused on
teaching the BOM in Uganda, a
five year overview. It was well
received and attended by 40
people who expressed great
interest.
A male counselor at last: Nobert at school
SHOULD SUICIDE … (CONT. FROM P. 1) … CON’T FROM P.1
Alliance for Life International, P.O. Box 1314, Lake Forest, CA 92609-1314 Email: [email protected]
worthiness or respect. Facing the aging process requires courage. But one had to demonstrate fortitude and resourcefulness so many times throughout our lives. And this was truly commendable. Why does it become all right at the end-of-life to do the unthinkable? The fact that suicide did not stem from a rash decision but a deliberate one does not confer special respect for the act. What is suicide? It is the pre-meditated act of murdering oneself. “Reasoned” suicide or more aptly “willful” suicide does not mean that the person had all the correct information to make an informed decision. Often, as in the case of your mother, she was exposed to propaganda some thirty years ago. It had such an impact on her that she lived the last third of her life re-assessing her quality of life. Was her life worth living or was she just taking up space? These thoughts were subtle but destructive. Besides impacting oneself with the irretrievable loss of life, permissive assistive-suicide laws are harmful to the general population. Two British scholars showed that such laws in Oregon and Washington have led to a rise in the overall suicide rate in those states. It is called suicide contagion. Your dad suffered needlessly wondering why his partner of several years felt the need to leave early. Was he in some way responsible he thought? This complicated his grief, a common feature of suicide recovery. (cont. p.3)
LIFEWATCH
China is Getting Ready to Mandate that
Couples Reproduce
China changed its one-child policy to a
two-child policy in 2016. They were citing
decreasing working age population, fast
aging of the population, and economic
ramifications [3]. Young Chinese did not
respond by having a second child [4].
Violations of the two-child policy are still
enforced with heavy fines, forced
sterilization and abortion. Consider that it
is illegal for non-married women to have a
child [5]. But for married women, even
having a third child now is not punished
with a fine in some regions. So there is a
relaxation of the policy in some areas [6].
In Jianxi, government officials are making
it very difficult to have an abortion after
14 weeks presumably to prohibit sex-
selection abortions as they are not
medically necessary [7]. There is a huge
male/female imbalance: 34 million fewer
women than men [8]. We were hoping for a
total abandonment of restrictive birth
policies as it is an infringement on the
human rights of men and women to
reproduce freely [9]. However, a
Communist system of government is used
to control people one way or another. They
have a huge apparatus to control births.
Recent news indicates that the Party
intends to “comprehensively implement a
policy of each couple giving birth to two
children”. Young Party members were
enjoined “to lead by example [10].”
Alliance for Life International, P.O. Box 1314, Lake Forest, CA 92609-1314 WEBSITE: allianceforlifeint.org
It created deep distress in her care- giver. He wondered if he had been negligent in allowing this medication around his patients. It created confusion at the hospital. And it had a significant impact on you. You’re left holding the bag, trying to make sense of what happened and why. So, like your mom, you rationalize. You try to make her death OK. Sadly, you have become a propagandist, exactly like Mr. Derek Humphry, the founder of the Hemlock Society who played such an important role in your mom’s life and way of death. Am I exaggerating? Why would you give your listeners precise instructions on where to find this illegal drug, illicit at least for the intended use? Why would you minimize the act by telling us lots of people are doing it? Suicide is an act of self-destruction, an abuse of our right to existence. It violates the right-to-life. Thomas Givanovitch, an ex-President of the UN Human Rights Commission explained that because of its inherency, the right-to-life cannot be taken away (it is a violation if it is); it cannot be transferred to someone else or surrendered (as in suicide). Freedom cannot be used to extinguish itself [2]. P.S. The journalist wrote back and affirmed his appreciation for the above letter. He said he would condense the responses he received in one article and publish it.
AN UPDATE FROM UGANDA…CONT. FROM P.1
WE WILL CONTINUE TO ADVANCE THE ST
RAPHAEL UNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITAL
PROJECT BY COMPPLETING THE FEASIBIITY
STUDY. A MEMORANDUM OF
UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN UGANDA MARTYR
UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND
ALLIANCE FOR LIFE INTERNATIONAL IS IN
PROGRESS. THE OPERATIONAL BUDGET FOR
THE FIRST TWO YEARS IS NEAR COMPLETION.
OUR FUNDRAISING EFFORTS CONSIST OF
IDENTIFYING A SECOND PARTNER TO FUND
THE PROJECT. WE COUNT ON YOUR
CONTINUED SUPPORT AND PRAYERS.
SHOULD SUICIDE … CONT. FROM P. 2
(CONT. FROM P.2)
SEPTEMBER 2018
Suicide is an act of self-
destruction, an abuse of our right to existence. It violates the
right-to-life. Because of its inherency, the right-to-life
cannot be taken away (it is a violation if it is); it cannot be
transferred to someone else or surrendered (as in suicide). Freedom cannot be used to
extinguish itself.
LIFEWATCH A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF ALLIANCE FOR LIFE
INTERNATIONAL
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Alliance for Life International Trusting God With Life
September 2018
Shipping Address 555 Street Address City, State 55555
LIFEWATCH
Alliance for Life International P.O. Box 1314
Lake Forest, CA 92609-1314
www.allianceforlifeint.org
Alliance for Life international is a Catholic Christian, non-profit educational and charitable organization committed to assist and encourage
States in building cultures of life in which preborn children are welcome and the lives of those who are vulnerable are protected. The lack of essential medical care in Uganda is a reflection of the grievous health disparities found in socially disadvantaged countries.
Therefore, we are leading and cooperating with partners to bring modern medical care in
Uganda.
Executive Board Louise Allard, RN, BSN, MA in International
Human Rights, Founder/President/CEO Dennis Rasmussen, JD, Secretary
Sergio Stone, OB/GYN, Vice-Pres/Treasurer
Advisory Board Pastor Sy Nguyen, St. Martin de Porres Church
Bruce A. Sonnenberg, Founder/ Pres., He Intends Victory, Eithne Keegan. RN, BSN, MA
