death and dying
Nuns’ resolve; and what the assisted suicide ruling means for states and for one particular se
By RNS Blog Editor — January 25, 2006
In Tuesday’s RNS report David Briggs reports on a solution to the issue of dwindling numbers of nuns: The Sisters of St. Joseph of Cleveland, becoming part of a national trend finding strength in numbers amid rapidly declining and aging populations, have voted to join with six other congregations of St. Joseph from Louisiana to […]
Assisted Suicide Issue Painfully Personal for Senator Who Lost Depressed Son
By RNS Blog Editor — January 25, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith rarely shies from action when public policy collides with his private pain. But if Senate colleagues try again to thwart his state’s assisted-suicide law, this time Smith wants no part of it. The issue has become too raw and too personal, said Smith. His […]
Other States See Path in Ruling on Oregon’s Assisted Suicide Law
By Don Colburn — January 25, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) When Oregon became the first state to legalize doctor-assisted suicide in 1997, backers hoped _ and opponents feared _ that others would follow. None did. Oregon remains the only state where a doctor can legally prescribe a drug dose aimed at hastening a patient’s death. The U.S. Supreme Court’s […]
Victories for assisted suicide law; Evangelicals grapple with immigration policy
By RNS Blog Editor — January 19, 2006
In Wednesday’s RNS transmission Jim Barnett reports that efforts to block the assisted suicide law will likely wither: Republicans control both chambers of Congress and likely could muster enough votes to block an Oregon law allowing physician-assisted suicide. But an apparent about-face by an Oregon senator could alter the political landscape dramatically in the Senate. […]
Assisted suicide ruling; Traffic evangelist
By RNS Blog Editor — January 18, 2006
In Tuesday’s RNS report Adelle M. Banks reports on reaction to the Supreme Court’s assisted suicide ruling today: Advocates reacted with triumph and disappointment to Tuesday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding Oregon’s physician-assisted suicide law, which touches on a variety of religious and ethical issues. In a 6-3 decision, the nation’s highest court determined that […]
Supreme Court Sides With State’s Right to Legalize Assisted Suicide
By Adelle M. Banks — January 18, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ Advocates reacted with disappointment and triumph to a U.S. Supreme Court decision that continues the ethical debate on assisted suicide but keeps intact Oregon’s law permitting the procedure. In a 6-3 decision announced Tuesday (Jan. 17), the nation’s highest court sided with the state and against the authority […]
Justices Appear Split Over Doctor-Assisted Suicide
By RNS Blog Editor — October 7, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ After 11 years, two referendums and a court case of four years, the fate of Oregon’s experiment with doctor-assisted suicide remains in doubt as Supreme Court justices appear split over its potential to subvert federal authority. Oregon’s law allows doctors to prescribe lethal doses of painkillers to terminally […]
Assisted Suicide Case Early Issue of Religion and Morality for Roberts Court
By Ashbel S. (Tony) Green — October 5, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The first big case Chief Justice John Roberts and a reshaped U.S. Supreme Court take on this week comes with profound moral and religious questions: doctor-assisted suicide. Political and legal attacks on assisted suicide have raged almost continuously since Oregon voters first approved the Death With Dignity Act in […]
Suicides a Disturbing Undercurrent to Abuse Cases
By Calvin Woodward — September 21, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service PORTLAND, Ore. _ A week before he died, Larry Lynn Craven called his lawyer, as he often did, to say that he could no longer live with the demons of his childhood sexual abuse. “He had called me, crying and depressed and saying that he wanted to commit suicide,” Daniel […]
Tramplings Have Killed Thousands at Massive Religious Events
By RNS Blog Editor — September 7, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Stampede tragedies during recent mass religious celebrations: _ Aug. 31, 2005: Nearly 1,000 Shiite pilgrims died during a religious procession in northern Baghdad when rumors of a suicide bomb caused a deadly stampede on a bridge. _ Jan. 25, 2005: An estimated 300 Hindu worshippers died in a stampede […]
Protecting the weaker member
By RNS Blog Editor — August 5, 2005
Carrie Gordon Earll of Focus on the Family Action “This story is a poignant reminder that defending the value of life calls for sacrifice. Contrary to what we’re tempted to believe, it’s not all about us. Sometimes it’s about the strong sacrificing for the weak. That’s why this story brings tears to our eyes: A […]
Counting all victims of terrorism
By RNS Blog Editor — July 29, 2005
An editorial from the Jerusalem Post “Even if near-daily shelling of civilians in southern Israel with rocket and mortar fire doesn’t count for him (Pope Benedict XVI), then surely the suicide bombing which took five lives in Netanya earlier this month was no less reprehensible than what happened in the countries the pope did see […]
Counting all victims of terrorism
By RNS Blog Editor — July 29, 2005
An editorial from the Jerusalem Post “Even if near-daily shelling of civilians in southern Israel with rocket and mortar fire doesn’t count for him (Pope Benedict XVI), then surely the suicide bombing which took five lives in Netanya earlier this month was no less reprehensible than what happened in the countries the pope did see […]
COMMENTARY: Quran Desecration Is Nothing New
By Hesham Hassaballa — June 28, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Although many Americans have recently come to learn about it for the first time, the desecration of the Quran is nothing new. Islam’s sacred text has been desecrated for many years now, although not a single printed page of paper and ink was harmed in the process. The Sept. […]
ESSAY: Death Penalty Fan Becomes Condemned Women’s Friend
By RNS Blog Editor — April 3, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) I was a staunch supporter of the death penalty until I met my first death row inmate and the issue went from political to personal. I first visited the maximum security women’s prison in Gatesville, Texas, nine years ago. I went as a journalist, to meet Karla Faye Tucker, […]
