Kevin Dunn: A Tale of Two Films

By Kevin Dunn

Kevin Dunn in Guernsey

If someone told me that one day I would be travelling around the world to speak on euthanasia and assisted suicide I would have been hard pressed to believe them. I mean, who in their right mind would want to talk about death as a calling?
 
For most of my career, I was either in front of the camera entertaining —or behind it, producing films on things like dinosaurs, spies, entrepreneurs or modern history. However, as I began inching towards the age of 50 (I’m a young 54 as I write this) the subject matter for my films took a seismic shift towards social justice issues - and in particular, laws that imply that some lives are not worth living.

As I write this, I’m flying home from my 20th talk of 2019 - this time in Minnesota and Wisconsin. I call it my “Prophets of Hope” tour because I honestly believe that is where the solution lies. Each of us has to become a prophet of hope - a reason for someone’s tomorrow - especially in light of laws that tell others to give up on hope. For some reason, despite dire warnings from jurisdictions experienced with the cultural effects of euthanasia and assisted suicide, countries and states continue to enact laws that allow doctors to provide lethal injections or drugs to citizens who ‘qualify’ under certain criteria. What was once deemed unthinkable is now an option — and in many ways has become a subtle obligation —as fear of future suffering, losing autonomy or becoming a burden are among the top reasons why people request it.

In my recent film Fatal Flaws: Legalizing Assisted Death, I asked Dutch journalist Gerbert Van Loenen if there was anyone covering the other side of the euthanasia debate. He emphatically responded - ‘I’m afraid no one’. I found this especially alarming because the boundaries of the euthanasia law in the Netherlands are expanding to the point where even people who are ‘tired of life’ might get access to a lethal dose - legally - in the near future. I mean how could things have gone off the rails so badly that a civilized country would actually consider legalizing suicide for what would otherwise be diagnosed as depression and despair? Is it not bad enough that people are now asking for euthanasia at the first diagnosis of terminal illnesses? Where was the media in all of this? Journalists have not been doing their job. This is what inspired me to do more.
 

Alex Schadenberg & Kevin Dunn

Thankfully there are a handful of people who have been doing this issue justice - and one in particular for the past two decades: my friend Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition — a position he’s held for the past 20 years. Everywhere I speak, anytime I mention his name, Alex is known and respected. Even those who disagree with him have good things to say about his candour.

In November of 2015, I received an email from Alex asking me to create an information video which would educate people on these issues. He wanted to expose the risks associated with turning these previously criminal acts into some form of health care. Alex has been ringing the alarm bells since 1999, aware that the Kevorkian ideology was slowly trickling across the US border into Canada - and of the subtle but deadly introduction of language that was changing the act of murder into mercy killing; and assisted suicide into something called death with dignity.

With funding from the EPC, the information video quickly grew into a major documentary called The Euthanasia Deception produced by EPC and DunnMedia. The film took my crew and I through Belgium and various places in Canada where we found a plethora of underrepresented people who were waiting to tell their story on how these laws had deceived them. Patients, family members, medical professionals and ethicists all weighed in to paint a very grim picture of assisted dying laws.

Purchase the Fatal Flaws film (Link).
Purchase the Euthanasia Deception documentary (Link).

Just months after releasing The Euthanasia Deception, Alex and I heard about a strange phenomenon in the Netherlands called “Euthanasia Week”: an annual event of conferences, films and media interviews all geared at extolling the ‘virtue’ of Holland’s euthanasia law. This became one of the focal points for our next film, Fatal Flaws . It is now being screened and distributed internationally and won numerous awards.

Both films speak with authority because we hear stories from victims directly. As a filmmaker I know how important this is. I’ve seen first hand how the assisted death philosophy defines the person by their illness. This is absurd. We should never be defined by what malady assails us. We are defined by our worth as a created human being, deserving of the best care, the best pain management, the kind of dignity that says “I will walk with you and fight for you to the end - I will never abandon you by ending your life prematurely. As Mark Davis Pickup aptly noted in The Euthanasia Deception, “We should never judge tomorrow based on the fears of today.” Mark has lived with Multiple Sclerosis for over 30 years.

Margreet Van der Valk's mother

I am formalizing plans for a speaking tour in Australia in August. It would seem the land down under is quickly falling prey to the culture of abandonment which we have sadly embraced here in North America and in parts of Europe. I share the stories of those who bravely came forward on camera to tell me how these laws have taken them or their loved ones to the brink of death. Sadly, some are not living anymore - like 29 year old Aurelia Brouwers whose life was cut short by euthanasia for psychiatric reasons; Tom Mortier’s mother who was euthanized for depression; and Margreet Van der Valk’s mother who was euthanized without request . I carry these heartbreaking stories with me everywhere I speak.

At the end of my talks, people always ask me for one practical thing they can do to stem the tide. Yes, we must step up to inform our politicians and medical professionals of what these laws imply. Sharing these films are a great start. However we must do more. We must challenge ourselves daily to become a prophet of hope: the reason for someone’s tomorrow. It could be as simple as visiting elderly parents, volunteering to drive someone to the hospital or playing Scrabble for an hour with a senior in a nursing home. These are ways we inspire hope in others so they don’t reach for these laws.

It’s been quite a journey creating these films along with with Alex Schadenberg - a true Prophet of Hope for our times. Thanks, too for inspiring me to take this ‘show on the road’ and inspire others. You can be sure I’ll be toasting your 20th - perhaps from some Irish pub in the land down under!

Kevin Dunn can be reached through his Website: www.KevinDunn.info

Belgium 2018 euthanasia report. 247% increase since 2010

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Belgian euthanasia protest (2014)

The 2018 Belgian euthanasia report, released on February 28, indicates that in 2018 there were 2357 reported assisted deaths, up from 2309. The report suggests that the number of deaths are stable. There were 954 reported assisted deaths in 2010 representing a 247% increase in 8 years.

Belgian 2017 euthanasia report. Deaths continue to increase and children are dying by euthanasia.

Tine Neys (center) died by euthanasia in 2010.

The slowed growth in euthanasia deaths is likely based on the courts agreeing to examine some of the most controversial cases. For instance, Europe's top human rights court, in January agreed to hear the case of a depressed Belgian woman who died by euthanasia and last November three Belgian doctors were charged in the euthanasia death for psychiatric reasons.

Since 2010, Belgium has extended the law and expanded the reasons that it approves euthanasia by re-interpreting the law.

In 2018 there were 57 (2.4%) of deaths for mental or behavioral conditions, 83 (3.5%) for psychiatric reasons alone and 1% of the reported deaths were incompetent people who had made a previous request. No children were reported to die by euthanasia in 2018.

There may be many more assisted deaths in Belgium.

Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) (March 19, 2015) on the Belgian euthanasia practice found that in 2013:

• 4.6% of all deaths in the Flanders region were euthanasia.
• .05% of all deaths in the Flanders region were assisted suicide.
• 1.7% of all deaths in the Flanders region were hastened without explicit request.

Comparing the data from the 2013 NEJM study to the official 2013 Belgian euthanasia commission data one must conclude that almost half of the euthanasia deaths in 2013 were not reported to the commission.

The NEJM study concluded that 1.7% of all deaths were hastened without explicit request in 2013 representing more than 1000 deaths.

Ludo Vanopdenbosch

In 2017, Dr Ludo Vanopdenbosch, a palliative care specialist, resigned from the Belgian euthanasia commission after the commission approved the death of a woman who could not consent to euthanasia. Vanopdenbosch explained in his resignation letter that:

The most striking example took place at a meeting in early September, ... when the group discussed the case of a patient with severe dementia, who also had Parkinson's disease. To demonstrate the patient's lack of competence, a video was played showing what Vanopdenbosch characterized as "a deeply demented patient."  

The patient, whose identity was not disclosed, was euthanized at the family's request... There was no record of any prior request for euthanasia from the patient.

The Associated Press revealed a rift between Dr. Wim Distelmans, co-chair of the euthanasia commission, and Dr. Lieve Thienpont, a psychiatrist who is actively doing euthanasia for psychiatric reasons. Distelmans suggested that some of Thienpont's patients might have been killed without meeting all the legal requirements. After the AP report, more than 360 doctors, academics and others have signed a petition calling for tighter controls on euthanasia for psychiatric patients.

I hope that the Belgian people will wake-up and realize how crazy the euthanasia ideology has become and recognize the social and human destruction that euthanasia has caused.

Music as Therapy in Assisted Dying?

By Kevin Dunn
Co-Producer of Fatal Flaws and the Euthanasia Deception documentary.

The effects of assisted dying laws on the culture continue to astound me. Recently, I spoke with a music therapist who was looking for my perspectives on Canada’s Medical Aid in Dying Law (MAiD) as I have just finished my second film on the subject. 

Kristen Morrow

Kristen Morrow, MTA is a conscientious objector who will be part of an upcoming forum in Vancouver, entitled “Responding to Change: Music Therapy Perspectives on Navigating Assisted Suicide” . Kristen will be presenting alongside another therapist who used music therapy in a MAiD procedure. Together they will discuss the ethical ramifications of their profession becoming more involved with this “new and controversial aspect of the healthcare system”. The session will be one of many presented at the Music Therapy Association of British Columbia’s annual conference. She says depending on the response to the forum, the conversation may move to a national level.

I suppose this resonated with me so powerfully because I am a musician myself. Music has always been an integral part of my life. I have always used this gift to bring joy, hope – and where I can, bring healing to others.

I want to say at the onset that my heart breaks for people whose circumstances have led them to a place where they feel that an assisted death is their only option. I’ve interviewed people in these situations. I have spoken to them just weeks before their euthanasia. I still grieve for their demise. It touches me to the very core.

The Canadian Music Therapy Association defines the profession as “a discipline in which credentialed professionals use music purposefully within therapeutic relationships to support development, health, and well-being.”

While I understand why music therapists want to have this discussion in light of our new law, I believe Kristen is rightly concerned about her profession’s complicity with the ideology of assisted dying. Like sedatives which are given to calm the patient before a lethal injection or medication, music therapy is now being proposed as a complimentary comfort and relaxation tool in the process. Some may take no issue with this. Others do. Kristen says she got into this profession to use music as a vehicle for healing and now she may be asked to use her gift to comfort – be complicit – in a suicide. An assisted suicide yes, but still suicide.

Let’s put aside various legal criteria for an assisted death for a moment. After all, it’s a moving target in most countries and the language is extremely broad and subjective. Canada is no exception. Incremental extensions and exceptions to the law are commonplace in various countries. Now, people non-terminal conditions (like blindness), chronic illness, mental illness, even children and babies are now ‘qualifying’ in some countries. Canada’s criteria continues to be challenged.

Another consideration is the ‘completed life’ bill in the Netherlands, where, if passed, would allow otherwise healthy people to ask for euthanasia if they feel their ‘life is complete’ or no longer worth living. Even the most staunch supporters of euthanasia feel the genie has left the bottle and are speaking out about this “worrisome culture shift”.

It seems to me that once society accepts that life is no longer worth living in certain situations – and that ethos has been enshrined in law, we are all left to deal with the fall out. The ripple effect continues for decades, perhaps centuries. Society’s vulnerable are the first to suffer. Patients demand their ‘right to die’ while doctors in Ontario are now forced to ‘do or refer’ — or risk losing their licence, violating their very right of freedom of conscience. How long before this applies to others who refuse to participate on grounds of conscience – nurses, nurse practitioners, support staff, pharmacists, psychologists — music therapists like Kristen?

Most baby boomers in North America will remember a time when the very idea of euthanasia for people was so foreign, so unthinkable that its very application was relegated to disturbing news stories or science fiction movies.

Soylent Green

When I heard more about music therapy being considered as part of the assisted death procedure, I couldn’t help but think of the scene in the post-apocalyptic, dystopian movie Soylent Green starring Charlton Heston. Depressed and disgusted by the depravity of the world, an elderly police analyst (played by Edward G. Robinson) enters a government clinic to obtain an assisted suicide. While registering, the clerk asks him what kind of music he would like to hear while as the procedure takes place. He asks for classical. Light classical. He asks that the music be be played for a full 20 minutes until he dies. Sure enough, when he enters the room, his requested music is played through the speakers and delightful imagery is projected on screens around him. As he lay on his pre-arranged death bed, two assistants, dressed like angels give him the drink that will end his life. The music intensifies until he succumbs to the lethal medication. While the actual plot of the movie is quite far-fetched, the atmosphere in which people are euthanized is quite chilling, especially in light of these modern day discussions and rapid extensions to the law. Coincidentally, the movie is set in the year 2022.

Kevin Dunn

During the filming of my film Fatal Flaws, my crew and I visited an actual ‘end of life clinic’ in the Netherlands. The clinic, which operates independently, is set up for people whose own GP will not grant their request for euthanasia. It’s not really a clinic per se, rather a consultation facility where, if the patient qualifies, doctors will travel to their home to carry out the euthanasia request. I was told by the director of the clinic that approximately one third of the patients who apply, end up qualifying for euthanasia.

Since the law was passed in Canada, over 3,000 people have chosen an assisted death. In 2018 alone, we are witnessing a 30% jump in MAiD procedures. This increase will no doubt have an effect on access and less restrictive laws. Sadly, this leaves many vulnerable people in an extremely precarious position. Depression, fear of loss of autonomy, fear of becoming a burden, the draining of finances are the top rationale which affect he choices people make in ending their lives early. I wonder. As more people and professions fall in line with this philosophy, how much more will the pressure be on any of us to ‘opt in’ when we are at the lowest point in our lives. And just like planning funerals, people who qualify for an assisted death are now planning not only who will surround them at the end – but what kind of atmosphere they wish while the procedure is taking place. One has to ask, where is all of this leading us?

Power of Music

In the painting entitled “Power of Music” by Louis Gallait we see a brother and sister resting before an old tomb. The brother is attempting to comfort his sibling by playing the violin, and she has fallen into a deep sleep, “oblivious of all grief, mental and physical”.

I can imagine what happens in the scene later on. The sister would have woken up, consoled and rejuvenated by the power of music. Alternatively, when music therapy is used as a comfort tool in euthanasia procedures, there is no hopeful conclusion. Only death.

I join my voice with Kristen when I say that pandora’s box in this case is wide open and that music therapy should never enter in. Rather, let us use this great gift of music – and our own gift of presence – to be the reason for someone’s tomorrow, no matter how challenging those ‘tomorrows’ may be.
 
Kevin Dunn is a respected Canadian filmmaker, guest speaker and president of DunnMedia. His recent work “Fatal Flaws: Legalizing Assisted Death” looks at the effects of these laws on the culture in four different countries. His first film on the subject is “The Euthanasia Deception” . He can be reached at www.dunnmedia.ca

Fatal Flaws film will change the way you view assisted death.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC)

The Fatal Flaws film and pamphlets can now be purchased (Link) and the Fatal Flaws Film can be purchased and downloaded (Link).

Recently Fatal Flaws was screened in Guernsey (UK) while their legislature was debating assisted suicide. One of the sponsors of the assisted suicide bill watched Fatal Flaws. The next day he stood up in the legislature and said that he changed his mind after watching Fatal Flaws. Guernsey then defeated the assisted suicide bill by 24 to 14. 

Fatal Flaws features personal stories from people who oppose assisted suicide but also interviews with leaders of the death lobbies in the Netherlands and the United States.

Fatal Flaws is available for purchase on VIMEO ON DEMAND for $30 US. (Link) 

We recently added the Vimeo On-Demand Rental Release providing 48 hours access for $5 US (Link).

The Fatal Flaws pamphlet is based on the stories in the film. The pamphlet is excellent for distribution at a screening or opposing euthanasia and assisted suicide. (Inside of the pamphlet) (outside of the pamphlet).

Purchase the DVD or pamphlets include taxes and shipping: All orders can be made online (Link).

• DVD: $30 each, 2 for $50, or 10 for $200.
• DVD: online download $30 US (Link).
• Pamphlets: $30 for 100, 200 for $50.

Further Discounts: All orders can be made online (Link).

• With any Fatal Flaws order, get The Euthanasia Deception documentary for $20.

Further bulk orders are available upon request.

Order the Fatal Flaws DVD with pamphlets online, or email: info@epcc.ca or call EPC toll free at: 1-877-439-3348 or mail your check to:

Euthanasia Prevention Coalition - Box 25033 London, Ontario N6C 6A8 or

Euthanasia Prevention Coalition - Box 611309 Port Huron, MI 48061

The Fatal Flaws Film will change the way the culture views assisted death.

Fatal Flaws features incredible stories that have never been told before. The most shocking story concerns Margreet whose mother was euthanized in the Netherlands without consent. Please watch and share this film clip.

Fatal Flaws also features the story of Candice Lewis  (Link) from Newfoundland, Canada who was pressured by doctors to die by assisted death.

These two powerful stories are a small but important part of the Fatal Flaws film.

The Fatal Flaws companion pamphlet is designed to re-enforce the message of the film. The pamphlet is excellent for promoting the film or for distribution at a screening.

Many of our supporters purchased The Euthanasia Deception documentary, two years ago, organizing screenings throughout North America and all over the world.

CBC airs propaganda programs promoting assisted death

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Sign the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition petition: Tell CBC to stop producing one-sided propaganda programs on assisted death (Link).

CBC is once again promoting euthanasia.

CBC radio's The Current aired the propaganda program "Will Pegg will die an assisted death. He couldn't feel more alive" on December 11 and CBC News aired the propaganda program "Parkinson's patient forced to battle bureaucracy around assisted death" on December 12.

The CBC radio program focuses on Will Pegg, who has bone cancer. This program normalizes euthanasia and details the assisted death process.

The CBC News program focuses on Nancy Vickers, who has Parkinson's. This television mini documentary is normalizing and promoting the extension of euthanasia to people who are not terminally ill and also airs the assisted death process.

The CBC Corporation, a Canadian federal Crown corporation, receives more than $1 billion in federal government funding.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC) is concerned about the suicide contagion effect related to these recent CBC propaganda programs and their one-sided promotion of euthanasia.

Last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) updated their guide: Preventing suicide: a resource for media professionals. The summary of the WHO guide states:

• Don't place stories about suicide prominently and do not unduly repeat such stories,
• Don't use language which sensationalizes or normalizes suicide, or presents it as a constructive solution to problems,
• Don't explicitly describe the method used,
• Don't provide details about the site/location,
• Don't sensationalize headlines,
• Don't use photographs, video footage or social media links.

These CBC media programs have broken nearly all of these guidelines.

Airing The Euthanasia Deception documentary will enable CBC to offer both sides of the debate.

Kevin Dunn, Director of The Euthanasia Deception and Fatal Flaws, responded to the CBC News program with this article: CBC Cameras roll as doctor gives lethal injection to patient.


Sign the petition: Tell CBC to stop producing one-sided propaganda programs on assisted death (Link).

Fatal Flaws Film: "She was euthanized without consent (in the Netherlands). They decided."

The Fatal Flaws film (Spring 2018) questions the long term effects of assisted death laws on society.

Euthanasia is being debated in Australia and several US states are debating assisted suicide. Political leaders and decision makers need to see this film clip.

The most shocking story in Fatal Flaws comes from Margreet whose mother was euthanized in the Netherlands without consent. Please watch and share this film clip.

Kevin Dunn traveled to the Netherlands, throughout the United States and Canada to interview people with personal stories concerning euthanasia and assisted suicide laws.

Purchase the DVD or pamphlets include taxes and shipping: All orders can be made online (Link).

• DVD: $30 each, 2 for $50, or 10 for $200.
• DVD: online download $30 US (Link).
• Pamphlets: $30 for 100, 200 for $50.
• You can purchase Fatal Flaws as a download through VIMEO ON DEMAND for $30 US. (Link).

The first video, The Euthanasia Deception, continues to be an incredible success. We need you to enable Fatal Flaws to also be an incredible success.

Canada's Assisted Dying law - one year later.

Alex Schadenberg

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

One year after the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide, Canada has become the prime example of how legalizing assisted dying cannot be controlled and why these laws are naturally expansive. Society needs policies that encourage caring and not killing.

On June 17, 2016; Canada's Senate passed euthanasia bill (C-14) in time for their summer break. Even though some groups claimed victory based on the amendments to C-14, EPC was concerned by the fact that the most dangerous language in C-14 remained intact. Bill C-14 uses undefined language that (in my opinion) is designed to enable expansion of Canada's euthanasia law.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition continues to oppose euthanasia. 

• EPC has successfully produced the Euthanasia Deception documentary focusing on personal stories by people with direct experience with euthanasia,
• EPC has successfully distributed the Caring Not Killing pamphlet that explains why euthanasia and assisted suicide are not necessary and what you can do to make a difference,
• EPC is working with the Compassionate Community Care service that offers advice and direction for family and friends of people who are considering dying by assisted death or people facing difficult end-of-life decisions. Contact CCC at: 1-855-675-8749. 

More people are dying by euthanasia than projected.

Even though we are well into 2017, the data from 2016 indicates that there were 970 reported assisted deaths in Canada. 

Other than Québec, where there were 463 deaths in the full year, these deaths occurred in 6.5 months (June 17 - Dec 31). The percentage of assisted deaths is highest in British Columbia, where there were 188 assisted deaths, where they have two euthanasia clinics, as compared to 189 assisted deaths in Ontario. The 970 reported assisted deaths represented 0.6% of all deaths in Canada. 

There may be more assisted deaths. 

According to the report, not every province has a legal requirement to report assisted deaths while Nunavut and the Yukon territories did not submit information based on privacy concerns and the small number of assisted deaths.

A CBC news report (April 20) stated that there were more than 1324 assisted deaths since legalization.

The number of deaths is high in comparison to Belgium where there was 235 reported assisted deaths in its first full year (2003), 349 in its second full year and 393 in its third full year after legalization. Currently Belgium is approximately 1/3 of Canada's population.

In 2015, there were 2021 reported Belgian assisted deaths, up from 1924 reported assisted deaths in 2014. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (March 2015) found that more than 40% of the assisted deaths were not reported in 2013.

Conscience rights for medical professionals are not protected.

Bill C-14 did not protect conscience rights for medical professionals. The Coalition for HealthCare and Conscience launched a legal challenge to the Ontario College of Physicians policy that forces physicians, who oppose killing, to "effectively refer" their patients to a physician who will kill. Effective referral is defined as referral for the purpose of the act. The court case was heard (June 13 - 15) in an Ontario court. Some physicians will leave Ontario if they are forced to participate in euthanasia.

At the same time, the Québec government has pressured palliative care units to participate in euthanasia.

Conscience rights are recognized in Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedom but the euthanasia lobby claims that patients have a "right to access" euthanasia and thus claim that conscience rights must be limited.

Expansion of euthanasia law.

Before the ink was dry, the first court case was launched to expand Bill C-14. Recently two people from Montreal launched a similar court case to expand Canada's euthanasia law to people who are not terminally ill.

Canada's federal government did not waste time to announce that they were conducting research into expanding euthanasia to people with dementia, who stated in their advanced directive that they wanted to die by euthanasia, children, and people with psychological suffering alone.

Abuse of the law.

The law requires the physician, or nurse practitioner, who lethally injects their patient to self-report the act. Self-reporting systems enables those who lethally inject their patients in questionable circumstances to cover-up abuse of the law. 

In late September 2016, Dr Will Johnston reported on two British Columbia deaths that appear to abuse the euthanasia law. In November I was contacted by a man who stated that his Aunt, who died by euthanasia, may only have had a bladder infection.

Based on the Québec government euthanasia report 14% of the assisted deaths did not comply with the law.

Further to that, a Canadian bioethicist is already promoting euthanasia / organ donation, a study was published explaining that up to 138 million dollars can be saved by euthanasia.

Once society crosses the line and decides that it is acceptable to kill people, the only remaining question is who will be killed.

Meanwhile a Toronto study that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that requests for euthanasia were based on existential distress and not uncontrolled pain.

The euthanasia debate needs to go beyond theory and buzz words and become based on human reality. People usually ask for euthanasia when they are emotionally and/or psychologically distraught by their medical or personal situation. Therefore euthanasia becomes an abandonment of people at the most vulnerable time of their life.

The answer to euthanasia is to care for people and not to kill people.

Film Producer Seeking Assisted Suicide Stories

The producers of The Euthanasia Deception documentary (www.VulnerableFilm.com) are working on a new film dealing with the effects of assisted suicide in America. 

Assisted suicide is currently legal in the States of Oregon, Washington, Vermont, California, and the District of Columbia. 

If you or a loved one have felt coerced, experienced abuse, or come back from the brink of death by assisted death, we would like to hear from you. 

Email us a brief description with contact information at VulnerableStories@gmail.com.

The Mother Situation: Award winning comic short film about euthanasia is a hit.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

The Mother Situation won first
prize at the Tropfest film festival

After all the recent films promoting euthanasia, it is interesting how The Mother Situation won first prize in the Tropfest film festival in Australia. Tropfest is the world's largest short film festival.

Link to: The Mother Situation film.

Warning: This film contains swearing.

Director, Matt Day, insists that he supports euthanasia and that this is not an anti-euthanasia film, yet The Mother Situation is a comic film that casts doubt on the effectiveness of "safeguards" concerning euthanasia.

Film is a powerful cultural medium.

Recently a euthanasia advocate changed her mind after watching The Euthanasia Deception documentary with her grandson. The Euthanasia Deception documentary is produced by The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC) and DunnMedia.

EPC is committed to producing films for social change at: www.vulnerablefilms.com.

Euthanasia advocate changes her mind after watching the Euthanasia Deception documentary

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

I am so pleased to share the latest great news. Watch the interview with Shane Johnson:

I recently met Shane at an training event that we organized in Washington DC. Shane attended the event to share with us his gratitude concerning his grandmother, who had been a member of the Hemlock society, a group that is now known as Compassion and Choices, but has now changed her mind. 

Shane and his grandmother watched the Euthanasia Deception documentary together. While watching the documentary, Shane's grandmother flipped 180 degrees and changed her mind about euthanasia.

Shane is so grateful that his grandmother saw the Euthanasia Deception documentary since she had been an active supporter of euthanasia and assisted suicide most of her life. 

Order the Euthanasia Deception documentary today for $30 for 1 copy or $100 for 4 copies (+ tax) (further bulk orders are available) from the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition by calling: 1-877-439-3348 by email: info@epcc.ca or at: www.vulnerablefilm.com.

I am also pleased to announce that a bilingual version (french subtitles) is now available for ordering.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition has distributed almost 2800 copies of the Euthanasia Deception documentary on DVD and there have also been many downloads on Vimeo.

Link to more information about the Euthanasia Deception documentary.

The most popular articles in 2016 on euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

In 2016, Canada officially decriminalized euthanasia and California decriminalized assisted suicide. The disability rights movement were right to protest the movie - Me Before You and the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition produced the documentary - The Euthanasia Deception documentary.

Good news. The South Africa Supreme Court rejected euthanasia, the New Mexico Supreme Court rejected assisted suicide, and South Australia rejected euthanasia.

We have hope. Our supporters wants Caring and Not Killing options and they oppose giving physicians, or others, the right in law to be directly involved with killing patients.

The 10 most popular articles posted on the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition blog in 2016.

1. Boycott the movie - Me Before You: "Disability Death Porn." Posted May 26.
2. California Assisted suicide law prompts insurance company to deny coverage to terminally ill woman. Posted Oct 20, 2016.
3. Canadian Senate passes euthanasia bill in time for their summer break. Posted June 17.
4. South Africa Supreme Court rejects euthanasia. Posted Dec 6.
5. The Euthanasia Deception documentary. Posted Sept 30.
6. Advice to Canada from Belgium: Safeguards are an illusion. Posted April 28.
7. Woman dies by euthanasia, may only have had a bladder infection. Posted Nov 14.
8. New Mexico Supreme Court: There is no right to assisted suicide. Posted June 30.
9. Canada's euthanasia bill provides a perfect cover for murder. Posted April 14.
10. The Declaration of Hope. Posted Jan 1.

More information updates:

• Dutch euthanasia deaths continue to rise in 2015.
• Belgian 2015 euthanasia report: Deaths continue to rise.
• Oregon 2015 assisted suicide report - another 26% increase.
• Washington State 2015 assisted suicide report. Assisted deaths increase by 31.7%.
• Switzerland: 26% increase in assisted suicide deaths in 2014.
• Quebec euthanasia report: 14% non-compliance with the euthanasia law.
• Do Not Kill Me: I oppose euthanasia and assisted suicide.