Let elderly people 'hurry up and die', says Japanese minister

Justin McCurry, guardian.co.uk

Taro Aso says he would refuse end-of-life care and would 'feel bad' knowing treatment was paid for by government

Japan's new government is barely a month old, and already one of its most senior members has insulted tens of millions of voters by suggesting that the elderly are an unnecessary drain on the country's finances. Taro Aso, the finance minister, said on Monday that the elderly should be allowed to "hurry up and die" to relieve pressure on the state to pay for their medical care. "Heaven forbid if you are forced to live on when you want to die. I would wake up feeling increasingly bad knowing that [treatment] was all being paid for by the government," he said during a meeting of the national council on social security reforms. "The problem won't be solved unless you let them hurry up and die." Read more

Elder Caregiver: We need Aloha, not “Death by Prescription”

From Hawaii Free Press 
Letters to the Editor, October 25, 2011 

Dear Editor, 

I am an experienced caregiver to elderly, disabled, and seriously/terminally ill patients.

Suicide activist and physician Robert Nathanson is preying on the very people who need us most. By participating in and instigating suicide among the vulnerable, Nathanson is committing acts that are illegal, unethical, and disgraceful to the medical profession. Physician assisted suicide constitutes the worst form of medical abandonment and is a recipe for abuse of the elderly, handicapped, and helpless. Read more