A Las Vegas court has heard details of the murder of 68 year-old Monique Gilbertson, whose body was discovered by law enforcement locked in a freezer. The victim’s roommate Daniel Roush, who identifies as transgender and also uses the name Jazlynn Marie, is accused of killing Gilbertson with fentanyl-laced cocaine before disposing of her body.
Police were dispatched for a welfare check to Gilberston’s mobile home on November 6 after a concerned acquaintance reported that the woman had been unreachable for two weeks.
“Officers entered the home and located two individuals inside who could not provide officers with the location of the elderly female,” the release said. “While officers searched the home they located a deceased female in a freezer. Both individuals were detained as investigators determined their involvement.”
Photo montage of Daniel ‘Jazlynn’ Roush. Source: Facebook
Authorities arrested Roush after investigators established that he was “involved in the victim’s death.” He was booked into the Clark County Detention Center.
According to the police report, Gilbertson met Roush while shopping at hardware store Home Depot, and invited him to move in with her. According to someone who knew Gilbertson, Roush had agreed to help with chores around the house in exchange for a room, but shortly after he began living with Gilbertson, she started to complain about Roush’s untidiness and his drug paraphernalia scattered about the home.
Property manager Demecia Lopez, who reported Gilberston’s disappearance to police, told investigators that Gilbertson had complained “about how filthy Roush was” in the weeks leading up to her death, allegedly telling Lopez she was “upset” and had kicked Roush out, in addition to changing her locks.
Roush pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder on Wednesday. Prosecutors, meanwhile, argued that Roush “willfully, unlawfully, feloniously, and with malice” caused Gilbertson’s death.
Reduxx found that Roush, who has a young daughter, has a lengthy criminal record, including a previous conviction for child abuse, neglect, and endangerment, a felony offense in the state of Nevada. In July 2020, Roush was sentenced to 12 months minimum suspended sentence, and was ordered to submit to drug and alcohol testing upon the request of the Division of Parole.
In March of 2022, Roush was ordered to undergo a substance abuse evaluation and a mental health assessment after he was found guilty of attempting to possess a stolen vehicle.
Despite being listed as a “male” in the Clark County Jail roster, media reports on Roush’s charges have referred to him as a “woman.”
Hundreds of enraged farmers took to their tractors and descended upon the Labour Party conference in Wales to protest the leftist government’s planned tax raid on farmers.
Following in the footsteps of farmers’ protest movements across Europe, tractors gathered outside the Labour Party conference in Llandudno, Wales, on Saturday to demonstrate their anger over Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s government’s plans to impose inheritance tax hikes on farms, North Wales Live reports.
Since 1984, family farms were largely exempt from paying inheritance tax on farmland or on farm buildings such as barns, cottages, or houses. However, under the fledgling Labour government’s tax-grabbing reforms, farms valued at over £1 million (£2m for married couples) will face an inheritance tax of 20 per cent.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has claimed that the tax raid would only impact “a very small number of agricultural properties.” However, farmers groups, such as the National Farmers’ Union, have warned that many farmers would be forced to sell some of their land to pay the tax.
Others have argued that while many farmers work for very little money, the value of their land has been artificially inflated by the housing crisis in Britain and the wealthy buying up farmland to escape inheritance taxes, and therefore, the tax would unfairly punish hard-working families.
The tractor protest on Saturday saw tractors clad with placards reading “Labour war on countryside”, “No farmers, no food”, and “Labour taxes = food shortages”.
'If they keep putting tax on the farmers it's going to have a massive impact'
Hundreds of farmers gathered outside the Welsh Labour conference to protest against the government's inheritance tax rises which they say will affect a lot of ordinary farmers.https://t.co/Za5XeXwmrppic.twitter.com/QRpC3GVHyF
A protesting farmer from the Conwy Valley, Aled Jones said outside the conference: “Farmers are working 70-hour weeks for less than the minimum wage. Their only benefit is that they can pass on a farm to their families.
“One per cent of the population is producing food for the rest of the country and it seems that this policy that’s been brought in is a left-wing, vindictive policy just to try and punish people who have any asset behind them. People have come (to the protest) from all over the country.”
“This is not about wanting money, we don’t want money. You’re taxing us on money we’ve never had. They are going to tax people on the value of something.
“They (the UK Treasury) are talking about the number of farms being impacted being very, very low, but the NFU (National Farmers’ Union of England and Wales) is saying it’s expecting that over 70 per cent of farms will be affected by this, in Wales. Land will never have a value unless it’s sold, and yet you (the UK Government) are going to tax us on it.”
Nevertheless, Prime Minsiter Starmer told his party’s conference in Wales that he would “defend our decisions in the Budget all day long.”
“I will defend the tough decisions that would necessary to stabilise our economy and I will defend protecting the pay slips of working people, fixing the foundations of our economy and investing in the future of Britain and the future of Wales, finally turning the page on austerity once and for all,” Starmer added.
The farmers have garnered support from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, whose populist party seeks to woo disaffected working-class people in Wales away from the increasingly urban-elite Labour Party. Mr Farage has claimed that Starmer is seeking to force farmers to shut down and grab their land to build new housing projects for migrants.
Farage Accuses Labour Gov’t of Attacking Farmers to Take Land for Migrant Housinghttps://t.co/AKMnKt4gDG
* Justin Welby steps down as Archbishop of Canterbury over his failure to take action over the Church of England’s most notorious child abuser * British police launch a chilling investigation into a British journalist’s social media posts * Donald Trump makes a series of stunning appointments in his efforts to reverse the Long March Through the Institutions
A new peer-reviewed study reports that it has found a more than 1,000 percent increase in heart-related deaths among a large pool of people who have taken the COVID-19 shots.
On October 24, the Journal of Emergency Medicine published a study by a team of McCullough Foundation doctors who reviewed the annual reports of cardiopulmonary arrests, survival rates, and emergency medical services (EMS) incidents from King County, Washington, from 2016 to 2023. The county presented a “unique opportunity” for analysis because nearly the entire population (an estimated 98%) had received at least one COVID shot dose.
“As of August 2nd, 2024, there have been approximately 589,247 confirmed COVID-19 cases in King County,” the study found.
“In 2021-2022, Total EMS attendances in King County sharply increased by 35.34% from 2020 and by 11% from pre-pandemic years. Cases of ‘obvious death’ upon EMS arrival increased by 19.89% in 2020, 36.57% in 2021, and 53.80% in 2022 compared to the 2017-2019 average. We found a 25.7% increase in total cardiopulmonary arrests and a 25.4% increase in cardiopulmonary arrest mortality from 2020 to 2023 in King County, WA.”
“Excess fatal cardiopulmonary arrests were estimated to have increased by 1,236% from 2020 to 2023, rising from 11 excess deaths (95% CI: -12, 34) in 2020 to 147 excess deaths (95% CI: 123, 170) in 2023,” the study continued. “A quadratic increase in excess cardiopulmonary arrest mortality was observed with higher COVID-19 vaccination rates. The general population of King County sharply declined by 0.94% (21,300) in 2021, deviating from the expected population size. Applying our model from these data to the entire United States yielded 49,240 excess fatal cardiopulmonary arrests from 2021-2023.”
The authors concluded that there was a “significant ecological and temporal association between excess fatal cardiopulmonary arrests and the COVID-19 vaccination campaign,” but allowed that “COVID-19 infection and disruptions in emergency care during the pandemic” could be an alternative explanation.
To more fully understand the problem, they called for “continuous monitoring and analysis of cardiopulmonary arrest data to inform public health interventions and policies, especially in the context of vaccination programs,” as well as for the “U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 vaccination administration data [to] be merged with all death cases so that the vaccine type, dose(s), and date of administration can be analyzed as possible determinants.”
The study adds to a large body of evidence linking significant risks to the COVID shots, which were developed and reviewed in a fraction of the time vaccines usually take under the first Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed initiative.
The federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) reports 38,068 deaths, 218,646 hospitalizations, 22,002 heart attacks, and 28,706 myocarditis and pericarditis cases as of October 25, among other ailments. U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) researchers have recognized a “high verification rate of reports of myocarditis to VAERS after mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccination,” leading to the conclusion that “under-reporting is more likely” than over-reporting.
An analysis of 99 million people across eight countries published February in the journal Vaccine “observed significantly higher risks of myocarditis following the first, second and third doses” of mRNA-based COVID jabs, as well as signs of increased risk of “pericarditis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis,” and other “potential safety signals that require further investigation.” In April, the CDC was forced to release by court order 780,000 previously undisclosed reports of serious adverse reactions, and a study out of Japan found “statistically significant increases” in cancer deaths after third doses of mRNA-based COVID-19 shots, and offered several theories for a causal link.
All eyes are currently on former President Donald Trump, who last week won his campaign to return to the White House and whose team, which will be helmed by prominent vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, has given mixed signals as to the prospects of reconsidering the shots for which he has long taken credit. At the very least, Trump has consistently opposed jab mandates and is expected to fill more federal judicial vacancies with jurists similarly inclined.
The trial of a man charged with murdering his wife and two young sons has begun this week, with the accused now claiming to identify as transgender. Mohamad Al Ballouz, 38, is charged with the second-degree murder of his wife, Synthia Bussières, and the first-degree murders of their two sons, aged just 5 and 2 years old. Ballouz has now adopted the name Levana Ballouz, and has been referred to as a “woman” by Canadian press.
In September of 2022, firefighters attended Ballouz’ 12th floor condo in Brossard, Quebec in response to an apparent house fire. Inside, they found Synthia Bussières, her body riddled with stab wounds, laying on a bed next to her two children. Ballouz had lodged himself between Bussiéres and the children, and a small bonfire of household items had been lit next to the mattress.
Synthia Bussières and her two children.
All four were rushed to the hospital, but Bussières and her children died. Ballouz, who was also injured, had reportedly consumed dishwashing liquid in an apparent suicide attempt, but he was placed under arrest after being treated. Ballouz has no previous criminal history.
While the details of the case, including any potential motive, are still unclear, Bussières’ mother has come forward to reveal that her daughter appeared increasingly troubled in the two years leading up to the murder.
“She had been with this man for 12 years, but in the last two years, she had changed. I didn’t recognize her anymore,” Sylvie Guertin told Les 2 Rives in September of 2023. She also said that she had seen Bussières in the weeks before her death, and had observed that her daughter looked frail.
“In August [of 2022], I saw that something was wrong, but I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to look like the mother who gets involved in something that doesn’t concern her,” Guertin said. “I thought she had lost weight.”
Ballouz’s trial began on Monday, but during the proceedings it was learned that he now identifies as a “woman” named Levana Ballouz. During his hearings, he appeared in court wearing a blonde, curly wig and nail polish. He is reportedly representing himself after firing his two criminal defense lawyers, both of whom were considered to be among the best in Quebec.
According to CBC, the prosecution had to “warn” the jury that several witnesses would refer to Ballouz as a man to preempt any concerns about “disrespect.” Prior to the start of the trial, no previous news coverage had documented that Ballouz was expressing a change in his self-perceived “gender identity,” suggesting his claim of being transgender was extremely recent.
Canadian media outlets are respecting Ballouz’ new identity, with multiple articles covering the trial referring to Ballouz as a “woman” or by using feminine pronouns.
While the trial is expected to last at least 10 more weeks, if Ballouz is found guilty and criminally responsible, he would be entitled to request housing in a women’s prison.
Largely due to the efforts of the governing Liberal Party under Justin Trudeau, the category of “gender identity” was made a protected characteristic after it was added to the Canadian Human Rights Act via a controversial piece of legislation known as Bill C-16. The amendments granted men access to single-sex female spaces like washrooms, changing rooms, prisons, and rape shelters on the basis of their identity.
Since Bill C-16 was enacted in 2017, a number of violent and sexually depraved male inmates have been transferred to women’s prisons across Canada.
As previously reported by Reduxx, one egregious example includes a trans-identified male who raped an infant before being transferred to a women’s prison.
Tara Desousa, also known as Adam Laboucan, sexually assaulted a three-month-old baby boy in Quesnel, British Columbia in 1997. The infant was so brutally injured by the attack that he had to be flown to Vancouver, 410 miles away, to undergo reconstructive surgery. After declaring a transgender status, Desousa was transferred to the Fraser Valley Institution for Women, where he is one of multiple trans-identified males with a history of sexual violence at the facility. Desousa is designated a “dangerous offender” and is considered such a risk to public safety that he is serving an indeterminate prison sentence.
PVV leader Geert Wilders arrived at the Catshuis under heavy security. Screen grab X
A major crisis has been unfolding within the Dutch Government as a consequence of the anti-Israeli violence following a Europa League football match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam on November 7.
A split occurred within the Dutch cabinet when Nora Achahbar, State Secretary for Benefits and Customs, resigned on November 15 over statements by her colleagues a few days earlier during heated discussions on the matter, which she deemed racist.
Geert Wilders, leader of the Freedom Party (PVV), the biggest party in the coalition, and a staunch supporter of Israel, has been vocal — writing on X on November 13, he blamed Moroccans, whom he said “hunted Jews”.
“We have a Moroccan problem,” he said, adding he wanted to take away Dutch nationality for Moroccans in the country.
All other governing parties also mentioned migrants and Islam. Prime Minister Dick Schoof spoke of an “integration problem”.
On the Right, some observers have said that the resignation of Achahbar did not symbolise a stance against racism but instead indicated “tribalism”, with a state secretary of Moroccan descent apparently defending Moroccan rioters over victims of anti-Semitism.
Since the departure of Achahbar, there has been an atmosphere of crisis, with ministers of all coalition parties talking separately about how to move on.
Now, the rest of Achahbar’s party, the centrist Christian Democrat New Social Contract (NSC) Party, has allegedly threatened to withdraw from the government, leaving the right-wing cabinet without a majority.
Insiders claimed all ministers cleared their agendas for the rest of the day on November 15, indicating to many the severity of the crisis. The cabinet is now working urgently to keep the coalition together.
At 6pm, group chairs from all the governing parties were set to come together and discuss the matter.
Dutch journalists have been monitoring the government’s main building since rumours of Achahbar resignation surfaced.
Achahbar, who has a Moroccan background, is the second New Social Contract (NSC) politician to resign from the government.
She was preceded by Folkert Idsinga, who was state secretary for tax, who refused to disclose his retirement savings, which allegedly involved business interests and could create conflicts of interest.
On November 1, Idsinga resigned, citing a lack of trust from the parliament. He denied misconduct and later offered an outline of his financial interests as a private citizen.
The NSC has reportedly been uncomfortable in forming a right-wing government from the start.
Pieter Omtzigt, President of the NSC, was hesitant during the recent coalition formation talks and pulled out altogether at one point.
The party has often appeared unhappy and polls have indicated most of voters turned their back on it, indicating NSC would only keep three or four seats in new elections after having scored 20 in the November 2023 elections.
In mid-September, Omtzigt’s said he had “health issues” and announced he would temporarily take a step back, giving the reign to the vice-president of the party.
He said he would continue to work for the NSC, “from the back”. Omtzigt is reported to be struggling with extreme exhaustion.
The left-wing opposition reacted positively on Achahbar’s resignation. Frans Timmermans, who leads the coalition of Socialists and Greens, said he was “absolutely right to draw a line”.
“Racist remarks are the order of the day” at the right-wing government, he stated.
“This cabinet does not serve all Dutch people. That damages the already fragile trust in our society. I want to debate this issue quickly.”
Left-liberal D66 leader Rob Jetten praised Achahbar for “keeping her back straight” and added that racism had no place at the heart of the government.
The opposition said it wanted a debate on the alleged racist remarks.
The Eurofederalist Volt Party, meanwhile, had two members quit over its perceived weak stance on the anti-Israeli violence in Amsterdam.
“Anti-Semitism is denied and trivialised. It seems like an opinion, too controversial to condemn,” they said in an open letter to the party.
“We see people who supposedly stand up for all minorities, but do not do so when it comes to Jews.”
Wikimedia Commons , Alexander Hauk / www.alexander-hauk.de / www.bayernnachrichten.de)
More than 500,000 newly naturalized German citizens will cast ballots for the first time in the upcoming federal election on Feb. 23, a record figure driven by the traffic light coalition government’s progressive citizenship reforms.
Many of these new voters, primarily Syrian nationals, have been granted citizenship in the last year, facilitated by government legislative reforms to fast-track citizenship by allowing naturalization after just five years of residency (and in some cases three years), down from the previous eight-year requirement.
This unprecedented influx of new voters has resulted in significant increases in naturalizations across federal states, according to data compiled from all 16 regions.
North Rhine-Westphalia alone has naturalized over 121,000 people since the last federal election in 2021, including 22,720 Syrians in 2023. Berlin saw the sharpest year-over-year growth, with 16,470 foreigners naturalized in 2024 — nearly double the annual average prior to the reforms.
Remix News reported earlier this year that 200,000 migrants had become German citizens in 2023 alone, according to the Federal Statistical Office — and that was before the citizenship reforms entered into force.
Record numbers of foreigners receiving German passports in 2023 “is more people than the population of Potsdam, Saarbrücken or Leverkusen.” https://t.co/swAE30pmS1
Baden-Württemberg also recorded a considerable rise in naturalizations since the last federal election in 2021, with 22,745 foreigners receiving German passports last year compared to the 17,304 recorded in the previous election year. In total, 61,020 new citizens from abroad will vote for the first time in a federal election of which Syrians comprise 13,619.
Many German states won’t record the number of naturalizations for this year since the liberalization of citizenship laws until 2025.
Of those 200,000, by far the largest group was made up of Syrians with 75,485 naturalizations. In second place were migrants from Turkey, who received 10,735 German passports, while Iraq came in third place with 10,710 new citizens.
The inclusion of these new citizens is expected to influence the political landscape, particularly as many of them hail from immigrant communities traditionally supportive of progressive policies.
This change could bolster left-leaning parties like the SPD and the Greens, both of which have formed two-thirds of the federal coalition government since 2021 that has been supportive of Germany’s open-door immigration policy.
“Every new German citizen is entitled to full electoral rights, which significantly amplifies their role in shaping national policy,” said migration law expert Martin Manzel, as cited by Focus.
The undercover operation by an employee of the broadcaster exposed the scheme in which those seeking to pass the B1 German-language exam could join a group on the end-to-end encrypted messaging app Telegram and obtain the test results just days before they sit the exam.
With over two months until Germans head to the polls, it is expected the number of new voters could still rise dramatically, potentially assisting left-wing parties that are currently desperate for votes.
The latest polls show a significant swing to the right among Germans; the center-right CDU/CSU is expected to become the largest party in the Bundestag with around 32 percent of the vote, followed by the right-wing anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) with around 19 percent.
All three of the current coalition partners — the SPD, the FDP, and the Greens — are expected to pay an electoral price at the ballot box for their governance over the last three years, which has contributed to Germany’s economic decline and dwindling global influence, with the FDP teetering on the edge of the 5 percent threshold required to sit in the federal legislature.
Police forces are treating run-of-the-mill classroom jibes as “non-crime hate incidents” (NCHIs), a freedom of information request has discovered.
Officers recorded one incident involving a nine-year-old who called a primary school classmate a “retard.”
Two secondary school girls were also logged after saying another pupil smelt “like fish.”
Meanwhile, barely a pub, cafe or, for that matter, parents’ group across the country is free from personal stories of officers not doing enough to catch—never mind deter—actual criminals.
“Several” other children are among the thousands of Britons being investigated for NCHIs, according to The Times. The paper pointed to a “widespread confusion among police over what types of incident should be recorded,” just days after news that officers visited the house of award-winning journalist Allison Pearson—on Remembrance Day, no less—because of a year-old post on Twitter/X prompted both a national and international backlash. It has since emerged that not just one but three of Britain’s biggest police forces were involved in the investigation into this allegedly “racist” tweet.
It is worth noting that while Labour prime minister Keir Starmer was in office at the time of Pearson’s door-knocking, the 13,200 ‘hate incidents’ reported by the Times—including those involving young children—were recorded before the Conservative Party let go of power this July.
Labour government officials have responded to the recent backlash by announcing a review into NCHI guidance in order to protect “the fundamental right to free speech.” This should be an easy opportunity to prove that the ‘grownups’ really are back in the room, as Labour-types like to say. But the party has already made clear its intention to strengthen ‘hate crime’ laws, under the guise of cracking down on antisemitic and Islamophobic abuse.
Anti-censorship campaigner Toby Young said that if the government does push ahead with its plans to force police officers to record yet more NCHIs, his Free Speech Union will take legal action.
If the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, goes ahead with a plan to force police officers to record more 'non-crime hate incidents' (NCHIs), the Free Speech Union (FSU) will take legal action — WATCH FSU Head Toby Young discuss the issues on Talk TV below.
NCF Founder & Director Peter Whittle addresses the disastrous situation wrought upon Britain by mass immigration and the acceptance of vast numbers of illegal migrants.
The recently released 38-page UK Assisted Suicide Bill, and correspondent 22-page guidance, would allow the state to participate in deliberately ending lives. The results of the Bill, named the “Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill,” would be catastrophic for all of society, and in particular vulnerable individuals. As the second reading of the Bill looms in the House of Commons, scheduled for November 29, it’s imperative that the United Kingdom take stock of the consequences for the protection of human life in the country.
The headline is that this Bill would be highly dangerous for vulnerable people, extremely problematic for medical professionals, and ultimately, unleash a culture of death across British society. That is not speculation; it is the logical conclusion after comparing the bill with its relatives already in force in a handful of other countries.
Before we dive into the text of the Bill, the two main reasons for this conclusion are as follows:
You can’t make the lawful killing of people “safe.” The clear evidence from other countries is that so-called safeguards cannot prevent abuses, and
Every jurisdiction that has gone down this route has very quickly seen an increase in numbers and come under pressure to drop certain “safeguards” and expand the qualifying criteria. For example, in 2014, Belgium dropped its lower age limit allowing the euthanasia of children.
What does the Bill legalize? It legalizes deliberate ending of life where a person has capacity, is 18+, registered with a GP, has been resident in England or Wales for 12 months+, has a “clear, settled and informed wish” to end their life that is voluntary, and is expected to die within 6 months.
They must request it from a doctor (or a doctor can raise the possibility) and get signed off by two doctors and the High Court and can then receive lethal drugs that they must administer themselves (though they can have help if they want or need it).
With regard to the inherent problems with assisted suicide/euthanasia, first, predicting someone’s death date is notoriously difficult. An analysis of 16 years of research shows that doctors got it wrong more than half the time.
For doctors, the Bill places an obligation upon them to refer someone seeking assisted suicide to another doctor “[s/he] believes is willing and able…” For a doctor who sees this as unethical, or knows their patient and their vulnerability, the Bill coerces them to act in a specific way—a clear violation of their rights of conscience.
Further, the Bill requires a second “independent” doctor to sign off on the life-ending act. In countries that have legalized assisted suicide/euthanasia, there is a relatively small pool of doctors who do this, and they know each other and cross-refer.
Section 8(1) requires a gap of 7 days between first and second doctor approvals. The bill then requires a 14-day waiting period after the High Court approves. So, in three short weeks you can legally go from never thinking about this before to dead.
And if one doctor thinks you will die within a month, the total minimum period from start to finish is 9 days.
A few glimmers of this dark reality come through in the Bill. For example, section 9(2)(c) requires doctors to discuss with the person “their wishes in the event of complications,” which we know can and do happen.
Section 30 allows (but does not require) the government to issue a code of practice on “recognising and taking into account the effects of depression or other mental disorders…”
The Bill requires a report after five years assessing “the availability, quality and distribution of appropriate health services to persons with palliative care needs.” While this is important, we don’t need to legalize assisted suicide/euthanasia to fix the poor availability of palliative care in the UK.
The Bill also holds that if the doctor “considers it appropriate,” then she or he should advise the person to “consider” discussing the request with their next of kin. That is a remarkably low bar to meet when you’re considering ending someone’s life.
Especially when we know that loneliness, or feelings of being a burden drive these requests. Take Oregon in the United States. According to the official stats, 43% of those taking lethal drugs give as one of their reasons the fact they feel a burden. Heartbreaking. Shouldn’t we fix this instead?
Next, section 10 should be termed the “shopping around clause.” If the “independent doctor refuses to make the statement” – which may well mean the conditions aren’t met – then the “coordinating doctor may…refer that person to a different registered medical practitioner” once.
So, to be clear, the “safeguard” of an independent review, and that doctor saying “no” means vulnerable people (or their proxy – see below) can just go somewhere else.
What about this “proxy”? The process requires several declarations. But the Bill provides it can all be completed by a “proxy.” The proxy doesn’t even have to know the patient as long as they’re a “person who is of good standing in the community.”
Section 12 requires the High Court to make a declaration approving the act. Every country that has gone down this path has an approval/review process. They all become rubber stamping mechanisms, and there are at least two ways the Bill seeks to ensure this review is positive.
Section 12(11) determines that if someone’s request for assisted suicide gets rejected by the High Court, that can be appealed to the Court of Appeal. But if the High Court approves assisted suicide, no one can appeal against it. It’s a one-way street.
Also, while the Court may hear from “any other person” (for example, a family doctor with concerns), that is only provided for in respect of determining certain criteria. The Bill tries to limit the opportunity to argue a person’s request doesn’t meet the other elements of the Bill.
Once approved, section 19 states that as long as the individual agrees, the doctor that will provide the lethal drugs and can assist does not have to be one of the doctors previously involved in the process. This opens the door to assisted suicide lobby groups opening suicide centers.
Some people draw (a slightly artificial) line between assisted suicide and euthanasia. This Bill gets very close to euthanasia. Section 18(6) says the doctor can provide lethal drugs but also “assist that person to ingest or otherwise self-administer…”
Section 26(2) adopts the existing penalty for participating in ending someone’s life, but only if they act dishonestly, coercively, or apply pressure. The problem is when you legalize suicide assistance, and the person at the center of the case is now dead, it’s very hard to prove those things.
Most evidently, the Bill is defective at its very core. But even if we say that the process could work, do we want this? Assisted suicide creates its own demand, and we know what happens next.
The Bill’s notes try to argue that “the Bill is different from [the law in] Canada…which [does] not limit eligibility to terminally ill adults…” That is true. But when Canada introduced assisted suicide in 2016, it was only for those expected to die soon. That requirement was dropped in 2021. Canada best serves as an example of the relentless push to expand the criteria once the door is opened. Assisted suicide now accounts for 4% of all deaths in Canada.
Ultimately, this affects us all. The consequences of state-backed death are severe and manifest across all of society. Assisted suicide/euthanasia rips apart families. Where the practice is legal, individuals who don’t want death are offered it instead of real treatment. Doctors are pressured to kill. Family members are left behind. And the sick desperate to be offered something better than death. The United Kingdom surely can do better than this.
