QUITO, Ecuador — Ecuador’s high court on Wednesday decriminalized euthanasia and ordered lawmakers and health officials to draft rules and regulations for the procedure. The decision of Ecuador’s Constitutional Court came in response to a lawsuit from a terminally ill woman diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as ALS, who had argued that she … Read more
LONDON — In British history, the secrecy of the monarch’s health has always reigned supreme. Buckingham Palace’s disclosure that King Charles III has been diagnosed with cancer shattered that longstanding tradition. On the heels of the shock and well-wishing that followed the official statement Monday came the surprise that the palace had announced anything at … Read more
LONDON — In British history, the secrecy of the monarch’s health has always reigned supreme. Buckingham Palace’s disclosure that King Charles III has been diagnosed with cancer shattered that longstanding tradition. On the heels of the shock and well-wishing that followed the official statement Monday came the surprise that the palace had announced anything at … Read more
Kathrin Ziegler | Digitalvision | Getty Images “Sorry I am dead.” This is how Doug Boneparth, a certified financial planner, starts what he calls a “death note” to his wife, Heather. Such a document, he says, is distinct from other estate-planning cornerstones like drafting a will, which lays out one’s wishes for how to distribute … Read more
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Legislature kicked off debate Thursday on whether the state should join the list of those that allow physician-assisted suicide. A House health committee took the unusual step of giving the bill a hearing even before the legislative session formally convenes Feb. 12. The lead sponsor, Democratic Rep. Mike Freiberg, … Read more
LONDON — The double health announcements from the United Kingdom’s royal family — on Kate, the Princess of Wales’ abdominal surgery and King Charles III ‘s prostate treatment — have put a spotlight on the private lives of senior royals. Details of royal health are always a tricky issue in the U.K., because members of … Read more
Tanya Constantine | Getty Images Once you start Social Security retirement benefits, you are generally guaranteed to receive monthly checks for life. But that will stop once you die — with some exceptions for your loved ones. A one-time lump-sum death payment of $255 may be available, provided your survivors meet certain requirements. For example, … Read more
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Access to medical marijuana in Kentucky should expand to include a longer list of severe health conditions, Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday in advocating a change that would make hundreds of thousands more people eligible for treatment when the program begins next year. The measure passed by the GOP-led legislature in 2023 … Read more
A Connecticut woman who pushed for expanded access to Vermont’s law that allows people who are terminally ill to receive lethal medication to end their lives died in Vermont on Thursday, an event her husband called “comfortable and peaceful,” just like she wanted. Lynda Bluestein, who had terminal cancer, ended her life by taking prescribed … Read more
