Legal Writing and Research Commons^™

Pereira's Attack On Legalizing Euthanasia Or Assisted Suicide: Smoke And Mirrors, Jocelyn Downie, Kenneth Chambaere, Jan L. Bernheim

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

In a paper published in Current Oncology, University of Ottawa palliative care physician Jose Pereira states that the, “laws and safeguards [in countries in which euthanasia or assisted suicide have been legalized] are regularly ignored and transgressed in all the jurisdictions, and that transgressions are not prosecuted.” He purports to demonstrate that the safeguards and controls put in place in the permissive jurisdictions are an “illusion.”

In the present paper, we expose problems with the evidence base provided and relied upon by Pereira. It should be noted that we provide only examples of each of the categories of mistakes made …

Guiding Patrons To Online Health Information: Can Librarians Be Found Liable?, Elaine Gibson

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

The amount of health information available on the Internet is growing rapidly and information intermediaries are increasingly being asked to help information seekers find and make sense of this information. This activity is for the most part benign from a legal perspective. However, there is a small possibility that, should the intermediary steer an information seeker to information that proves harmful to the seeker, the intermediary may be found liable for injuries incurred. In this paper, we examine the theoretical underpinnings of the relevant laws, clarify the risks, and recommend ways to minimize risk.