Free Republic

I have always understood and sympathized with the argument for assisted suicide for people facing terminal disease near the end of life. I think hospice care is the appropriate path, but most people can at least understand the impulse to ease the path for a suffering loved one. But I have also feared that the slippery slope would lead us to this point: assisted suicide for anyone at any time for any reason. And, eventually, outright medical murder, as happens in some Nordic countries where doctors sometimes decide for patients without consent. Canada is at the second stage after legalizing...

BERTHOUD - The Thompson School Board will be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on one of its ex-students -- an 11-year-old autistic boy. Luke Perkins went to Berthoud Elementary School, but his parents felt he wasn't receiving the proper education for his needs. "He wasn't learning even the basic things he was going to need in life," says his father, Jeff Perkins. The Perkins decided to enroll their son in the Boston Higashi School in January 2004. The school specializes in teaching children with special needs. The tuition is over $130,000 a year, and its students live at the...

Berkeley Unified School District Denies Rights of Autistic Boy - Broken district out of legal compliance with least restrictive education plan In a surprising example of California's educational crisis, an autistic boy attending fourth-grade in the Berkeley Unified School District has been denied services required by law to ensure he receive an equal education under the Disabilities Act. District officials have refused to address the situation, forcing parents to seek assistance via a California state hearing. BERKELEY, CA, February 3, 2004 – In spite of legally binding agreements made during repeated meetings of the Individualized Education Program team over...