[Right_to_die] Right to Life group changes name -- again

[World right-to-die news list (nonprofit)]

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New name reflects focus on patients' rights

Charlie Butts - OneNewsNow - 1/8/2011

The International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide has 
decided to change its name to the Patients Rights Council. Attorney and 
founder Rita Marker says the new title better shows that her group is 
not abandoning its work in those areas.

"Really, the actual scope of our work is so much broader than that. It 
encompasses all end-of-life issues -- everything from withholding food 
and fluids from vulnerable patients to making sure people have a really 
well-drafted durable power of attorney for healthcare," she explains.

In other words, the organization favors protecting the rights of patients.

"Nowadays, patients' rights are going to be more and more under attack 
as there's more attempt at cost cutting, whether it's coming from 
government bureaucrats or from health insurance companies," Marker 
warns. "And we have to be able to let people know that there is 
somewhere that they can call for information on how to make sure their 
rights are protected."

She adds that the task force's website will remain the same for now, but 
changes will be implemented in the future.
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Footnote from Derek Humphry: When formed in l987, this group was called 
the International Anti-Euthanasia Task Force, later dropping the word Anti.
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