Connect with us

INTERNACIONAL

Prohibí los celulares en mi clase: a mis alumnos les encantó

Published

on


Alumnos in poder usar sus celulares en clase

(Imagen Ilustrativa Infobae)

He impartido el mismo curso a estudiantes de licenciatura, MBA, medicina y enfermería cada año durante más de una década. Si bien no cambié mis clases ni mi estilo de enseñanza, las evaluaciones de los estudiantes sobre la clase del año pasado fueron mejores que nunca:

Advertisement

“Este curso me enseñó más que cualquier otro que haya aprendido en Penn…”

“El mejor curso que he tomado.”

“¡¡Una clase increíble!!”

Advertisement

De todas las reseñas, solo una fue negativa. Pero no se trata de presumir; no creo que estos comentarios reflejen nada sobre mí ni sobre mi capacidad docente. Enseño básicamente de la misma manera que lo he hecho durante años.

Entonces, ¿qué cambió? Prohibí todos los teléfonos celulares y la toma de notas en el aula, con la excepción de que los estudiantes podían usar un dispositivo si escribían con un lápiz óptico. Al principio, mis estudiantes se mostraron escépticos, por no decir totalmente opuestos. Pero después de un par de semanas, reconocieron que les había ido mejor: podían absorber y retener mejor la información y disfrutar más de las clases.

Mi política exigía que los teléfonos estuvieran apagados y, lo que era más importante, que no estuvieran a la vista en los escritorios. Permití que los estudiantes que esperaban llamadas urgentes (por ejemplo, de su pareja a punto de tener un bebé) tuvieran un teléfono móvil disponible durante la clase.

Advertisement

Las sesiones de clase se graban y las transcripciones de las conferencias están disponibles en cualquier momento después de la clase para los estudiantes con adaptaciones académicas o aquellos que quieran repasarlas nuevamente.

Mis 40 años de intuición pedagógica me indican que este cambio redujo la distracción y la participación de los estudiantes. Creo que los hizo más atentos y satisfechos con el aprendizaje.

Asociar la política de no usar dispositivos digitales con las altas calificaciones del curso es solo una intuición, pero concuerda con los datos disponibles sobre los efectos de tomar apuntes en la computadora en la retención del material de clase y el impacto de los teléfonos celulares, incluso apagados, en la calidad y la satisfacción de las interacciones interpersonales.

Advertisement

Para ayudar a difundir esta política, presenté en la primera clase del curso un estudio que demostraba que los estudiantes que debían tomar apuntes a mano retenían mucha más información que los que usaban computadoras. La razón es que con las computadoras, los estudiantes pueden escribir tan rápido como yo hablo y se esfuerzan por obtener transcripciones textuales, pero casi no procesan mentalmente el contenido de la clase. Por el contrario, prácticamente nadie puede escribir a mano 125 palabras por minuto durante 90 minutos. Por lo tanto, las notas manuscritas requieren un procesamiento mental simultáneo para determinar los puntos importantes que deben registrarse. Este procesamiento codifica el material en el cerebro de forma diferente y facilita la retención a largo plazo.

Los datos sobre el efecto distractor de los teléfonos móviles, incluso cuando están boca abajo y apagados, son contundentes. En un estudio, los investigadores reclutaron a 520 estudiantes universitarios a quienes se les exigió que tuvieran desactivadas las funciones de timbre y vibración de sus teléfonos durante las clases. Los miembros de un grupo colocaron sus teléfonos boca abajo sobre sus escritorios. Los miembros de un segundo grupo los guardaron en bolsos o bolsillos. Los miembros de un tercer grupo guardaron sus teléfonos en otra habitación. Posteriormente, todos los estudiantes se sometieron a pruebas cognitivas para evaluar la concentración y la atención.

Una prueba evaluó su capacidad para resolver problemas matemáticos mientras seguían secuencias de letras generadas aleatoriamente. Otra consistía en resolver problemas novedosos, como completar un patrón. Los estudiantes obtuvieron peores resultados en ambas pruebas cuando los teléfonos estaban sobre los escritorios, peores cuando se guardaban en bolsos o bolsillos y mejores resultados cuando se guardaban en otra habitación.

Advertisement

Curiosamente, al preguntarles, los estudiantes informaron no percibir ninguna diferencia en los pensamientos relacionados con el teléfono, independientemente de su ubicación. Los investigadores del estudio argumentaron que «la mera presencia del teléfono inteligente reduce la capacidad cognitiva disponible, incluso cuando no se usa». En otras palabras: los teléfonos inteligentes no nos hacen más inteligentes. De hecho, todo lo contrario.

La presencia de teléfonos inteligentes también perjudica la calidad de las interacciones sociales en persona. En otro estudio, investigadores de la Columbia Británica pidieron a un grupo de personas que fueran a un restaurante con familiares o amigos. A algunos se les permitió dejar sus teléfonos sobre la mesa durante la comida; a otros no. Quienes dejaron sus teléfonos sobre la mesa se distrajeron más y tuvieron menos posibilidades de conectar con sus compañeros de mesa, incluso cuando no los usaban. Los comensales que tenían sus teléfonos en la mesa también reportaron mayor aburrimiento y menor disfrute de la experiencia gastronómica.

Estos son argumentos sólidos para prohibir los teléfonos y las computadoras portátiles en las escuelas: en el aula, en la cafetería, durante el recreo y en otros momentos de la jornada escolar. Afortunadamente, estos datos han impulsado nuevas políticas en todo el país. Hasta abril, 11 estados habían promulgado prohibiciones o restricciones estatales sobre el uso o acceso a teléfonos móviles en escuelas públicas desde preescolar hasta bachillerato. Otros estados tienen legislación pendiente para prohibir o restringir el uso o acceso a teléfonos de los estudiantes en la escuela.

Advertisement

Esta tendencia no se ha extendido en las universidades. Mis búsquedas solo han encontrado una pequeña universidad, Wyoming Catholic College, que ha prohibido los teléfonos móviles en el aula. Si bien la mayoría de los estudiantes universitarios son adultos, la neurociencia nos enseña que no son biológicamente adultos. Sus cortezas prefrontales, la parte del cerebro que controla la planificación, la función ejecutiva y la toma de riesgos, no están completamente desarrolladas. A veces tienen poco juicio, actúan impulsivamente y toman decisiones que perjudican sus relaciones sociales y su aprendizaje. Esa es una de las razones por las que la educación de los estudiantes, especialmente de los universitarios, se confía a profesores y líderes universitarios.

Lo que realmente me gustaría es que todas las aulas universitarias recibieran un trato similar al de las instalaciones de información confidencial compartimentada (SCIF) de la Casa Blanca y otros edificios gubernamentales: los teléfonos no están permitidos y se guardan bajo llave en cubículos fuera de cada aula. Los estudiantes tendrían que dejar sus teléfonos antes de clase y recogerlos después. Idealmente, los profesores podrían optar por no aplicar esta política, especialmente si los teléfonos u otros dispositivos móviles fueran parte integral del proceso educativo y el contenido de la clase.

Ciertamente no soy el único. Recientemente me enteré de que mi clase no era la única en la Universidad de Pensilvania que prohibía los teléfonos celulares. Al menos un profesor de filosofía en el campus también prohíbe los teléfonos en su clase. Y en una clase de religión titulada “Vivir deliberadamente: Monjes, santos y la vida contemplativa”, se les pide a los estudiantes que renuncien a sus teléfonos durante 30 días como parte de la experiencia de la vida monástica.

Advertisement

Si se prohibieran ampliamente los teléfonos y las computadoras en las clases, los estudiantes podrían aprender más en clase, estar más dispuestos a expresarse, interactuar con mayor fluidez y sentirse más realizados. Retrocedamos a los buenos tiempos, hace casi dos décadas, cuando los estudiantes solo tenían teléfonos plegables y aprendían más.

© The New York Times 2025.



celulares,clases

Advertisement

INTERNACIONAL

Anti-Israel radicals from ‘global intifada’ movement join ‘No Kings’ protests

Published

on


NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

New York City organizers embedded in the global intifada to destroy the state of Israel moved Friday to join the controversial «No Kings» protests planned for today, despite the peace deal reached between Israel and Hamas.

Advertisement

«UAW Labor for Palestine» and «NYC Labor for Palestine» quietly posted a call-to-action for the «Palestine Labor Solidarity Contingent» to meet Saturday at 11 a.m. at Duarte Square between Grand Street and Canal Street in lower Manhattan and then flow into the #NoKings protests planned to protest President Donald Trump.

They’re not alone. Around the country, anti-Israel blocs are slotting themselves into the «No Kings» protests as a «Palestine Contingent» and «Socialist Contingent,» positioning their messages «front and center,» as Seattle activists put it, «from Providence to Palestine.»

‘NO KINGS’ ORGANIZER DISCOURAGES VIOLENCE FOLLOWING COAST-TO-COAST ARRESTS

Advertisement

Washington, Aug. 16 — Protesters gathered in Dupont Circle and marched to the White House to oppose President Donald Trump’s federalization of the Washington police department and the deployment of federal agencies and the National Guard. (Fox News Digital/Emma Woodhead) (Fox News Digital/Emma Woodhead)

The alignment underscores a strategic pivot in the global intifada’s next phase, experts say, carrying the anti-Israel message into any high-energy civic protest, even after Hamas agreed to a ceasefire by linking «Free Palestine» to domestic fights like ICE, police and «fascism.»

Billionaire donor George Soros is reportedly funding many of the organizations leading the «No Kings» protests, like Indivisible, whose co-founders, Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin, received a $3 million two-year grant last year from Soros’s Open Society Foundations for «social welfare activities.» Details about the «Palestine Contingent» weaving into the «No Kings» protests raises new questions about the way big Democratic donors like Soros are funneling nonprofit dollars into a professional protest industry that is fractious, divisive and partisan, potentially in violation of tax and nonprofit laws.

Advertisement

‘NO KINGS’ MOVEMENT AND WHAT IT WANTS: INSIDE THE MESSAGE DRIVING SATURDAY’S NATIONWIDE PROTESTS

nyc-palestine-protest-1

Anti-Israel protesters demonstrate in NYC on Oct. 5, 2024, ahead of the anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. (Adam Gray for Fox News Digital)

Behind the emotion and patriotic imagery of the protests, a Fox News Digital investigation revealed that the movement’s polished «pro-democracy» branding masks a coordinated network of Democratic tax-exempt nonprofits and labor unions, political action committees, coalitions and for-profit protest consultants that include some of the most virulent activists against Israel, including self-declared socialist groups like the Party for Socialism and Liberation, Democratic Socialists of America and Students for a Democratic Society. 

According to a public database of the protest’s organizers, compiled by the Pearl Project, a journalism initiative, the protest’s «partners» include 265 mostly nonprofit organizations, including some anti-Israel groups, like Jewish Voice for Peace, exploiting their nonprofit benefits to wage a political war against the sitting president. Their nonprofit status shields them from paying taxes on most of their total annual revenues of $2.9 billion, even while they engage in partisan work they aren’t supposed to be doing. Critics say they are allegedly skirting, if not violating, tax and nonprofit laws. Event organizers didn’t return requests for comment.

Advertisement

«They call it ‘No Kings,’ but what they’ve built is an empire of tax-exempt organizations doing the Democratic Party’s work on the taxpayer’s dime,» said Jennica Pounds, a computer scientist who runs a platform, DataRepublican.com, following the money on these organizations. «They are using every excuse in the book, from immigration to Israel, to rage-bait America. There is nothing ‘charitable’ about their professional protest enterprise, and they should be investigated for fomenting so much hate in America behind the shield of ‘charity work.’» 

Protesters hold signs and march through city streets during a

People march during a «No Kings» movement protest in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, amid ongoing demonstrations against a series of federal immigration raids. (David McNew/Getty Images)

Already, Trump has said that he has directed the Justice Department to investigate possible violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has opened an investigation that follows the money to anti-Israel groups, including some of the groups who will be bringing their protest signs to the «No Kings» demonstrations. 

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital, «The Trump administration and the Republican Congress are committed to countering this network of left-wing violence.»

Advertisement

Last week, House Speaker Mike Johnson called the protests a «hate America rally.» Indeed, on June 14, at the «No Kings» protest in Philadelphia, activists from the «Palestinian Contingent,» including activists from the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Democratic Socialists of America, hissed as a woman sang the national anthem. 

«Booooo! Boooooo!» they yelled, covering their faces in keffiyehs, carrying Palestinian flags and heckling bystanders, «Zionist!» 

Pro-Palestine protestors wave flags throughout midtown Manhattan in New York City

Pro-Palestine protestors wave flags throughout midtown Manhattan in New York City on Friday, November 17, 2023. The demonstrators marched through the city to demand a ceasefire from Israeli troops within Gaza. (Stephen Yang for Fox News Digital)

While organizers insist the movement transcends party lines, its structure tells a different story. 

Advertisement

The protest network’s official «partners» include 24 Democratic political action committees that make no secret of their partisan agenda, dedicated to electing Democratic politicians. Among them are the mega-organizing groups Indivisible ActionHollywood Democrats and the Democratic National Committee’s Washtenaw County Democratic Party in Michigan, Westside Democratic Headquarters in Los Angeles, Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club in northern California, 504 Democratic Club and College Democrats of America.

«They call it ‘No Kings,’ but what they’ve built is an empire of tax-exempt organizations doing the Democratic Party’s work on the taxpayer’s dime.»  — Jennica Pounds, of DataRepublican.com

The motto of Field Team 6, another political action committee, is «Register Democrats. Save the World.» However, those PACs are just one layer of a much larger partisan infrastructure. 

Advertisement

About one-third, or 79 groups, behind the «No Kings» protests hold 501(c)(3) status, meaning their donors receive tax deductions while the groups face strict restrictions to do «charitable» work, not political work. They are supposed to be nonpartisan. Yet most have clearly stated political agendas. 

On its donation page, one of the protest partners, «Build the Resistance,» states a partisan mission to «fight against autocracy, fascism, and donald [sic].» Donations go to Oil and Gas Action Network, a 501(c)(3) that reported $1.9 million in revenues in its last tax filing.

Another 100 are 501(c)(4) political nonprofits that may do limited lobbying but still cannot devote themselves primarily to political work. Meanwhile, 24 are 501(c)(5) labor union nonprofits, like the labor unions marching against Israel in New York and the San Francisco Bay Area, that also have limits on the amount of political work they can do.

Advertisement
No Kings protest in Los Angeles

«No Kings» protests against the Trump administration are expected to be held in cities nationwide on Oct. 18, 2025.  (Ringo Chiu/AFP via Getty Images)

It’s clear that the protests are all about politics. The protest’s own internal online «toolkit» mentions Trump 12 times and describes the mobilization explicitly as a direct stand against «the Trump administration,» «Trump and his enablers,» «President Trump’s authoritarian takeover» in a partisan-centered campaign.

In Rhode Island, the «Free Palestine Contingent» activists will march «FROM PROVIDENCE TO PALESTINE» to «FIGHT FASCISM! FIGHT GENOCIDE.» It connects the battles against ICE law enforcement officers and the battles of Palestinians, noting, «Military occupations and ICE violence are wreaking havoc in Black and brown communities in D.C., L.A., Chicago — and here in Providence. On the streets of U.S. cities, the same weapons and surveillance technologies the Israeli military has used to devastate Gaza are being used in escalated ways against us. What we allow fascists to do in Palestine, they will do to the entire world — and it is our duty to resist them and fight for a free Palestine.

In northern California, activists at «Bay Area Labor 4 Palestine» and Service Employees International Union Local 1021 announced yesterday, «The fight for a liberated Palestine is not over and cannot be ignored,» over a graphic for the «No Kings» protest. They instructed followers to «Bring flags, signs, keffiyehs and art» to the «No Kings» march in Oakland, Calif., at Wilma Chan Park off Jackson Street. 

Advertisement

In New York City, the «Palestine Labor Solidarity Contingent» said its message would be very specific: «STOP ARMING ISRAEL! FUND OUR COMMUNITIES, NOT GENOCIDE & OCCUPATION! END ICE, MILITARY & POLICE TERROR…HANDS OF VENEZUELA!»

Anti-Trump "No Kings" Protests Pop Up Across The Country

People march in the «No Kings» protest along Fifth Avenue on June 14, 2025, in New York, New York.  (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Across the country, in Washington state, activists from «Seattle Against War» yesterday celebrated local organizers adding an anti-Israel activist, Tariq Ra’ouf, to the official #NoKings speaker lineup, noting it will be a «great opportunity for us to support the demands of Palestinians from the belly of the beast!»

The Party for Socialism and Liberation’s local chapter in Syracuse, N.Y., posted a similar poster with the local chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, which has Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani as its political candidate in New York City.

Advertisement

In Charlotte, N.C., the local chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation put out a call to members to assemble at 10 a.m. tomorrow for the local #NoKings protest at First Ward Park: «JOIN THE PALESTINE CONTINGENT @ THE ‘NO KINGS’ RALLY…MEET AT THE PLAYGROUND.»

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Pro-Palestine protestors make their way through Manhattan after marching across the Brooklyn Bridge

Pro-Palestine protestors wave flags as they arrive in Manhattan after marching across the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City on Saturday, December 19, 2023. Demonstrators began at the Brooklyn Museum, walking to midtown Manhattan to demand a ceasefire in Gaza. (Stephen Yang for Fox News Digital.)

With local partners, including the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Jewish Voice for Peace, activists at the Party for Socialism and Liberation noted that, post-ceasefire, they will «continue to fight for a free Palestine.» Some of the groups in the Palestine Contingent are part of the wider network of publicly acknowledged partners of the protests, like 50501.

Advertisement

In Eugene, Ore., activists with the Party for Socialism and Liberation are rallying members to meet the «Socialist Contingent» at the corner of Mill Road and Eighth Avenue to «march for a free Palestine» and get ICE officers «OUT of our communities.»

In Portland, a local Palestinian American activist announced, «The Nakba Is Still Not Over!» in a reference to the «humiliation» over the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. She summoned activists to the «No Kings» protests: «‼️SHOW UP FOR PALESTINE‼️»



us protests,donald trump,politics

Advertisement
Continue Reading

INTERNACIONAL

La ONU denunció el secuestro del jefe de UNICEF en Yemen junto a otros 19 empleados tras una redada de los rebeldes hutíes

Published

on


El máximo responsable de UNICEF en Yemen, Peter Hawkins (Fuente)

Los rebeldes hutíes de Yemen secuestraron a 20 empleados de las Naciones Unidas en Saná, entre los que se encuentra el máximo responsable de UNICEF en dicho territorio, Peter Hawkins, tras allanar sin autorización el complejo del organismo internacional.

Un funcionario de la ONU indicó a la AFP que Hawkins “es uno de los 15 empleados internacionales detenidos en el complejo” asaltado el sábado por los hutíes, además de cinco trabajadores nacionales.

Advertisement

Jean Alam, portavoz del coordinador residente de la ONU en el país, precisó que once empleados locales fueron liberados después de ser interrogados en operativos previos. El grupo capturado sigue bajo custodia rebelde, en el marco de una serie de allanamientos y detenciones que han afectado al personal de agencias internacionales en las zonas controladas por los hutíes en los últimos meses.

Durante el operativo, fuerzas hutíes confiscaron dispositivos electrónicos de los empleados y ocuparon el recinto. Los rebeldes justificaron los arrestos argumentando que algunos trabajadores, incluidos los de UNICEF y el Programa Mundial de Alimentos, estarían involucrados en actividades de espionaje en favor de Estados Unidos e Israel. El líder rebelde Abdelmalek al Huthi aseguró que se “desmanteló una célula de espionaje” utilizando la cobertura de organizaciones humanitarias.

Partidarios de los rebeldes hutíes
Partidarios de los rebeldes hutíes corean consignas durante una protesta semanal contra Estados Unidos e Israel en Saná, Yemen (AP Foto/Osamah Abdulrahman)

La Organización de las Naciones Unidas rechazó estas acusaciones y reclamó la liberación inmediata de sus trabajadores.

El secretario general rechaza categóricamente todas estas acusaciones”, declaró Stéphane Dujarric, portavoz de António Guterres, al subrayar que “ponen en grave peligro la seguridad del personal de la ONU y los trabajadores humanitarios y socavan las operaciones que salvan vidas”. El sábado, Dujarric insistió que los señalamientos de espionaje son “peligrosos e inaceptables”.

Advertisement

La ONU informó que mantiene gestiones ante los hutíes, el gobierno yemení y Estados miembros para lograr la liberación del personal y restablecer el control sobre sus instalaciones en Saná. “La ONU está en contacto con los hutíes, los Estados miembros involucrados y el gobierno yemení para resolver esta grave situación lo antes posible”, declaró Alam.

La cancillería hutí defendió en un comunicado el proceder rebelde y reiteró que no hay inmunidad para quienes consideren “espías y saboteadores”.

Ratificó su postura de actuar “con firmeza y decisión” ante lo que consideren amenazas a la seguridad nacional, mientras que rechazó las demandas de liberación inmediata por parte de Naciones Unidas.

Advertisement
El líder rebelde Abdelmalek al
El líder rebelde Abdelmalek al Huthi aseguró que se “desmanteló una célula de espionaje” utilizando la cobertura de organizaciones humanitarias (AP foto/Osamah Abdulrahman)

Las detenciones se producen en un contexto de amplia preocupación humanitaria para Yemen, país envuelto en una guerra civil desde hace una década y considerado por la ONU como escenario de una de las peores crisis de este tipo en el mundo. Desde 2021, al menos 53 empleados y socios de la organización han sido arrestados en regiones bajo poder hutí.

Fuentes cercanas a la operación detallaron que en la última incursión los hutíes interrogaron al personal y reforzaron el control del recinto, mientras la ONU y varios gobiernos mantienen conversaciones diplomáticas para conseguir la liberación de todos los detenidos y la devolución del material incautado.

Agencias como UNICEF y el Programa Mundial de Alimentos lideran en Yemen los programas de nutrición, acceso al agua potable y protección a la infancia, que prestan ayuda diaria a millones de personas. La detención de su principal representante, Peter Hawkins, junto al resto de los funcionarios, compromete de forma crítica la continuidad de operaciones humanitarias esenciales.

Los hutíes acusan a personal
Los hutíes acusan a personal de la ONU en Yemen de ayudar a Israel en sus ataques contra altos cargos

El conflicto en Yemen, con una década de hostilidades y bloqueo, encara ahora un nuevo desafío: la protección y la libertad de acción del personal internacional en medio de restricciones y crecientes amenazas para quienes proporcionan ayuda humanitaria en una de las regiones más vulnerables del planeta.

(Con información de EFE y AFP)

Advertisement

Continue Reading

INTERNACIONAL

‘Untold damage’: Global assisted suicide movement targets children

Published

on


NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

In the spring of 2022, Canadian teenager Markus Schouten’s dying wish was that no child should be forced to choose between life and death.

Advertisement

Markus had just learned he was about to die. His oncologist broke the news to him and his family on the eighth floor cancer ward at British Columbia Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, Canada. They held each other, weeping.

Weeks later, lying on his family’s living room sofa, Markus dictated a letter to the Canadian Parliament’s Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying, established to set guidelines on a federal law that allowed «assisted suicide» in Canada in 2016.

Markus opposed lobbying efforts to expand the law to children under the age of 18.

Advertisement

‘LOVE YOU FOREVER’ AUTHOR MAY SOON DIE BY ASSISTED SUICIDE, PRO-LIFE GROUPS CALL DECISION ‘HEARTBREAKING’

Markus Schouten with his nephew, Mateo, around August 2021 in Chilliwack, British Columbia. (Schouten family)

«That’s because life is worth living and we should always work to alleviate suffering without eliminating the sufferer,» read the final letter, which was signed by his parents.

Advertisement

The letter closed, «Life is worth living, even when we are dying.» 

A month later, Markus died, surrounded by his family and friends, telling them, «See you in paradise.» 

Three years later, his parents, Mike and Jennifer Schouten, are carrying the torch for Markus in a mission to block efforts to allow «mature minors» the right to choose to die through assisted suicide. They now work alongside a global network of like-minded advocates, including disability rights groups, who argue the assisted-suicide industry targets vulnerable people who would benefit from assisted living services. Already, in Canada, the law is expected to expand to patients with severe psychiatric disorders, as early as 2027.

Advertisement

But they are up against a powerful, well-funded machine. A Fox Digital investigation reveals the Schoutens and other opponents of euthanasia face a multimillion-dollar global lobby that could be called Assisted Suicide Inc., a sprawling network changing laws worldwide, developing euthanasia services for funeral parlors, selling «suicide pods,» promoting «suicide tourism» and even training «doulas for death.»

«As we continue to expand the euthanasia regime, all the safeguards and windows have gone out the window,» said Mike Schouten. «And it becomes open season for anyone to choose death, including children.»

AUSTRALIAN MOTHER CALLS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA AGE RESTRICTIONS AFTER DAUGHTER’S SUICIDE

Advertisement
Markus Schouten, seated in a hospital bed, is surrounded by a group of friends and family in a sunlit room.

Markus Schouten with his family at Canuck Place Hospice in Vancouver on May 28, 2022. (Schouten family)

What began as a limited effort to provide adults with terminal illnesses the ability to end pain and suffering has now grown into an international industry. According to a database compiled by the Pearl Project, a nonprofit journalism initiative, at least 96 organizations worldwide are now part of this movement. 

The global lobby cloaks assisted suicide in the language of civil rights and human rights, using euphemisms in their names, such as «assisted dying,» «medical assistance in dying,» «dying with dignity,» «choice,» «end of life,» «completed life,» «final exit,» «free exit» and the «right to die.»

These groups have a presence on every continent, but are predominately found in the West, which also faces alarmingly low birth rates. There are 41 groups in Europe; 31 groups in North America, with 25 of them in the United States, four in Canada and two in Mexico; 13 in Oceania, with most in Australia and one in New Zealand; and only five in Asia, two in Africa, and three in South America.

Advertisement

While most of their work has focused on adults, with Robert Munsch, the Canadian author of the best-selling children’s book, «Love You Forever,» the latest high-profile person to recently announce he was approved for assisted suicide after being diagnosed with dementia. «Hello, Doc — come kill me!» he joked, sharing the news.

The boundaries are shifting. Behind the push to extend these laws to children lies a legal Trojan horse: the «mature minor doctrine.»

This concept, first established in a 1967 Washington Supreme Court case, Smith v. Seiblyonce allowed limited medical discretion for minors. But over decades, it has metastasized into a sweeping jurisdiction for granting children autonomy – and secrecy – over their medical decisions. Today, it lets minors make choices without parental involvement on gender pronouns, gender transitions, contraception and abortion. In 13 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, minors can even obtain abortions without parental knowledge.

Advertisement

FEDERAL COURT REJECTS CHALLENGE TO OKLAHOMA LAW BANNING GENDER TRANSITION TREATMENT FOR MINORS

Markus Schouten poses outdoors in a snowy landscape with three other men, all wearing winter clothing and smiling for the camera.

(Left to Right) Brothers Kayden Schouten, Markus Schouten, Micah Schouten and Aaron Schouten in December 2021. (Schouten family)

Now, advocates are leveraging that same doctrine to argue that children should have the «medical autonomy» to choose death. The «National Youth Rights Association,» a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Hyattsville, Md., uses the «mature minors» to die by physician-assisted suicide.

Euthanasia is already legal for adults in Australia, Belgium, Colombia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and 11 U.S. states. But three countries – the Netherlands, Belgium and Colombia – have gone further, allowing «mature minors» to die by physician-assisted suicide.

Advertisement

In February 2023, despite the pleas of Marcus and his parents, Canada’s Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying recommended extending the right to some youth, declaring that parents should be «consulted» but that the «will of a minor» with decision-making capacity «ultimately takes priority.»

The same debate has now reached the United Kingdom, where a bill to allow adult euthanasia is moving through the British Parliament. Earlier this year, the British House of Commons narrowly voted 259 to 216 to bar physicians from discussing assisted suicide with youth, meaning nearly half of lawmakers supported discussing assisted suicide for youth.

Katharine Birbalsingh, a British educator known as «Britain’s Strictest Headmistress,» believes it’s only a matter of time before youth are included.

Advertisement

«Assisted suicide will spread, full stop,» she told Fox Digital. «And the people allowed to do assisted suicide will grow, making it younger and younger.»

Birbalsingh argues that Western societies have fallen for the dangerous illusion that «the child must lead,» leading to thinking such as «Oh, he wants to change his gender, or he wants to commit suicide.»

«Once upon a time,» she said, «adults used to say, ‘No, the child is not capable of leading, because he is a child.‘ In the West, we have forgotten that we’re meant to be in charge as adults.»

Advertisement

«There ‘s just a million reasons why young people would want to choose death,» said Birbalsingh, the founder of the Michaela Community School in London. «You know, young people are compulsive, they make whimsical decisions. They make irresponsible decisions. They’re young. That’s sort of the definition of a child.»

«That’s why they need looking after,» Birbalsingh added. «That’s why we need to look after them as adults. That’s our job. It’s our role in life, to keep and protect them, sometimes from themselves. The people making these decisions just don’t understand young people.» Lawmakers there was a «very real risk» that proposed assisted suicide legislation, called the «Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill,» would be expanded to include children if they didn’t vote for her amendment.

ITALIAN LAW WOULD REGULATE GENDER TRANSITION TREATMENT FOR MINORS

Advertisement
Markus Schouten lies on a gray sectional couch under a blue-and-white blanket near two women

Markus Schouten, with sister Kaitlyn Jongs, on May 16, 2022, in Royston, British Columbia. (Schouten family)

British Labour Party MP Meg Hillier voiced similar concerns during parliamentary debate, warning that teen brains make them particularly «susceptible to being influenced, including into dangerous and risky behavior.»

She said, «In a number of countries, assisted dying laws have been expanded to allow children and young people to end their lives. We need to be alert to that very real risk.»

Another MP, Sorcha Eastwood, cited social media’s toll on youth brain health, saying, «If we throw this into the mix, it has the potential to do untold damage.»

Advertisement

So far, pro-euthanasia groups in the U.S. have remained quiet about extending assisted suicide to minors, but critics fear it’s only a matter of time.

The British Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, warned that the proposed changes would allow doctors to discuss assisted dying with 17-year-olds «deemed competent,» preparing them for the choice upon turning 18. In a May report, she said that she had convened a panel of youth to discuss the issue.

In Canada, the euphemism «MAID,» or «Medical Assistance In Dying,» has softened the conversation. But the statistics are stark. In 2023, about 15,000 Canadians died through «MAID,» about one in every 20 deaths nationwide, a 16% increase from 2022, making assisted suicide the fifth leading cause of death. 

Advertisement

The movement is also big business. Dying with Dignity Canada, based in Toronto, reported $3 billion in expenses in 2024, including $803,555 for advertising and promotions. It publicly argues that «mature minors should be allowed the right to choose MAID,» calling it «unfair» to deny a 17-year-old what a 70-year-old is granted.

The British Columbia Humanist Association, the Canada chapter of Humanists International Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in New York City, likewise demands MAID access for «mature minors» and «those whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness,» It insisting there is «no moral or ethical distinction between a mature minor and a young adult.» It argues: «Ensure Dignity in Death.» The «high priestess» of euthanisia, Dr. Ellen Wiebe, also supports extending assisted suicide to children. 

The Netherlands offers a preview of what comes next. Legal since 2002, Dutch euthanasia laws permit doctors to end lives of children as young as one, including newborns «suffering unbearably with no prospects of improvement.» 

Advertisement

By 2024, euthanasia accounted for 9,958 deaths in 2024, or 5.8% of the country’s deaths.

DEMOCRATIC STATES SUE TRUMP ADMIN OVER ENDING SEX CHANGE SURGERIES FOR MINORS

A recent study published in the International Journal of Psychiatry found that among Dutch euthanasia applicants, 73% were young women with psychiatric diagnoses including major depression, autism, eating disorder, trauma-related disorders and a «history of suicidality.» The researchers acknowledged there is an «urgent need» to study «persistent death wishes» in this «high-risk group.»

Advertisement

In one chilling case, a boy with autism, aged 16 to 18, ended his life after describing it as «joyless» and «lonely,» according to the 2024 annual report of the Regional Euthanasia Review Committees, which approves medical-assisted suicides. His doctor «had no doubt about his decisional competence.»

Last year, 14 Dutch psychiatrists urged prosecutors to investigate a case involving a 17-year-old girl, Milou, who died by euthanasia after years of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation, following childhood sexual abuse. They warned against the «widespread promotion of euthanasia» leading to «unnecessary deaths.» The Royal Dutch Medical Association scolded the psychiatrists, and prosecutors declined to act.

In 2014, Belgium became the second country in the world to allow child euthanasia, requiring parental consent.The Belgian Federal Euthanasia Review and Evaluation Committee says that six youth have requested euthanasia between 2014 and 2024. Last year, one young person made the request. 

Advertisement

The industry has faced allegedly criminal revelations. In Australia, one alleged «euthanasia ring kingpin,» Brett Daniel Taylor, faces prison for selling vulnerable people lethal veterinary drugs nicknamed «the Green Dream.»

Back in Canada, Mike and Jennifer Schouten remain committed to fulfilling their son’s wish. 

Michael remembers Markus lying on the sofa, dictating the words that became his son’s final message to lawmakers.

Advertisement

One day, in his final days, Markus said to his parents, «I can see what you are doing with your work is connected to what we’re going through. If we can share our story, we should.»

Now, Michael says, «I feel he is blessing our work.»

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Advertisement



world,canada,politics,lobbying,health care,health care healthy living

Continue Reading

Tendencias