What interests the public and what is in the public interest can be two rather different things but can come together to argue strongly for change. Such is the case with British law in respect of assisted dying. It is wrong to say, as some do, that the law is adequate as it stands. It […]
Tag: Euthanasia
William Lee on “A Short Stay In Switzerland”
Last night the BBC aired “A Short Stay in Switzerland”, a one-off drama based on the true story of a terminally ill doctor who killed herself in Zurich with the help of Dignitas, an organisation specialising in assisting suicide (read obituary). Assisting a person to commit suicide is illegal in the UK, though there have […]
William Lee and the “I’m lucky to be alive” patient
In early November 2008 a woman in her 30s who lives alone in London decided that she wanted to die. She was depressed. She felt that she only suffered and caused suffering to others, and that she did not deserve to live. Yet from the outside her life seemed fulfilling and successful. A graduate building […]
Ohad Oren on euthanasia, supermarket style
Debbie Purdy, a 45 year old woman with progressive multiple sclerosis, failed in her bid last month to be able to end her life when her excruciating symptoms become unbearable for her. When the time comes, she wants her husband to accompany her to Dignitas, a Swiss clinic, which will prescribe a lethal dose of barbiturates, […]
William Lee on Philip Nitschke
Dr Philip Nitschke, director of the Australian pro-euthanasia group EXIT International, has come to the UK to promote the launch of his ebook ‘The Peaceful Pill Handbook’ – a controversial guide to methods of suicide. The paper version has been banned in Australia and published in New Zealand with some pages blacked out. […]
Richard Smith: What do you want your care home to be like?
At a conference I attended recently we were all asked to think about what kind of care home we would like. This was a truly shocking question. It was a conference on death and dying, and I’d thought a lot about a good death. For me the thought of being in a care home was […]