"Love me & help me Die" Dignitas returns to UK news

by info Sat Jan 28, 2006 12:12

ASSISTED SUICIDE
"Assisting a suicide carris a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment in England and Wales
None of the UK cases handled by Dignitas has so far involved any criminal charges, but many have resulted in police investigations
Eight European countries have no crime of assiting a suicide: Switzerland, Scotland, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Sweden and Finland"

Swiss Suicide law :-
"Whoever lures someone into suicide or provides assistance to commit suicide out of a self-interested motivation will, on completion of the suicide, be punished with up to five years' imprisonment".

How it works :-

The patient is given an anti-sickness drug 30 minutes before the lethal dose of barbiturate.

A camera is set up to record the patient take the drug themselves - firm evidence that it was not administered by clinic staff.

The barbiturate is a colourless solution, bitter tasting, and comes in a portion like a small glass of sherry.

The dose is three times the normal lethal amount required, based on the patient's weight.

The patient drinks it and then may take a sip of orange juice.

Within five minutes they lapse into a coma, and the heart stops soon afterwards, apparently leading to a peaceful and painless death.

The police are then called, a coroner comes, they question the witnesses and look at the video.

"What we are doing is a friendly act... we have never had a problem with police," said Mr Minelli.

"The patient always makes the last act - swallowing the drug or opening a valve of a drip himself."

Nurse Erica Lully, who prepares the doses, told the BBC News website how she deals with patients in the last few minutes of their life.

"I bring [the drink] to the patient and once again ask, 'Is this your last day because this will be your last drink.

"Afterwards it's over, you will sleep two to five minutes and afterwards you will die'."

by rest Sun Mar 23, 2008 20:02

Chantal Sebire suffered from a rare cancer which turned her face into a massive tumor. She appealed to end her life and her appeals went even as far as the president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy - who rejected it.

She was found dead in her home at the beginning of last week & now her story is beginning to transfer to English language news sites.

all links in english

Background
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7301566.stm

The report of her death at 52 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7305970.stm

The inquest
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7308746.stm
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/03/21/euthanas...yview

The debate :-
"The demand to calm suffering is a legitimate demand," Justice Minister Rachida Dati said Thursday."............Not all European countries ban euthanasia. In neighboring Belgium, 78-year-old Belgian writer Hugo Claus, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, ended his life in an Antwerp hospital by euthanasia — on the day Sebire died. "He himself picked the moment of his death and asked for euthanasia," not wanting to extend his suffering, his wife, Veerle De Wit, said in a statement. Euthanasia is also legal in the Netherlands. In Switzerland, counselors or physicians can prepare the lethal dose, but patients must take it on their own. Luxembourg is in the process of passing a law to allow euthanasia................"
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gkm1RDVqrQg-oYEJtus-...C4S80

Further information -

Dignity in Dying (UK based)
http://www.dignityindying.org.uk/
Dignitas Switzerland
http://www.dignitas.ch/
their english pages
http://www.dignitas.ch/index.php?option=com_content&tas...d=166