Monday, May 5, 2008

Nitschke 'hell-bent on assisted suicide'

Two Australian women have pleaded not guilty in a New South Wales Supreme Court to murdering Graeme Wylie by giving him a lethal dose of Nembutal on March 22, 2006.

Shirley Justins (59) the partner of Wylie for 18 years and their friend Caren Jennings (74) were supporters of the group Exit International, the euthanasia lobby group that is operated by Dr. Philip Nitschke.

Justins and Jennings have also pleaded not guilty to importing the barbiturate Nembutal into Australia from Mexico. Both women pleaded guilty to the lesser alternative charge of aiding and abetting suicide.

In November 2005, Wylie was turned down by the Swiss Suicide group Dignitas because they questioned his ability to consent.

Dignitas had asked Nitschke to visit Wylie and report back as to his mental condition. Nitschke visited Wylie but decided not to further assess Wylie condition because he wanted to support Wylie’s desire for assisted suicide.

“The court was told Dr Nitschke was "hell bent" on getting Mr Wylie on the program.”

“If Graeme Wylie was affected by dementia to the extent that he no longer had the capacity to make an independent, informed decision himself about whether or not to commit suicide then from the law's point of view it is as though he did not know that the poison was there,” Mr Tedeschi, the lawyer for the crown, told the jury.

“(Justins' and Jenning's) actions in taking nembutal to him amount to murder.” stated Tedeschi.

This case emphasizes two important issues.

The euthanasia lobby is not really concerned about consent. Even someone who is suffering from Alzheimer or dementia can be killed, even when consent is not possible.

The second point is that the euthanasia lobby is not concerned with the health of their victims. They are only concerned with a change in the law, and once the law is changed, they are really concerned with facilitating death.

The same is true in the State of Oregon where last years report showed that none of the 49 assisted suicide deaths in 2007 were first referred to a psychiatrist or a psychologist, which is required by the law when the doctor suspects possible depression or mental issues.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/05/2235928.htm
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23649575-5005961,00.html

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