Thursday, February 4, 2010

Woman charged with possession of euthanasia drug

An article in today's Australia Herald Sun newspaper indicated that a woman was arrested for attempting to illegally import two bottles of Nembutal, a drug that is used to euthanize animals.

The article stated:
A 61-year-old Melbourne woman has been charged with importing a euthanasia drug from Mexico into Australia.

Two bottles of the border-controlled drug Nembutal were intercepted at Melbourne Airport last March.

Australian Federal Police officers executed a search warrant on an address in the eastern suburb of Canterbury on April 15, 2009 but the woman was not charged on summons until last week.

The Canterbury woman is due to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court today.

The maximum penalty for this offence is 25 years' jail or a $550,000fine.
Philip Nitschke, the founder of Exit International, has been encouraging people to go to Mexico and obtain Nembutal from veterinary clinics in that country. Nitschke is promoting a dangerous and irresponsible action by encouraging his supporters to illegally obtain Nembutal.

Link to the article in the Herald Sun: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/woman-charged-over-euthanasia-drug/story-e6frf7jx-1225826714430

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

But Alex....the people are pushed to this extreme by a government that doesn't give a rats about the sick and the elderly. and it's not like god takes care of his own. We have to do whats right for ourselves regardless of the judgemental views of those such as yourself.

Alex Schadenberg said...

Dear Anonymous:

It is not about my judgemental views, but rather the effect of these actions on society as a whole.

If society were to turn a blind eye to its citizens bringing lethal overdoses of veterinary drugs in the country for use on humans, we would then lose our ability to protect the weak and defenseless.

The laws against euthanasia and assisted suicide are designed to protect people from those who would kill them or pressure them into dying.

Remember, this issue is about one person directly and intentionally being involved with causing the death of another person. This is not an issue of self-killing but rather whether society should allow people to kill others.