German Identical Twins Die by Death on Demand

This article was published by National Review online on November 18, 2025.

Wesley Smith

By Wesley J Smith

In 2020, the Federal Constitutional Court, Germany’s highest judicial body, conjured a fundamental right to commit suicide, to assist, and be assisted therein. The ruling called suicide a “self-determined death” — i.e., death on demand — regardless of the reason, and perhaps even, age of the person who wants to die, as the court ruled that the right to suicide “is guaranteed in all stages of a person’s existence.” Youth is a stage of a person’s existence. (Estonia’s highest court recently issued a similar ruling, while requiring competence.)

Now, famous German identical twins have committed joint assisted suicide — reported by the notorious assisted suicide pushers, People magazine — which oohed and aahed about the death of Brittany Maynard, publishing several cover stories on her doctor-prescribed death. From the story about the deceased twins:

Alice & Ellen Kessler

The Kessler twins — renowned German sisters who reached international stardom for their post-war entertainment in the 1950s and 1960s — ended their lives together.

On Monday, Nov. 17, Alice and Ellen Kessler died at age 89 in their home near Munich after choosing medical aid in dying, German newspaper Bild reports.

According to the outlet, the sisters “no longer wanted to live” and “they had chosen to end their lives together.” Police were reportedly notified after the process was completed.

Did you get that? They just didn’t want to live — so they accessed death on demand.

For many among us, suicide is no longer considered a tragedy but is viewed as an empowering act. This is precisely the darkness into which the euthanasia movement is taking us, some jurisdictions faster, some slower. We should be debating whether becoming dead should be deemed a fundamental right, not the expedient nonsense we too often hear that it’s all about terminal illness (it isn’t) and that strict guidelines protect against abuse (they don’t).

People Magazine article sells couple assisted suicide death porn.

Their daughter was constantly on the phone, speaking to hospice coordinators and doctors trying to get her dad qualified for hospice and MAID.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

An exclusive article written by Vanessa Etienne and published by People Magazine on October 8, 2025 reads like an assisted suicide lobby article that was paid for to sell couple suicide by making a couple killing part of a "love" story. This story feels like death porn.

Further to that the death story features a daughter who becomes intimately involved with arranging the assisted suicide deaths of her parents. From the article:

Corinne Gregory Sharpe always had a strong relationship with her parents, Eva and Druse Neumann. “We all were close and tight-knit,” the private professional chef from Port Ludlow, Washington, says. But in 2021, she helped both of them end their own lives with medical aid in dying — a journey she calls a “painful paradox.”

Now, four years after their deaths, the 61-year-old is opening up exclusively to PEOPLE about their last moments together and why she advocated for them to die on their own terms.

Eva and Druse Newmann died by assisted suicide in Washington state, where assisted suicide was legalized in 2009 after the law passed in a state voter initiative.

The story suggests that Eva qualified for assisted suicide but Druse didn't want to be left-alone after her death. From the article:

Meanwhile, Eva’s decision to die left Druse distraught. “I had a very interesting, serious heart-to-heart conversation with him one evening after my mom had gone to bed,” Corinne shares. “And he was just panicked like, ‘What happens to me if she goes first?’ That's always been a concern of his. He couldn't see a scenario where he would want to continue if mom was gone.”

“He's always been afraid of dying. But I think he was more afraid of being left alone,” she explains. “He was like, ‘Well, if she's gonna go and I have the option to go at the same time, then I'm getting on that horse.’ So I was like, look, we'll figure something out.”

In other words, Eva seems to qualify, under the law, to die by assisted suicide but Druse did not. So Corinne made it her goal to get Druse to qualify to be killed. The story states:

From that point, Corinne was constantly on the phone, speaking to hospice coordinators and doctors trying to get her dad qualified for hospice and MAID. She admits it was “surreal” to be essentially advocating for her own father’s death. By mid-June, Druse was successfully qualified based on his history of mini-strokes.

Corinne says it was “a race” to get her dad qualified, and the justification from doctors came down to the strong possibility of her father suffering a stroke that wouldn’t kill him, but would leave him incapacitated.

After receiving the lethal poison for her parents, Corinne suggests that the death occur on Friday, August 13, 2021 as part of a "wicked" death.

People Magazine may have received money from the assisted suicide lobby for Vanessa Etienne to write this quircky and dangerous article promoting couple assisted suicide.

This article shows you just how bad the assisted suicide lobby has become. The reality is that this article provides enough information to open an investigation into the deaths of Eva and Druse Neumann.

Even considering the lack of oversight of the Washington State assisted suicide law, it is questionable, at best, that Druse actually qualified for assisted suicide. This story suggests that Corinne went out of her way to arrange her father's death.

I really hope that authorities in Washington State will investigate these deaths.

• Previous articles about this topic (Articles Link).

Joint Elder Assisted Suicide in Switzerland to Avoid Widowhood

This article was published by National Review on September 26, 2025.

Wesley Smith

By Wesley J Smith

Once we decide that killing is an acceptable answer to suffering, the kind of suffering that qualifies us to be made dead continually expands. Now, an elderly British couple have committed joint assisted suicide at a Swiss termination clinic to avoid future widowhood and increasing fragility — in other words, to eliminate future suffering. From the Daily Record story:

A devoted couple who “couldn’t bear to be apart” have died together at a Swiss assisted dying clinic after sending emails to their relatives to let them know.

Neither Michael Posner, 97, nor his wife Ruth, 96, had a terminal illness, but had made the decision to die together because they were desperate not to be apart after 75 years of marriage.

This is far from the first such case as euthanasia consciousness has spread throughout the West. I even know of one joint euthanasia homicide in Belgium of an elderly couple who weren’t sick but worried about future widowhood. It was arranged by their son so the children could avoid future caregiving.

There was a time that joint geriatric suicides were considered tragedies. Now they are accepted by many without so much as a raised eyebrow. This is the “compassionate” world, favoring some suicides, that euthanasia advocates are conjuring.

More articles by Wesley Smith (Articles Link).

Irish columnist changes his mind and now opposes euthanasia.

“What’s happened under the MAID programme in Canada is everything the anti-euthanasia brigade used to warn me about in debates,”

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Ian O'Doherty

The Irish parliament (Dáil Éireann) recently voted 76 - 53 to accept a report of an Oireachtas Committee that recommended the legalization of assisted suicide in Ireland.

Ian O'Doherty, who is a columnist for Mediahuis Ireland covering the Irish Independent and Sunday Independent has went from strongly supporting euthanasia to completely opposing euthanasia.

James Wilson published an interview on newstalk with Ian O'Doherty from Lunchtime live on October 24 concerning the legalization of euthanasia. As stated earlier, O'Doherty has changed his position on the issue.

O'Doherty told Wilson that he supported euthanasia when Diane Pretty, who had Motor Neuron Disease, sued the British government to overturn the law preventing assisted suicide. But since he has changed his mind. 

O'Doherty tells Wilson:

“There was a case in Belgium involving twins - the Verbessem twins,” he said.

“They weren’t terminally ill but they were deaf and they were going blind - they were suffering from macular degeneration.

“They decided that they wanted to get euthanised together.”

Although the twins’ family were against it, the pair went ahead and died together.

“I just thought that was wrong,” 

“They weren’t dying.”

O'Doherty then speaks about Canada:

In 2016, Canada legalised euthanasia and five-years later it broadened the eligibility to include people with incurable conditions.

The Medical Assistance in Dying or ‘MAID’ programme is something that has given Mr O'Doherty pause for thought.

In particular, he heard of a man with a severe disability who requested euthanasia because he was about to become homeless.

“What’s happened under the MAID programme in Canada is everything the anti-euthanasia brigade used to warn me about in debates,” he said.

“I would dismiss their warnings as being ‘scaremongering’ when they talk about the slippery slope.”

O'Doherty has been reporting on the issue of euthanasia for a long time. We hope that his knowledge and experience will help others understand why euthanasia, if legalized, cannot be controlled.

Sarco Selling Murder-Suicide

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Philip Nitschke with Sarco

Sarah Oliver and Sanchez Manning reported for the Daily Mail on September 7, 2024 that Peter and Christine Scott have decided to not only be the first people to die by assisted suicide with the Sarco pod, but that they intend to die together.

Peter and Christine Scott are part of a death campaign that romanticizes suicide where the "wish to die" is turned into a "love story."

The Sarco suicide pod was designed by suicide promoter Philip Nitschke, formerly known as Australia's Dr Death, to enable suicide by being gassed to death. The person activates the nitrogen gas which causes a suicide death by suffocation.

In July, the media reported that: 

Peter Sticher, a public prosecutor, cautioned that Mr Nitschke would face serious consequences for aiding, abetting, and inducing suicide, particularly if done for selfish reasons.

In a letter obtained by Swiss media, Mr Sticher said: ''There is no reliable information about the method of killing. [It is] completely unclear who has control over which mechanical process during the dying process.''

Since Peter and Christine Scott plan to "die together" the deaths would be defined as a murder-suicide, since one person would activate the nitrogen gas but both would die by suffocation, meaning one death is a self-murder while the other is clear murder.

The Sarco was developed by Nitschke as a way to gain media attention and to promote his websites that sell suicide books, materials and gadgets. 

Nitschke is 'making a killing' on selling suicide.

Couple euthanasia is modern sati.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Meghan McCallum wrote an article that appears to promote Duo-euthanasia that was published in mdlinx.com on August 15, 2024.

The article titled: Duo-euthanasia: To avoid facing life alone, focuses on how the spouse of a person who dies by euthanasia will often experience complicated grief and will have a higher potential rate of premature death. The article states:

For some individuals, euthanasia or physician-assisted dying (aka PAD or EAS) presents an option to end one’s life with some control and dignity while minimizing pain and suffering. Whether they are experiencing severe chronic pain, mobility challenges, or serious illness such as cancer, these people may be intrigued by the possibility of euthanasia or physician-assisted dying.

But for the surviving spouses, facing the future without their lifelong partner can feel overwhelming, and their quality of life may plummet.

The article states:

Patients may consider or request information about euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide (EAS) as a way to take control of their death and dying experience and to end their pain and suffering. While this option presents a way for patients to die with dignity in the manner of their choosing, their death also creates challenges and risks for their spouse or partner. It is important to discuss all the risks and benefits with both partners and patients considering EAS.

History insists on repeating itself. In the past, some Hindu women would throw themselves on the funeral pyre (known as sati) to die with their husband. India banned the practise of sati.

But now the euthanasia lobby appears to be promoting a modern sati, that being couples dying by lethal poison. Similar to sati, some women "chose" to die on the funeral pyre while others were compelled to die.

By promoting couple euthanasia McCallum is undermining the nature of the human person, that being, to receive care and support from the community while grieving. 

Killing is not caring.

CBC News promotes couple euthanasia propaganda (MAiD).

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

CBC News published a story by Sara Fraser that cannot be ignored because it dangerously promotes couple euthanasia (MAiD) propaganda as a love story.

The story concerns Bob & Margi Wilson who recently died by euthanasia (MAiD). The story is also about a family who agreed to talk to CBC News about the death to celebrate their parents' "bravery" and to reduce any stigma around MAID.

The story states that the couples daughter, brought up the concept of MAiD with her mother, as her mother was approaching death.

Fraser really plays up the "perfect ending" to the love story. Fraser writes:

In the last weeks, the grandchildren gathered in their grandparents' room to keep them company, doing crafts and playing music. They reminisced about fun times the close-knit family had spent together. Nothing went unsaid. 

"It was bittersweet," Scott said of the scene. 

"I joked with my mom, I said it's almost Romeo and Juliet without the poison," Scott said. "We use humour in our family as a coping mechanism. In a way, there was somewhat of a relief that a decision had been made, because it was very up and down."

Even with this "love" story, death does not come without controversy. Fraser reports:

Margi lost consciousness in the days before, and the family thought she might die naturally before the agreed-upon date...

At 7 a.m. on May 25, doctors came into the room for a final check. They took the family to a different room, away from their parents, and briefed them on the procedure.

Even though Margi wasn't able to verbally consent, recent changes to the assisted dying law made it possible for doctors to carry out her wishes. Bob indicated to the doctors that he wanted to go through with it, too. 

Margi was not able to consent at the time of death and yet death was her "choice."

This story was written to sell the idea of couples dying by euthanasia.

You may remember the 2007 assisted suicide propaganda film, the suicide tourist featuring George & Betty Coumbias. George had significant medical issues but Betty was healthy. George wanted to die by assisted suicide at the Dignitas assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland and Betty, who was healthy, wanted to die with him, because she couldn't live without him. Betty died of cancer, in 2009, and George, who Betty couldn't live without, remarried and lived until his death in 2016.

Stories that are designed to sell more euthanasia have a "contagion" effect and create a false portrayal of what euthanasia is, that being, killing people with lethal drug cocktails.