Mexico's President offers healthcare reform and euthanasia.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador

AP news reported that Mexico's President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced last Friday his intention to implement healthcare reform by spending $5.7 Billion and legalizing euthanasia. The AP News reported Lopez stating:

“Why don’t we implement some program for dignified death? Why not, assisted?” 

“These are very important questions we have to resolve among all of us.”

The healthcare reform is based on providing emergency service for those who lack healthcare insurance. AP news reported:

“More than half the population has no health insurance,” 

“So this program is for them. It is for everybody, but the emphasis is to care for those with no insurance, the poorest people.” 

But under the new plan they would be eligible for emergency treatment at hospitals in the two other, better-funded systems. Lopez Obrador pledged to improve funding and staffing at the federal facilities.

Euthanasia is not a form of healthcare but rather it creates pressure for people who are not receiving proper care to end their life.

Legalizing euthanasia to save money does not benefit the poor but rather pressures people with disabilities and others with complicated conditions, to die.

Hoarding Death Drugs

By Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

The Australian news.com reported Philip Nitschke, Australia's Dr. Death, to have stated that approximately 300 people have hoarded a lethal drug that they have obtained from veterinary clinics and through mail orders.

Philip Nitschke

The article proves that Nitschke has an irresponsible attitude towards people who are living with depression or others including troubled teens who are thinking of suicide but really crying out for help.

Nitscke stated to the Australian news.com that:

"About 250 to 300 people have accessed the drug over the past decade, mostly in the past five years,"

"They're people who are generally not unwell, but might have seen someone unwell and don't want it to happen to them."

The article continues by stating that:

According to a report published this week by the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, 50 Australians, some in their 20s and 30s, have used Nembutal to commit suicide.

The report used data from the National Coroners Information System and of the 38 cases fully investigated by coroners, only 11 involved chronic physical pain or a terminal illness.

Nitschke, the founder of Exit International stated:

That the number reported by the institute is closer to 125.

He said that Exit occasionally provided information to people in their 20s on how to obtain the drug from Mexico.

In a National Review article written by Kathryn Lopez in 2001, Lopez prints an interview with Nitschke who supports anyone dying by lethal overdose, even troubled teens. Nitscke stated:

My personal position is that if we believe that there is a right to life, and then we must accept that people have a right to dispose of that life whenever they want….  

I do not believe that telling people they have a right to life while denying them the means, manner, or information necessary for them to give this life away has any ethical consistency. So all people qualify, not just those with the training, knowledge, or resources to find out how to 'give away' their life. And someone needs to provide this knowledge, training, or resource necessary to anyone who wants it, including the depressed, the elderly bereaved, the troubled teen. If we are to remain consistent and we believe that the individual has the right to dispose of their life, we should not erect artificial barriers in the way of subgroups that don't meet our criteria.

Nitschke has consistently promoted suicide as an answer to the problems that people experience. At the World Federation of Right to Die Societies Conference in Toronto (2006) he stated that someone who is "Tired of Living" should simply be given a lethal overdose. This is a very callous way to view human life.

Is the person "Tired of Living" simply because we have made them feel like their life is not worth living. Society can abandon people to suicide or society can value all of its citizens, whether they are people with disabilities, elderly and lonely, or a troubled teen who needs support at a difficult time of life. 

Kathryn Lopez's 2001 interview with Nitschke: http://www.nationalreview.com/interrogatory/interrogatory060501.shtml

Link to my previous blog comment about Nitschke's promotion of Nembutal: http://alexschadenberg.blogspot.com/2009/03/suicide-by-mail.html

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

Suicide by mail

Alex Schadenberg

By Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Dr Philip Nitschke, Australia's Dr. Death, has once again proven that he is not concerned whether or not a person is terminally ill, he is not concerned whether or not a person is depressed or otherwise vulnerable, he is only concerned with promoting suicide.

A recent article published in The Australian on March 14, 2009 and written by Julie-Anne Davies is entitled: Suicide drug of choice in mail

It appears that Nitschke found a source for the illegal lethal veterinary drugs from a Mexican supplier who is willing (for a price) to ship by mail order to desperate followers of Nitschke. Nitschke was so confident of his source that he put the information in his "Peaceful Pill" book.

The Australian authorities are right to try to stop the import of the lethal veterinary drug, used to euthanize animals. Nitschke is busy operating a suicide counseling service whereby he is encouraging people to commit suicide and he is helping people plan their suicide.

The article states:

The buyers had learnt about his service from euthanasia advocate Philip Nitschke's latest version of his banned book, The Peaceful Pill Handbook, published by Exit International.

Dr Nitschke said he did not expect the mail order option to last for long. "We heard about this guy who's down south of Mexico and we decided to tell people about him in our latest book because he seemed to be offering a reliable service and a good product," he said.

"But it won't last once word gets out."

Assisted Suicide must remain illegal. Out-of-control death gurus such as Nitschke will continue his "ministry" so long as nobody shuts him down. At least the Australian authorities are trying to limit his influence by keeping a watch on his activities.

The article states:

Dr Nitschke's book, The Peaceful Pill Handbook -- the title of which uses a euphemism for a veterinary drug -- was banned in Australia after a special federal law was passed in 2005 making it a crime to use a telephone, fax, email or the internet to discuss or research assisted suicide.

That offence carries a $110,000 fine. An Australian Federal Police spokesperson said no one had been charged with downloading Dr Nitschke's book.

Importing the veterinary drug into Australia carries a maximum penalty of 25 years' imprisonment or a $550,000 fine.

Notice the amount of money the Mexican veterinary supply shop that sells the drug who are willing to cash in on the desperation of people who are being counseled by Nitschke to commit suicide.

The article states:

"I have sent to Australia, like, eight times with success; the Customs have never stopped any of my ships," Gerardo Aviles Navarro said in an email from Mexico. "I'm very serious; the reason of Exit International to make public my email direction is because they know my seriousness."

One bottle of the drug costs $US350 or $US450 for two bottles, he said.

Nitschke has also been accused by families of taking advantage of people when they were emotionally down. The case of Erin Berg the 39 year old mother of four is a prime example of his lack of concern for people who are emotionally unstable. It was reported at the time that Berg was undergoing psychiatric treatment.

The article states:

The botched suicide of Australian woman Erin Berg in Tijuana, which was revealed in The Australian last year, is blamed for this. The 39-year-old mother of four died in a Mexican hospital a fortnight after drinking a veterinary drug in a Tijuana hotel room.

Her sisters blamed Dr Nitschke in part for their sister's death, after finding she had underlined passages in his first book Killing Me Softly relating to the veterinary drug and obtaining it in Mexico.

My previous blog posting on the Berg family concerns:
http://alexschadenberg.blogspot.com/2008/08/grieving-family-wants-suicide-book.html

Link to the article in The Australian:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25184478-5013404,00.html

In case you are thinking that legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide would put people like Nitschke out of business, think again. The leading Dutch "Right to Die" organization has decided that their new goal is the legalization of the "Last Will Pill." They are a mainstream right to die group and once again they are not concerned about the vulnerability of people at the most difficult time of their life.

Finally, let's be brutally honest. Legalizing assisted suicide is not going to put Nitscke out of business, but rather give them credibility.

If assisted suicide becomes legal, you will find out that your mother died but you won't know that your sister pressured her, a sister who may have selfish motivs. If it is legal you will be told she wanted to die, and its legal. It won't matter whether the doctor is like Nitschke, or that your sister pressured her, your mother will be dead.

New 10 in San Diego Tracks 'Suicide Drug' in Mexico

News 10, a television station news program in San Diego has tracked the sale of 'suicide drugs' in Tijuana Mexico.

The 10News I-Team went undercover to try and find the drug by following the instructions in Philip Nitschke, Australia's Dr. Death, 'Peaceful Pill' handbook. Nitschke is the leader of the euthanasia lobby group, Exit International.

The online article stated that the I-Team learned that Mexican authorities are cracking down on the sale of Nembutal, a veterinary drug used to euthanize animals, due to the adverse publicity related to a few high profile deaths.

The article then stated that the undercover I-Team unsuccessfully tried four different pharmacies in Tijuana, but they were successful in one pharmacy where they were able to obtain the veterinary drug under a different brand name and with no prescription. The price for the lethal drug was $40.

The I-Team were unable to keep the lethal veterinary drug due to a malfunction in their hidden camera that was spotted by the pharmacy owner who suddenly told them that the drug was no longer available.

The article explains that the I-Team continued travelling south to Rosario where they attempted to purchase Nembutal from a veterinarian's office. They were told that the government is cracking down and that they would require a note from a doctor (probably a veterinarian).

The I-Team also interviewed Faye Girsh, a leader of the San Diego Hemlock Society, a leading euthanasia lobby group in California.

Girsh told the I-Team:

drinking this drug, Nembutal, is "much better then shooting your head off or jumping form a building or in front a train."

Girsh also told the I-Team:

she does have her own stash of Nembutal to use if and when the time comes. She didn't go down to Mexico to get it herself, someone got it for her, and she has great sympathy for those who take that risk.

Girsh did tell the I-Team that:
she doesn't agree with is traveling to Mexico to buy this drug since it is illegal to bring back to the U.S.
Paula Goodman-Cruz, the medical bioethics director from Kaiser Permanente, told the I-Team:

Sympathy is one thing, but no one but doctors should have access to that drug.

It's not only illegal but also unethical. The solution is better end-of-life care.

She says less pain and more comfort could prevent people from risking their lives south of the border for the ability to end their lives at home.

Once again, the euthanasia lobby refuses to recognize how their promotion of suicide methods and drugs are irresponsibly causing vulnerable people to seek death.

Even Faye Girsh has a stash of illegal drug hidden for a future possible use.

I need to ask the question. What is it with the euthanasia lobby that makes them so obsessed with death that they feel the need to assist people, in all and every medical condition, to kill themselves or they seek to kill themselves, at some unforseen time in the future.

We need a society that cares for people, not kills them.

Link to 10News.com in San Diego:
http://www.10news.com/investigations/17976535/detail.html

Link to a previous blog entry concerning the Mexican crack down on Nembutal:
http://alexschadenberg.blogspot.com/2008/10/beware-of-mexico-drug-risks-and-rip.html