Is Philip Nitschke - Dr. Death coming to Washington State?

A media release by Exit International yesterday, slammed the Australian government for announcing that it plans to have mandatory internet filtering systems in Australia.

The Australian government has been concerned about how Exit International has skirted the law by providing suicide information, but by also using modern technology to counsel suicide.

Nitschke claims that the "Clean Feed" is the final nail in the coffin for promoting assisted suicide in Australia.

Nitschke then explains that the Australian government amended the Customs Act in 2001 to make it illegal to import printed material that promoted assisted suicide. In 2006 the Australian government introduced the Suicide Related Materials Offences Act which prevented counseling suicide by telephone, fax, email or internet. In 2007 the Australian office of Film and Literature had there decision to allow the distribution of the Peaceful Pill Handbook overturned.

Nitschke's moniker "Dr Death" is not a term of endearment by Australians. His antics in relation to Nancy Crick and Graeme Wylie

When you consider that Nitschke has had his activities completely limited by the Australian government, it should not surprise us that he has set-up offices in Bellingham - Washington State. Bellingham is a border town, giving him easy access to Canada.

All accounts indicate that Nitschke may soon set-up shop in Washington State and regularly go effect the political scene in Canada.

If this doesn't concern you - go to: http://www.nationalreview.com/interrogatory/interrogatory060501.shtml

Jenning commits suicide rather than go to jail.

Caren Jenning (75) decided that suicide was better than jail.

Jenning had terminal cancer that had spread to her bones.

Dr. Philip Nitscke, the leader of exit international, a group that Jenning belonged to, confirmed that she died on Thursday evening, a death that he stated was inevitable.

Jenning was awaiting sentencing for being an accessory before the fact to the death of Graeme Wylie.

Mr Wylie, 71, died in March 2006 from an overdose of the veterinarian drug Nembutal, which Jenning had illegally imported from Mexico the previous month. The drug was given to him by his partner, Shirley Justins, who was convicted of his manslaughter.

Jenning admitted to travelling to Mexico to obtain the drug.

Supposedly Jenning committed suicide by taking some of the remaining Nembutal that had been purchased for Wylie's death.

Nitscke stated:

The timing was being determined by what was hanging over her with the possible sentence. She knew she would lose her option (suicide) if she was put in prison.

Nitschke claims that Jenning had stated:

'I'm not going to die in jail, so I'm going to take a pre-emptive step.'

I mourn the death of Jenning. I believe that the law was properly applied and needs to be upheld, but I do not wish any malace for people who maintain a false compassion by believing that killing is a form of care

Link to article:
http://www.news.com.au:80/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,24373232-5007132,00.html

Link to a previous blog entry:
http://alexschadenberg.blogspot.com/2008/09/graeme-wylie-died-lonely-death-says.html

Graeme Wylie died a lonely death, says daughter.

I was clearing out old emails when I came across this article that was published in Australia's Daily Telegraph on June 20, 2008.

The death of Graeme Wylie (71), who had alzeimer's disease, was always portrayed as a case of a man who wished to die by assisted suicide who had become incompetent to make the decision for himself. The charges against his partner Shirley Justins and her friend Caren Jenning were based on the fact that they assisted a suicide, which was illegal, for a man who could not have asked for it himself.

The writer interviews the daughters of Wylie who died by euthanasia/assisted suicide in Australia. His partner Justins gave him a fatal dose of Nembutal, a veterinary drug, that she had obtained from her long-time friend Jenning.

Jenning went to Mexico and obtained the drug for Justins.

Justins was convicted of Manslaughter and Jenning was convicted of being an accessory to manslaughter in the death of Wylie.

Tania Shakespeare, a daughter of Wylie stated that her father:
"died a lonely death surrounded by those who put their own interests and beliefs first."

Shakespeare also stated that:
"Her father had not discussed suicide with her and did not want to die. He didn't think of killing himself. He was always looking for a cure - he was never looking to die."

Nicola Dumbrell, another daughter of Wylie told the court that she knew that Jenning was the instigator. She also referred to the assisted suicide group - Exit International as a "cult".

Exit International is operated by Dr. Philip Nitscke, Australia's Dr. Death.

Shakespeare noted that Justins had a motive.

She allegedly had a financial motive. She had Wylie change his will a week before he died, leaving her most of the $2.4 million estate. Justins was also, allegedly, having "an ongoing love relationship" with a woman in Germany.

The Wylie case proves that euthanasia and assisted suicide is a direct threat to the most vulnerable in our society.

Wylie was incapable of asking for death, but died because a person that he trusted took advantage of her position in his life.

Link to the article:
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23893367-421,00.html#

Veternarian euthanasia drug used on people

Believe it or not, the right to die activists have been promoting a drug used by veternarians to euthanise animals as the drug of choice for euthanasia of people.

Many people do not believe that this could be true. Read on:

Pentobarbital, a barbituate commonly known as Nembutal, is a drug that is used by veternarians to euthanize animals and is now being bought in Tijuana Mexico as the drug of choice to euthanise people.

Philip Nitschke, Australia's Dr. Death, has been promoting death tourism via Tijuana Mexico, where euthanasia activists have been able to obtain Pentobarbital from pet shops.

Nitschke's book "The Peaceful Pill Handbook" explains how to obtain and kill yourself using pentobarbital. The cost for a dose of Pentobarbital is as little as $30.

The recent article in the New York Times states that:
'Pet shop clerks throughout Tijuana acknowledge that foreigners regularly inquire about the drug. "We've probably had 100 people come in asking for the drug in the last couple of years," said Pepe Velazquez, a veternarian and pet shop owner.

Nitschke estimates that 300 Exit International members, world-wide, have gone to Mexico to buy Pentobarbital in the past few years.

The New York Times article states:
"But now that word is out that the drug is being used for human consumption, local authorities are seeking to clamp down on unauthorized purchases. Shops are now supposed to sell the drug only to licensed veternarians who present a prescription."

In January, Australian Don Flanders went to Tijuana to get Pentobarbital. He said: "I went to the first shop that was advertised as being a vet, and I showed the photo and they handed it over. ... Getting it home was more of a challenge."

Australian, Caren Jenning, was convicted in June of accessory to manslaughter because she acquired Pentobarbital from Tijuana for her friend Graeme Wylie who had advanced Alzheimer's disease.

The article stated that: "All the publicity over the unauthorized use of pentobarbital has made it somewhat harder to find alond Mexico's northern border." ... "At the seventh shop, however ... the clerk said the drug was in stock. ... The package bore photos of a dog and a cat and said in bold letters that it could be sold only with a prescription."

"Asked if she would sell it, the clerk gave a confused look. "Of course," she said, ringing up a bottle for $45.00

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/21/world/americas/21tijuana.html?_r=2&hp=&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Bill C-562 - What is Francine Lalonde thinking?

I like to think that activists who promote the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide are people who have the best of intentions but view life in a different way than I do.

When I attended the World Federation of Right to Die Societies bi-annual conference in Toronto (Sept 2006), I experienced a very different reality.

Many of the people present were directly involved in skirting the law by causing the death of people.

The concern I have for vulnerable people was simply negated and all effective opposition to their ideology was attacked as religious dogmatism.

I have been told that Francine Lalonde is a nice person but when I read Bill C-562 I feel the same type of unrest in my heart as I felt when I attended the Right to Die conference.

The bill legalizes euthanasia and assisted suicide for people who experience physical and mental pain. People who experience mental pain are often among the most socially devalued persons in our culture and yet Lalonde is willing to prescribe death instead of compassionate care for them.

The bill does not define terminal illness. Does it not concern Lalonde that people who receive a terminal diagnosis are often immediately shocked by that information? Many people go through a tempory depression after learning of their medical condition and only after experiencing a supportive environment or a period of acceptance do they once again gain composure.

The bill bases competency on whether or not the person appears to be lucid. Does Lalonde not realize that one is not competent unless they are actually lucid? Many people who experience chronic depression will appear to be lucid when in fact they are not competent to make important decisions.

The bill does not limit euthanasia and assisted suicide to physicians. Lalonde uses the term medical practitioner as defined by provincial law. This term is not limited to physicians only.

I do not like to compare Bill C-562 to the type of advocacy work that is associated with Dr. Philip Nitschke, Australia’s Dr. Death, but Nitschke advocated that Graeme Wylie be allowed to die by euthanasia, even though he had Alzheimer's disease and was incompetent to consent to the act.

Bill C-562 allows for the euthanasia of incompetent people so long as they have made the request in a valid advanced directive. Is Lalonde not concerned that medical practitioners may use this part of her bill to eliminate many of the most expensive patients in our long-term care facilities?

The problem with the “Dying with Dignity” movement is that they claim to be about legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide for terminally ill people who are suffering uncontrolled pain, but that is only their calling card. In reality they are about the “right to die” becoming recognized as a radical new human right that will be available to everyone, at anytime, for any reason.

Bill C-562 would move Canada very close to that radical social position.

I stood to gain from assisted suicide

http://www.abc.net.au:80/news/stories/2008/06/03/2263841.htm

The court case concerning the euthanasia death of 71 year-old Graeme Wiley, who was mentally incompetent from Alzheimer’s disease, by his partner 59 year-old Shirley Justins is uncovering some important and very sad facts about the case.

The Crown is seeking a conviction for murder against Justins, while Justins has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of aiding and abetting Wiley’s suicide.

Under cross-examination, Justins admitted that:
•she had a financial conflict of interest and Wiley’s death relieved her from her obligation to care for him.
• she admitted that she deliberately misled Wiley’s lawyer when she failed to tell him that Wiley had Alzheimer’s disease and was incompetent to make personal decisions. Wiley changed his will to give most of his estate to Justins less than a month before his death.
• she admitted that Wiley didn’t remember that he had daughters during his assessment in December 2005 which was four months before he changed his will to replace his daughters as the primary beneficiaries of his two million dollar estate.
• she also admitted that she paid 75-year-old Caren Jenning, more than $2,000 to get the drug (Nembutal) from Mexico for Mr Wiley.

Jenning has pleaded guilty to importing the euthanasia drug from Mexico but has pleaded not guilty to being an accessory to murder or aiding and abetting in a suicide.

Many people think that euthanasia and/or assisted suicide should be legal to give people a choice as to when and how their life should end.

The reality is that by legalizing euthanasia and/or assisted suicide society is then changing the law by allowing a person to be directly involved in taking another person's life. Justins was able to fool Wiley’s lawyer into changing his will, even when he had mid- to late- stage Alzheimer’s disease.

Is it never possible to protect vulnerable people when the prohibition for killing others has been removed.

Some would say that we should legalize assisted suicide and then regulate it in order to protect vulnerable people from similar circumstances.

The reality is that vulnerable people are highly dependent on others for their basic care. It is for this reason that their would never be a regime whereby the vulnerable will be protected from legal assisted suicide.

Even Dr. Philip Nitschke, Australia’s leading euthanasia agitator, admitted to turning a blind eye to the fact that Wylie was incompetent to decide to die by euthanasia. So much for the idea that euthanasia and assisted suicide should made available to competent persons only.
Go to: http://alexschadenberg.blogspot.com/2008/05/nitschke-hell-bent-on-assisted-suicide.html

Finally, many people say, There have been no abuses in the State of Oregon, where assisted suicide is legal, so why would there be abuses in other places?

The reality is that in 2007, 49 people died by assisted suicide in Oregon and none was sent for psychiatric or psychological assessment.

Since the Oregon reports are based on the information that is gleaned from the assisted suicide reports that are sent in from the physician who prescribes assisted suicide, and since those reports are destroyed after the report is published, therefore we will never be able to prove that Wiley type cases are not happening in Oregon.
Go to: http://alexschadenberg.blogspot.com/2008/05/physician-assisted-suicide-pas-in.html

Those who favor the right to die need to re-think their position. The Wiley case is the prime example of why euthanasia and assisted suicide should never become legal because it is a direct threat to the lives of the most vulnerable members of society.

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