EuthaNEWSia (www.euthanewsia.ca)

Dr James Barbour said that his parents, Bill and Ann Barbour, had planned their deaths. Bill Barbour died of drowning in a local lake, and Ann Barbour died of suffocation in their Sligo Road home. "My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 10 years ago. Her own mother died from Alzheimer's and I strongly suspect that my mother would have said to my father a long time ago that if she found that she had this condition he would not allow things to progress beyond a point where her dignity would have been lost," he said.

In a television interview for the BBC, Dr Barbour called for the controls surrounding euthanasia to be reviewed. Fighting back tears, he added: "Our sorrow is for the loneliness that he must have felt carrying this commitment or plan with him, not able to tell us about it for fear that we would take the matter out of his hands.

The couple, who had four children, were well-known and widely respected in the Fermanagh area having lived at their home since the 1960s. Mr Barbour, a retired classics and Latin teacher at Portora Royal School, was a keen cyclist who dabbled in local politics as a member of the Alliance Party. Friends have described them as inseparable and said they were often seen cycling through the town together. It is believed Mrs Barbour's condition had deteriorated considerably in recent weeks.

[Thanks to Exit International for the alert on this story.]

To read the full article click on one of these links, both of which go to the same destination. A short link is provided for the convenience of readers. Also, readers may search and browse past advisories on the web (see bottom.)

"My parents had planned their deaths". Belfast Telegraph. Friday, 27 November 2009. <www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/my-parents-had-planned-their-deaths-14578092.html>. Belfast Telegraph, 124-144 Royal Avenue, Belfast BT1 1EB, Northern Ireland, UK.

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The EuthaNEWSia ID for this advisory is: enid200911309933.
Mailed: Monday, November 30, 2009 14:14:14 -0600
at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

EuthaNEWSia is a free Canadian news advisory service covering end-of-life issues such as right to die, assisted suicide, and euthanasia. EuthaNEWSia is produced by the Right to Die Society of Canada which works toward a good death for all, including open, regulated and equitable access to euthanasia and assisted suicide. The editor is Michael Dawson <editor@euthanewsia.ca>.

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