Ireland: Nitschke will hold "Assisted suicide meeting"

Description: [of the article from The Irish Times]

Dr Philip Nitschke will be holding an Exit International self-deliverance workshop in Ireland on March 19th, using the same format as in the past. Last April (see item below), a public lecture by a member of the British Medical Association's ethics committee on the issues around legalization of euthanasia was disrupted by protestors who chanted and occupied the stage. From The Irish Times:

CONTROVERSIAL Australian assisted suicide advocate Philip Nitschke is planning to hold his first public meeting and workshop in Dublin later this month. Dr Nitschke's group, Exit International, provoked uproar in Britain when it tried to hold such meetings and some were cancelled. He said he was coming to Ireland because, over the years, Exit had received "significant interest" from older people in Ireland wanting information about their end-of-life choices. The meeting is set for March 19th.

He said he would have Ireland's new blasphemy laws in his sights when he came here. Since last month, blasphemy is a crime, punishable by a fine of up to EUR25,000. Dr Nitschke said it was "almost impossible" to talk about a person's right to die without offending some section of the religious community.

[Note: Some other recent stories related to this topic are in the Links: section below.]

Links:

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.)

  • http://tinyurl.com/yen4577

  • http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0301/1224265372224.html

    Also see:

  • Euthanasia Doctor to Test Irish Blasphemy Laws [Blog of Philip Nitschke]
    http://peacefulpill.blogspot.com/2010/03/euthanasia-doctor-to-test-irish.html

    Australian atheist, physician and Assisted Suicide advocate, Dr Philip Nitschke, will hold the first Voluntary Euthanasia Public Meeting and DIY Workshop on a peaceful death in Dublin on Friday 19 March. The event will present a challenge to Ireland's new blasphemy laws. The Director of the pro-choice group Exit International, Dr Nitschke says it "is almost impossible to talk about a person's right to die, without offending some section of the religious community. "As an atheist I am often asked to debate the ethical issues involved in providing a person with information that will allow them to end their life peacefully and reliably at a time of their choosing. I am constantly up against this idea that somehow life belongs to God. I disagree strongly with that assertion."

    In 1996, Dr Nitschke became the first doctor in the world to provide a legal, lethal, voluntary injection to four terminally ill patients before Australia's Rights of the Terminally Ill Act which made assisted suicide lawful was overturned by the Federal Parliament. "The Rights of the Terminally Ill Act was overturned after only 9 months thanks to the Church-sponsored ‘Euthanasia No’ campaign which ensured a conscience vote on the Act in Parliament which saw the law rescinded" said Dr Nitschke.

    "Since that time, the majority of criticism of our activities has come from the Catholic Church and more recently from evangelical Christians". "This is despite the organization attracting a significant minority of its membership from self-acclaimed Christian worshippers". "Many in Exit International do not see their religion as antithetical to their equally-strong belief that a person should have control to make their own end of life decisions".

  • Euthanasia protestors shut down lecture [EuthaNEWSia, Apr. 13, 2009]
    http://www.euthanewsia.ca/archive/2009/04/enid200904130938.4.html

    Cork University Hospital, Ireland, abandoned a public lecture dealing with the legalization of euthanasia, as protesters disrupted the meeting and staff were unable to restore order. The lecture was by Professor Len Doyal, a member of the British Medical Association's ethics committee. The lecture was organized by the hospital ethics forum as an extracurricular event, part of an annual series.

Source:

Healy, Alison. "Assisted suicide meeting". The Irish Times. Monday, March 1, 2010. <www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0301/1224265372224.html>. The Irish Times, PO BOX 74, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2 Ireland

Tags:

Tags (or keywords) briefly indicate some major topics of the report.

  • assisted suicide

  • euthanasia

  • self-deliverance

  • Philip Nitschke

  • Exit International

  • Ireland

ID:

The EuthaNEWSia ID for this advisory is: enid201003036109.
Mailed: Wednesday, March 3, 2010 14:17:55 -0600
at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Etcetera:

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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