EuthaNEWSia (www.euthanewsia.ca)

You could hardly get a more decent and law abiding citizen than Tom Curran. A keen gardener and devoted family man, the retired 62-year-old IT consultant is loved by all who know him. Yet this quiet, unassuming man admits that he is prepared to end the life of his partner - and face the consequences. Not only that but he is prepared to help others do the same. "I am prepared to go to jail," says Tom, speaking from his home just outside Arklow, in Co. Wicklow. "I know there are consequences to my actions and I will face them. This is something I believe in strongly."

For the past 10 years Tom has been a full-time carer to his 58-year-old partner, Marie, who has MS. He has watched the disease slowly ravage her body, leaving her in constant pain, unable to walk or move her arms and, most recently, affecting her speech and her ability to swallow. In February, he shared some of the details of Marie's agonising condition on a Late Late Show slot about the Carers' Association. What Tom didn't mention was that five years ago, Marie asked him if he would help her to end her life when the time was right. "It was when we both realised that things were going downhill," says Tom. "She asked me if her life became unbearable and her quality of life too poor, would I help her to end it.'

"The difficulty is that Marie is incapable of administering anything herself and so she needs help. I would be breaking the law in helping her but we have to face the fact that there would be consequences. I am prepared to go to jail." After attending a controversial meeting this March held by the Australian pro-euthanasia activist Dr Philip Nitschke - who has been dubbed Dr Death - Tom volunteered to open the first Irish branch of Exit International, an organisation that offers support and information to people who want to die or to help loved ones to die.

[There is information in the Notes section below.]
[There are other related stories in the Links section below.]

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 and future advisories on the web (see bottom.)

Nolan, Larissa and Marianne Power. "I'll end my partner's life - even if it means jail: Retired IT worker says he'll accept sentence to ease companion's MS suffering". Daily Mail. Tuesday, May 25 2010. <www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1280588/Retired-IT-worker-says-hell-accept-sentence-ease-companions-MS-suffering.html>. Daily Mail, Associated Newspapers Limited, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT.

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

The EuthaNEWSia ID for this advisory is: enid201005256502.
Mailed: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 14:11:49 -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>.

-------------------------------------------------------------

euthanewsia-subscribe@euthanewsia.ca
You may leave the Subject blank and the message empty: the server only reads the From address on the message.

euthanewsia-unsubscribe@euthanewsia.ca
You may leave the Subject blank and the message empty: the server only reads the From address on the message.

-------------------------------------------------------------