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A husband who helped his wife suffocate was yesterday spared prosecution
for assisting her suicide.
It was the first death in Britain in which the Director of Public
Prosecution's new rules on assisted suicide have been used to decide that
there should be no criminal charges.
A senior lawyer at the Crown Prosecution Service ruled that Michael
Bateman should not face charges or punishment over the death of his
62-year-old wife Margaret, who died at the couple's home last autumn.
However, the decision provoked further protests from critics who believe
that the relaxation of assisted suicide rules puts the disabled at risk
and diminishes the value of human life.
Helping with a suicide is a crime punishable with a 14-year jail sentence.
[There is information in the Notes section below.]
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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.)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1280836/Husband-helped-wife-kill-UK-face-charges.html
Also see:
Britain: Change law, says man who helped wife die
[EuthaNEWSia, Nov. 27, 2009]
http://www.euthanewsia.ca/archive/2009/11/enid200911272627.4.html
Margaret Bateman, 62, spent the final three years
of her life in pain, confined to bed and cared for
by her devoted husband. On October 20, just days
before their 40th wedding anniversary, her husband
Michael helped her to end her life using helium
inhalation.
No assisted suicide charge in Yorkshire case
[Crown Prosecution Service]
http://www.cps.gov.uk/news/press_releases/120_10/
The Crown Prosecution Service press release
stating the reasons for the decision not to charge
Michael Bateman.
Doughty, Steve. "Husband who helped wife kill herself in UK will not face charges". Daily Mail. Last updated at 9:40 PM on 24th May 2010. <www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1280836/Husband-helped-wife-kill-UK-face-charges.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.
assisted suicide
Keir Starmer
prosecution
Britain
Royal Society of Medicine Conference on assisted suicide June 30th, London
[World right-to-die news list]
http://lists.opn.org/pipermail/right-to-die_lists.opn.org/2010-May/003886.html
Conference notice: The ethics of assisted suicide
Wednesday 30 June 2010
Venue: Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street, LONDON, W1G 0AE
http://www.rsm.ac.uk/academ/ethics10.php
The EuthaNEWSia ID for this advisory is: enid201005257523.
Mailed: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 14:12:21 -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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