Am I breaking the law again?
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《英国医生杂志》
EDITOR—Huxtable refers to my arrest by the Isle of Man police last December for conspiring to assist in the possible suicide of my terminally ill Manx friend, Patrick Kneen.1 When I finally saw him, Patrick was too ill to commit suicide, and he died after being heavily sedated by his general practitioner.
However, when terminally ill people have travelled from the United Kingdom and where, with the help of Dignitas (an organisation based in Zurich), they have committed suicide, the relatives who assisted them have not been prosecuted in this country.
Since June 2003, when I joined Dignitas, I have advised three other members in the United Kingdom, who are seriously ill, how they can get, from their doctors here, the medical reports that the Dignitas doctors require if an assisted suicide is to occur. I counselled one terminally ill person last November on how to make her final journey to Zurich.
So, in the past year, I have "aided, abetted, and counselled" one suicide, and I am involved in possibly three future suicides.2 But, as the suicide occurred, or perhaps will occur, abroad, am I guilty of committing a crime in this country? It seems that no one currently knows the proper legal answer.
I was questioned by the Manx police last December. Also, I was interviewed at Guildford police station (near my home) last March. The police are aware of my activities with Dignitas. But, so far, nothing has happened.
Michael Irwin, retired general practitioner
Cranleigh, Surrey GU6 8BZ michael-hk.irwin@virgin.net
Competing interests: MI is a former chairman of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society, England and Wales.
References
Huxtable R. Assisted suicide. BMJ 2004;328: 1088-9. (8 May.)
Suicide Act 1961.
However, when terminally ill people have travelled from the United Kingdom and where, with the help of Dignitas (an organisation based in Zurich), they have committed suicide, the relatives who assisted them have not been prosecuted in this country.
Since June 2003, when I joined Dignitas, I have advised three other members in the United Kingdom, who are seriously ill, how they can get, from their doctors here, the medical reports that the Dignitas doctors require if an assisted suicide is to occur. I counselled one terminally ill person last November on how to make her final journey to Zurich.
So, in the past year, I have "aided, abetted, and counselled" one suicide, and I am involved in possibly three future suicides.2 But, as the suicide occurred, or perhaps will occur, abroad, am I guilty of committing a crime in this country? It seems that no one currently knows the proper legal answer.
I was questioned by the Manx police last December. Also, I was interviewed at Guildford police station (near my home) last March. The police are aware of my activities with Dignitas. But, so far, nothing has happened.
Michael Irwin, retired general practitioner
Cranleigh, Surrey GU6 8BZ michael-hk.irwin@virgin.net
Competing interests: MI is a former chairman of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society, England and Wales.
References
Huxtable R. Assisted suicide. BMJ 2004;328: 1088-9. (8 May.)
Suicide Act 1961.