A Case Of Not-So-Loving Assisted Suicide

Here’s a piece that lays out how assisting in a suicide might not be all love and concern but rather for more nefarious ends.

Assisted suicide: Is it just in the interest of the patient?

The Supreme Court in Brisbane, Australia, sentenced Merin Nielsen, a 50 year old man, to three years in jail for helping a cancer patient he knew to take his own life. The judge found him guilty of having procured Frank Ward, 76, with a fatal dose of Nembrutal, a veterinary anesthetic purchased in Mexico. There were also suspicions surrounding the fact that Nielsen was indebted to Ward and was the beneficiary of his will. The case in Australia has sparked a lively debate, just as in another country, the Netherlands, where euthanasia is a possibility for Prince Johan Friso van for Oranjen. The second son of Queen Beatrix is in a coma after an avalanche hit him while he was off-piste skiing in Austria. The media in the Netherlands has launched a fierce debate on whether to keep the prince alive. Ilsussidiario.net interviewed Lyle Shelton, chief of staff of the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL), to ask what is at stake in the cultural battles on issues like assisted suicide and euthanasia. more