Nitschke heads a suicide cult that must be stopped

PHILIP Nitschke, contrary to his claims as an advocate of euthanasia for the terminally ill, is the chief mover of something resembling a suicide cult.

The case histories of Lucas Taylor, 26, and Joe Waterman, 25, who committed suicide after being in contact with Nitschke’s group, Exit, leave little doubt of that.

The decision to suspend Nitschke’s registration as a medical doctor is a case of about time. For more than 15 years he has flaunted his medical status, claiming a duty of care to the terminally ill.

As well as Exit, Nitschke runs so-called euthanasia workshops and he and his organisation have been involved in illegal importation of gas canisters, used in suicide deaths, which Nitschke has always claimed were for terminal, unbearable suffering.

However, according to Judi Taylor, who saw her son’s email correspondence, on the Exit forum’s website, Lucas said, “I am not ill yet, and I am quite able bodied”, before going on to discuss the method of his death. His heartbroken mother realised that her son was not the only young person on this site. Nor was anyone on the site interested in the motivation for his thoughts of suicide, nor in helping Lucas to overcome his feelings.

“They were only interested in the ‘endgame’,” she said, including detailed advice about where and when and how to go about it.

The only rationale that Exit and Nitschke use to justify these deaths is that they are not involved in “judging” the decision, as if it were a rational decision. How bizarrely irrational that rationality has become a cop out, but presumably depression is not.

Gradually other deaths of healthy people involved with Exit have begun to emerge. This week in Bradford, England, it was reported that Gillian Clarke, 47, had been emailing assisted suicide sites from her iPod; a book called Five Last Acts: The Exit Path was found as well as email correspondence with two subscription organisations advocating assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia: The Peaceful Pill handbook.com and Exit International.

The coroner examining Clarke’s death said he had concerns about the existence of such exit organisations and it was important they were open to public scrutiny because if no one was monitoring their activities then no one would have any idea of the impact they were having.

Unfortunately in the case of Lucas Taylor, we now know the impact they are having.

Nitschke’s claim of political persecution is risible. He and his organisation must be stopped.