{"id":3864,"date":"2017-07-28T16:00:32","date_gmt":"2017-07-28T07:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exitinternational.net\/?p=3864"},"modified":"2017-07-30T17:04:35","modified_gmt":"2017-07-30T08:34:35","slug":"mother-s-torture-broke-my-heart-says-philip-nitschke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.euthanasia.net\/exit\/mother-s-torture-broke-my-heart-says-philip-nitschke\/","title":{"rendered":"Mother \u2019 s torture broke my heart, says Philip Nitschke"},"content":{"rendered":"

Euthanasia activist Philip Nit\u00adschke has used the case of his mother to illustrate why he \u00adbelieves Victoria\u2019s voluntary \u00adeuthanasia laws will not work for the vast majority of people who are calling for them.<\/p>\n

Dr Nitschke\u2019s mother Gwen died in December 2015, aged 95, after spending more than six years in a South Australian nursing home which, he says, she compared to torture.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe had in fact wanted to \u2018check out\u2019 the same year she had to leave her granny flat and move into institutional care. At least, she said she wanted the choice,\u201d Dr Nitschke writes in an opinion piece in The Australian today.<\/p>\n

Because his mother was not able to plan for death, Dr Nitschke could not get home from The Netherlands in time to be with her for her final moments.<\/p>\n

\u201c(It) broke my heart and \u00adremains the profound regret of my life. Not that Gwen died but that the process of her dying was so drawn-out, torturous and unable to be planned,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Gwens<\/a><\/p>\n

Dr Nitschke has used the \u00adexample to illustrate what he \u00adbelieves to be the flaws in Victoria\u2019s new right-to-die laws: that the restrictions are too onerous and that people would have to be \u00ad\u201calmost dead\u201d to use them.<\/p>\n

\u201cOld ladies like Gwen will never be able to use the Victorian law because they aren\u2019t sick, let alone terminally ill, about to die. Gwen was old, frail and lived without dignity. But this is different from being sick,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

Victorian Premier Daniel \u00adAndrews is pushing ahead with formulating legislation for a voluntary euthanasia program that would restrict access to the sound of mind and those suffering a terminal, incurable disease that is likely to kill them within a year.<\/p>\n

Patients would have to go through a process requiring them to ask three times for access to the scheme. They would have to be assessed by two doctors who could verify they qualified for the program.<\/p>\n

Victorian Roads Minister Luke Donnellan yesterday said he would use the weekend to look over the plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t made my mind up, but I\u2019m erring on the side of supporting the bill,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll take some time to reflect on the issue, read the final reports and then come to a decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, resistance is firming in other pockets, with some MPs \u00adarguing that compliance would be \u00adimpossible even with the strictest safeguards in place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Euthanasia activist Philip Nit\u00adschke has used the case of his mother to illustrate why he \u00adbelieves Victoria\u2019s voluntary \u00adeuthanasia laws will not work for the vast majority of people who are calling for them. Dr Nitschke\u2019s mother Gwen died in December 2015, aged 95, after spending more than six years in a South Australian nursing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n