Politics
Tuesday August 20, 2002
SUICIDE BAGS LAUNCHED IN QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA
Premier criticizes 'pressure campaign'
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BRISBANE, August 20, 2002 (LSN.ca) - More than 150 people are reported to have placed orders for a new variant of exit bags, launched in Queensland this week by assisted-suicide advocate Dr. Philip Nitschke.
Peter Beattie, the Premier of Queensland, told the state parliament that the bags are distasteful in the extreme. "I don't support what Dr. Nitschke is seeking to do here," Mr. Beattie said. "I think what he is trying to do is continue his campaign to pressure the Queensland government in relation to the issue of euthanasia." But he also said he could not ban exit bags: "If the government were to ban the bags," he said, "it would also have to ban numerous products freely available today which could be used to inflict injury or cause death if consumers used them incorrectly, for example knives, bricks, razor blades and the works."
Australian Federation of Right to Life Associations spokesman Mary Joseph predicted a higher suicide rate among people with mental illnesses, which have already increased by 400 per cent over the past 40 years. "Attempts in suicide are cries for help from desperate people," Ms. Joseph said. "But if Philip Nitschke gets his way, these desperate people will not get the help they need."
Alex Schadenberg, executive director of Canada's Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, has called the devices "suicide/homicide bags" because they can be used to arrange the death of helpless elderly people.
To read newswire coverage see:
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,4939067%255E421,00.html
For BBC News coverage see:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2205081.stm
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