Televised Suicide Draws Criticism

A former university professor with motor neuron disease will be seen ending his life in a documentary, the first time that an assisted suicide has been televised in Britain.

In the footage Craig Ewert travels from his home in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, to the Dignitas clinic in Zurich accompanied by Mary, his wife of 37 years. He is shown drinking a lethal dose of barbiturates before turning off his ventilator with a mouth-operated switch. The decision to broadcast Right to Die on Sky televisions Real Lives channel has been condemned by the television watchdog Mediawatch-UK.

Mr Ewert, 59, an American father of two who moved to Britain after taking early retirement, was told that he had the disease in April 2006 and was given between two and five years to live. The illness progressed far more rapidly than expected and before his death on September 26, 2006, he needed assistance to breathe.

Mr Ewart, whose death was recorded by a film crew, said: I am tired of the disease but I am not tired of living. I still enjoy life enough that I would like to continue, but the thing is that I really cannot. If I opt for life then that is choosing to be tortured rather than end this journey and start the next one. I cannot take the risk. Lets face it, when youre completely paralysed and cannot talk, how do you let somebody know you are suffering? This could be a complete and utter hell.

You can watch only so much of yourself drain away before you look at what is left and say, This is an empty shell. Once I become completely paralysed, then I am nothing more than a living tomb that takes in nutrients through a tube in the stomach. Its painful.

Mr Ewert paid £3,000 for the assisted suicide, his cremation and his ashes to be sent back to England. As his wife told him that she loved him, he bit down on a timer to switch off his ventilator and then drank a lethal dose of sodium phenobarbital through a straw. He died 45 minutes later.

Before taking his life Mr Ewert told the film crew: By this point I have two choices, either go through with it or say, You know what, I am too scared right now and I do not want to do it. If I do not go through with it then my choice is to suffer and to en- force suffering on my family and then die in a way that is considerably more stressful and painful. I have death or I have suffering and death. This way makes a whole lot of sense to me.

The Ewerts children — Katrina, 33, and Ivan, 35 — were banned from being at his deathbed. Katrina said: I really did not want to have to make the decision of whether I was going to be there or not. Part of me would have liked to have been there and part of me thought it was going to be really hard. My Dad was a great guy and I love him very much.

John Beyer, of Mediawatch-UK, said: This subject is quite an important political issue at the moment and my anxieties are that the programme will influence public opinion. Broadcasters must always remain impartial, otherwise they could influence the public or other sufferers into making a similar action. Thats my anxiety.

The documentary was made by John Zaritsky, the Oscar-winning Canadian director. He was granted unprecedented access to the right-to-die organisation Dignitas, which has helped more than 700 people from 25 countries to die since 1999. Switzerland is the only country where assisted suicide is legal for non-residents.

Mrs Ewert, 59, said the programme was a wonderful tribute to her husbands life. I have absolutely no regrets about agreeing to leave the camera rolling as Craig died, she said. Its what we both wanted. The only time I asked the crew to leave was around 30 minutes after Craig had died. I needed to cry and I wanted to do that alone. She said that her husband hoped that the film would dispel a taboo about death. Craig had been a teacher, and you could say he made this film with his educative hat on.

Category:

News & Politics

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• ewert
• assisted
• suicide
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• movie
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• right
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• die
• death
• terminal
• illness
• televised

[tilbis1]

How can there be any debate?

After nursing for 4 years I believe it should be up to the individual.

I watched a young girl die with (Multiple Sclerosis)

A slow painful death, she wanted to die, she told me herself.

She did pass away finally, and I was happy that her soul was freed from this life, I still think of her a lot.

There are many forms of suicide, people need to be more mature and understanding when looking at situations which bring no other conclusion but death itself

Live & let Die.

[jeffzalonka]

hey guess what ... if you dont want to watch it then switch the channel. if you dont want your kids to watch it then, as a parent, do your job and supervise them.

assisted suicide should be legal if they are terminally ill. what do you want the people who have the illness to do? suffer until death?

[k0smon]

@monkshood999 ::: I came up with 7. .#1 Existence : where did all this come from? #2 Orderliness: The entire universe functions in an orderly fashion. #3 Complexity: a one celled animal is quite complex, see flagellum motors. #4 Man has a natural desire to learn about the unknown and a desire to worship. #5 The existence of an afterlife, life continues after death of the physical. #6 Increasing levels of intelligence relating to mankind. #7 The multiplicity of life forms.

[monkshood999]

@k0smon after the 10 comandments tell me 10 pieces of evedence that proves there is a god.

[monkshood999]

i don't fit into this govenment system . they say its bad well its much better than living off the bread line while those nwho against have there 8 course meal and champaighn it takes 24 hrs for all alchahol to get out of system so we all work while under the influance... why are chilren not brought up with the truth that gov.life is so awful for poor people ooh just thought all the poor would kill theselves thats why gov.don't want them dead as the'd have to clean there own tolets themself

[monkshood999]

my aunty had hip replacement she fell at line dancing and die a slow painful neglected lonley death from that hospital who gave her the mrsa

[monkshood999]

i want out why do you control us so much you keep bringging back old people who die so then they had to die over and over again how creul is that if i could die wth assisted suicide then i wouldn't need to live off tax payers money any more the gov. kill in war all the time shorly we can choose to kill ourselfs with help if we want to but no we have not even got the right to die. when a country is over populated they start wars on perpouse to get the no.s down... help me:o(

[tilbis1]

We do have to be careful though. As long as it truly is up to the individual.

I have seen neglect in caring for people who are terminally ill, I've even been told by a registered nurse, "the less care we give the sooner he'll die" We have to make sure this is not an attempt to snuff out all the sick people, because they are a "burden on society" and there is definitely people out there with that very agenda in mind, go ask Henry Kissinger, or Bill Gates.

[tilbis1]

@The391956 That must be really tough, I'm very sorry to hear of your suffering.

Have you ever looked into Medicinal Marijuana, Hemp oil, stuff like that?

There really is no help through the medical system these days, they just want to sell you drugs.

I wish I could make you better.....

[The391956]

@tilbis1

I have M.S. and kidney disease and I wish

I would pass away. My life has become a

suffering ordeal. My doctor almost cryed I

refused a stent surgery through my kidneys

he said I will end on diallis well I won't

because I won't take it, I am just tired

and prolonging my suffering is not what

I want. I live in pain all day long and only

death will free me from it.

[jposh707]

I guess this is documentary is banned from American television. Do the "authorities" realize that we have something called "the YouTube." The information is out there and we have a right to have access to it! Shame on America for not legalizing suicide.

[k0smon]

@Morgethein Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't do the bible or the God described therein. I do the Creator, who does not have things set up like the bible describes.

There is plenty of evidence for the afterlife, but as always, you are free to accept or reject as you see fit.