CBCnews

Full house for suicide workshop in Vancouver

'Have a peaceful death,' says Australian doctor and right-to-die advocate

Last Updated: Wednesday, November 4, 2009 | 5:00 PM PT

Philip Nitschke of Exit International said people should be able to take their own lives safely and peacefully.Philip Nitschke of Exit International said people should be able to take their own lives safely and peacefully. (CBC)

A right-to-die organization held a workshop in a Vancouver church Wednesday after the public library refused to allow the group to use its meeting rooms for fear of contravening laws against assisting suicide.

Exit International, an Australian organization whose motto is "A Peaceful Death is Everybody's Right," filled a local Unitarian church to capacity for the two-hour morning workshop.

Exit founder Dr. Philip Nitschke was blunt in his advice to participants.

"Go to the cupboard, pour the drug into a glass and drink it, and have a peaceful death and not break the law," Nitschke said. "Suicide is not a crime."

The drug he referred to was Nembutal, a brand name for the barbiturate pentobarbital. Nitschke said it's not available in Canada, so he suggested people go to Mexico, Peru or Thailand to obtain it before they become too ill to travel.

Nitschke said people may not need to use the substance for several years, but they have a right to know how to get it and how to use it.

"They find out what they need to effectively, peacefully and reliably end their lives and take those steps while they can," Nitschke told a news conference before the workshop.

"They will not find themselves in the situation of having to ask someone they love to take serious legal risks to help them."

Exit International offers kits for verifying the potency of Nembutal for people planning to end their lives.

The Vancouver Library did not want to risk providing a forum for Nitschke's group. In July, the library cancelled a room booking by Exit International, alleging a meeting and workshop could breach the Criminal Code.

Rev. Steven Epperson of the Unitarian church where the workshop was held said he believes Nitschke has the right to free speech, even if he's telling people how to kill themselves.

One workshop in Canada

Some people at the workshop said the public should be able to hear Nitschke's point of view.

"Its part of my education," one participant told CBC News. "I want to know all about everything and this is just part of that.

"I think it's ridiculous to not want people to know as much about it," another said. "And I personally want to have the choice."

But one critic of the right-to-die movement said people should try to help others live with dignity rather than help them die.

"It's an extremist approach, which doesn't fit well with a health-care system that needs to look after vulnerable people," Dr. Will Johnston of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition in Vancouver said of the right-do-die movement.

The Vancouver workshop was the first and only public meeting for Exit International in Canada. The organization is holding three workshops on the West Coast of the U.S. over the next 10 days.

  •  
 

Video

    British Columbia Headlines

    Debt pushes Manning Park resort into receivership
    Overwhelming debt has driven the Manning Park Resort near Hope, B.C., into receivership, but the receiver appointed to return the operation to financial stability says it will be business as usual for guests of the resort this winter.
    SeaBus breakdown cuts Vancouver ferry service
    One of two SeaBus ferries connecting downtown Vancouver and North Vancouver across Burrard Inlet was taken out of service Friday morning because of a breakdown.
    Tories set to introduce HST bill
    The federal Conservatives are set to introduce legislation next week that would allow provinces to harmonize the provincial sales tax and federal GST on products and services.
    Black Friday bargains attract Canadian shoppers Video
    Canadians are flocking to U.S. malls located near the border ahead of the legendary American shopping day known as Black Friday, but they may have to root a little deeper this year to find real bargains.
    Nisga'a leader Leeson dies
    The president of the Nisga'a First Nation has died, just weeks after his band passed a revolutionary bill to recognize private property rights on native land.

    Canada Headlines

    Tories set to introduce HST bill
    The federal Conservatives are set to introduce legislation next week that would allow provinces to harmonize the provincial sales tax and federal GST on products and services.
    Arrest made in Hamilton prisoner escape case Video
    Police have arrested a 19-year-old man suspected of aiding the escape of Hamilton prisoner Fawad Nouri earlier this week.
    Wal-Mart wins at Supreme Court Video
    The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Friday that Wal-Mart Canada Corp. was within its rights when it shut down a store in Jonquière, Que., that had been unionized seven months earlier.
    Regina man who killed father gets 10-year sentence
    A Regina man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing his father, but he'll get credit for time already served.
    Police misidentify suicide victim
    Montreal police have apologized to an elderly woman after mistakenly telling her that her daughter had committed suicide.

    People who read this also read …

    Top CBCNews.ca Headlines