assisted suicide news stories on Newser

Inside the Murky World of Elderly Assisted Suicide

Kate Schwartz — Thu, 17 May 2012 10:41:47 CDT

The headline of a heart-wrenching story from the Los Angeles Times neatly poses a long-debated question: "Assisted suicide or a show of love?" In this instance, the Times dives into the case of Alan Purdy, an 88-year-old who was booked on suspicion of assisting in a suicide (the district attorney...

'Dr. Death' Kevorkian Was No Hero

Matt Cantor — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 13:44:32 CDT

Many in America celebrate Jack Kevorkian as a humanitarian champion—but “the moral case for assisted suicide depends much more on our respect for people’s own desire to die than on our sympathy for their devastating medical conditions,” writes Ross Douthat in the New York Times . “It is not considered...

Jack Kevorkian Dead at 83

Evann Gastaldo — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 08:20:02 CDT

Jack Kevorkian, longtime advocate of assisted suicide, died early this morning at age 83. Kevorkian had been hospitalized in Michigan since last month for kidney trouble and pneumonia. A friend tells the AP he recently spoke to Kevorkian about his pending release and rehabilitation, "then I left and he took...

Suspect: Victim Paid Me to Kill Him

Rob Quinn — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 01:39:25 CST

Is murder still murder when the victim hires his own killer? A New York City jury may soon face that question and set a precedent on assisted suicide judgments, when a bizarre murder trial starts today. Defendant Kenneth Minor— arrested after motivation speaker Jeff Locker was found stabbed to death...

Germany OKs Assisted Suicide in Some Cases

Kevin Spak — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 11:15:00 CDT

A German court made a landmark ruling in favor of euthanasia today, overturning the conviction of a lawyer who’d advised a family to cut a comatose relation’s feeding tube. The patient, 71-year-old Erika Kuellmer, had made it clear she didn’t want to be kept alive if she ever fell into...

EBay De-Lists Kevorkian's Van

Kevin Spak — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 11:56:14 CDT

Jack Kevorkian's old assisted suicide van can't be sold on eBay, the company decided yesterday, because it's “murderabilia,” and hence violates eBay's policies. The 1968 Volkswagen van had drawn a high bid of $3,400 before the company pulled it down, telling the AP that it “does not allow the...

Suicide Law Sees 63 Apply, 36 Die in 9 Months

Harry Kimball — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:12:54 CST

Washington State’s Death with Dignity medical suicide law was enacted a year ago today, and in the first 9 months 63 terminally ill patients were prescribed fatal medication and 36 used it to end their lives. Three people attempted to use the drugs but failed; one vomited them back up,...

BBC Announcer: 'I Smothered Dying Lover'

Rob Quinn — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 04:56:30 CST

British police plan to investigate a BBC presenter's confession that he smothered a lover who was dying of AIDS. "In a hospital one hot afternoon, the doctor said, ’There’s nothing we can do’. He was in terrible, terrible pain," Ray Gosling revealed in a program on mortality broadcast last night....

Jury Acquits Mom for Helping Daughter Die

Kevin Spak — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 09:56:35 CST

A jury today acquitted a British woman who helped her 31-year-old disabled daughter commit suicide. Bridget Gilderdale, 55, had been charged with attempted murder after giving her daughter a cocktail of morphine and other drugs to help end her life. The daughter, Lynn Gilderdale, had been afflicted with the chronic...