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Euthanasia Doctor Commits Suicide after Finding Patient He Killed Was Not Terminally Ill
LifeSite ^ | November 21, 2005 | Terry Vanderheyden

Posted on 11/21/2005 3:49:01 PM PST by NYer

ZURICH, November 21, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A doctor acting for the Swiss euthanasia group, Dignitas, has committed suicide after learning that a German woman he euthanized was not terminally ill. Dignitas is under investigation after news of the woman's death.

The 69-year-old woman contacted Dignitas with a medical report stating she had terminal liver cirrhosis; an autopsy conducted later in Germany revealed the woman was in good health other than depression, and that the medical report was falsified. The woman, whose name was withheld, allegedly convinced her German GP to falsify the report so that she could get sick leave from work.

Her doctor in Augsburg said he was unaware that the woman was going to use his false report to persuade Dignitas to euthanize her. Augsburg's senior public prosecutor, Hans-Juergen Kolb, said an investigation against the GP and the dead Swiss doctor had been initiated.

"We are co-operating with the Swiss authorities," said Kolb, according to the UK's Times on Line. "Post mortem reports have already shown that she was not suffering from irreversible liver damage, and if we find that her mental health was in doubt the charges could be more serious."

Dignitas' founder, Ludwig Minelli, defended the clinic: "The doctor's report that I was given indicated the woman was suffering from cirrhosis of the liver as well as hepatitis. And in any case every person in Europe has the right to choose to die, even if they are not terminally ill."

Responsible for the killing of 453 people since its launch by Minelli in Zurich in 1998, the assisted-suicide group expanded into Germany with an office in Hanover last month, in the hopes of advancing the euthanasia cause in that country.

Regional justice minister for Lower Saxony, Elisabeth Heister-Neumann, charged Minelli with being financially motivated. "Making poisonous cocktails available has deviated into pure business, and medical reports are being misused as an excuse," she emphasized.

Minelli told the UK's Telegraph last year that Dignitas would gladly assist anyone to die, "irrespective of medical condition. It does not matter what people are suffering from, we do not refuse anyone."

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Swiss Lure Suicide Victims: Euthanasia Administered Within 24 Hours
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/may/04052509.html
Swiss Euthanasia-Providing Group Branches Out to Germany
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/oct/05100506.html




TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Germany; Government; News/Current Events; Philosophy; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bioethics; euthanasia; irony; moralabsolutes; suicide; switzerland
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1 posted on 11/21/2005 3:49:02 PM PST by NYer
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To: NYer
"And in any case every person in Europe has the right to choose to die, even if they are not terminally ill."

And that goes double for newborns!!!

2 posted on 11/21/2005 3:51:01 PM PST by madprof98
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To: NYer

bump


3 posted on 11/21/2005 3:51:04 PM PST by facedown (Armed in the Heartland)
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To: american colleen; Lady In Blue; Salvation; narses; SMEDLEYBUTLER; redhead; Notwithstanding; ...
Minelli told the UK's Telegraph last year that Dignitas would gladly assist anyone to die, "irrespective of medical condition. It does not matter what people are suffering from, we do not refuse anyone."

Catholic Ping
Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list

The Swiss version of The Hemlock Society


4 posted on 11/21/2005 3:51:45 PM PST by NYer (“Socialism is the religion people get when they lose their religion")
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To: NYer

Wow, Yeah. That happened to me once. I told someone they were dead, and it didn't take,...


5 posted on 11/21/2005 3:53:32 PM PST by InsureAmerica (Evil? I have many words for it. We are as dust, to them. - v v putin)
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To: facedown
Her doctor in Augsburg should be in a lot of trouble also. He committed fraud by falsifying a report.
6 posted on 11/21/2005 3:56:35 PM PST by asp1
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To: NYer

" A doctor acting for the Swiss euthanasia group, Dignitas,..."

A euthenasia group? It's that specialized?


7 posted on 11/21/2005 3:59:07 PM PST by Buck W. (Yesterday's Intelligentsia are today's Irrelevantsia.)
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To: asp1

"He committed fraud by falsifying a report."

His story lacks credibility. Who does that to help a person miss work? Or am I wrong?


8 posted on 11/21/2005 4:00:39 PM PST by strategofr (The secret of happiness is freedom. And the secret of freedom is courage.---Thucydities)
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To: NYer

Self imposed capital punishment?


9 posted on 11/21/2005 4:01:04 PM PST by ml1954 (NOT the disruptive troll seen frequently on CREVO threads)
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To: NYer

In Europe, chronic depression can be a capital crime.


10 posted on 11/21/2005 4:02:21 PM PST by No Truce With Kings (The opinions expressed are mine! Mine! MINE! All Mine!)
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To: NYer

And the lemmings rush to the edge of the cliff.


11 posted on 11/21/2005 4:03:52 PM PST by firebrand
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To: strategofr

No, I don't think you are wrong. Especially when you consider what he said on the report. He said that she had irreversible liver damage. How would that get her some time off from work? Terminated maybe, but a vacation not likely. Strange story.


12 posted on 11/21/2005 4:04:25 PM PST by asp1
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To: NYer

"And in any case every person in Europe has the right to choose to die, even if they are not terminally ill."
I have a list of people that I am willing to assist.


13 posted on 11/21/2005 4:05:03 PM PST by dynachrome ("Where am I? Where am I going? Why am I in a handbasket?")
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To: Buck W.

"A euthenasia group? It's that specialized?"


Group marriage. That way they can't be forced to testify against their spouses...



/sarcasm off


14 posted on 11/21/2005 4:05:18 PM PST by The Spirit Of Allegiance (SAVE THE BRAINFOREST! Boycott the RED Dead Tree Media & NUKE the DNC Class Action Temper Tantrum!)
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To: NYer
And in any case every person in Europe has the right to choose to die, even if they are not terminally ill."

If a person has the right to die no matter what, then they should go ahead and do it themselves, not hire someone to do it for them.

15 posted on 11/21/2005 4:09:12 PM PST by Siouxz ( Freepers are the best!!!)
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To: Blurblogger

I'm just thinking that is was very kind of him to save us the trouble. Is Ted Kennedy a member of this group yet? We should get some brochures and start handing them out on Capitol Hill.....


16 posted on 11/21/2005 4:09:58 PM PST by bpjam (Now accepting liberal apologies.....)
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To: NYer

"Dignitas vos mortalitas"


17 posted on 11/21/2005 4:12:02 PM PST by keat (Who the f___ is I. Lewis Libby?)
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To: bpjam

"Is Ted Kennedy a member of this group yet?"

He's more into "right to kill."


18 posted on 11/21/2005 4:12:08 PM PST by strategofr (The secret of happiness is freedom. And the secret of freedom is courage.---Thucydities)
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To: asp1

I'll wager The Doctor gave her the diagnosis in writing for her to get a disability pension. Probably a kickback involved.


19 posted on 11/21/2005 4:12:34 PM PST by Go_Raiders ("Being able to catch well in a crowd just means you can't get open, that's all." -- James Lofton)
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To: Borax Queen; sweetliberty
Dignitas would gladly assist anyone to die, "irrespective of medical condition. It does not matter what people are suffering from, we do not refuse anyone."

Ain't that special?

20 posted on 11/21/2005 4:15:27 PM PST by nicmarlo
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