Wife defends suicide documentary

[Praxius]

BBC NEWS | UK | England | North Yorkshire | Wife defends suicide documentary

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The wife of a man whose assisted suicide was shown on television has defended a programme about his death.


Motor neurone disease sufferer Craig Ewert, 59, from Harrogate, died in Switzerland, having been helped by the controversial charity Dignitas.

The Sky TV programme about Mr Ewert has been branded a "reality TV" stunt.

But Mary Ewert told the Independent newspaper it would help people "face their fears" about death. Sky has also defended the programme.

Dr Peter Saunders, director of the campaign group Care Not Killing, said the show was a "cynical attempt to boost television ratings".

"There is a growing appetite from the British public for increasingly bizarre, reality shows," he said.

"It's a slippery slope. The danger is that we start to believe in a story that there is such a thing as a life not worth living."

Well maybe there is, but those who never had to get to that point will never understand. Suffer for a few years with a painful illness that leaves you in bed and helpless and has no cure and tell me what you think.

That's the problem it's always different for everybody, therefore just because this Dr. Saunders had a wonderful life so far, doesn't mean he should have the right to apply his likes and dislikes against those he doesn't agree with.

To each their own and if you think every life is worth living, then invent a machine where you can switch bodies and live the lives nobody else wants..... I'm sure it'll work out just fine.

American father-of-two Mr Ewert died in September 2006 after drinking a mixture of sedatives and using his teeth to turn off his ventilator.
The former academic allowed his death to be filmed for a documentary, Right to Die?, made by Oscar-winning director John Zaritsky, which is due to be shown on Sky Real Lives later.


His film shows Mr Ewert outlining his options as "death, or suffering and death".

Before his death, Mr Ewert said: "I'd like to continue."

"The thing is that I really can't."

"When you are completely paralysed, can't talk, can't walk, can't move your eyes, how do you let someone know that you are suffering?"

In a letter he wrote to his two adult children, who feature in the programme, he said: "This is a journey I must make."

"At the same time I hope this is not the cause of major distress to my dear, sweet wife, who will have the greatest loss, as we have been together for 37 years in the greatest intimacy."

'Taboo'

Prime Minister Gordon Brown told parliament: "These are very difficult issues and we should all remember that at the heart of any single individual case are families and people in very difficult circumstances who have to make for themselves very difficult choices, none of us, none of us would want to go through that."

But he added: "On specifically the programme itself, I think it's very important that these issues are dealt with sensitively and without sensationalism."

"I hope broadcasters remember that they have a wider duty to the general public and of course it will be matter for the television watchdogs when the broadcast is shown."

Writing in the Independent, Mrs Ewert said: "For Craig, my husband, allowing the cameras to film his last moments in Zurich was about facing the end honestly."

"This wasn't a film about him personally. He was keen to have it shown because when death is hidden and private, people don't face their fears about it."
"They don't acknowledge that it is going to happen, they don't reflect on it, they don't want to face it. That's the taboo."


Mr Zaritsky told BBC Radio Four's Today programme: "I think it would be less than honest if we were to do a film about the process of assisted suicide and not actually be able to see the ultimate, you know, act as it were."

"Otherwise we'd be left open to charges that the death was unpleasant, or cruel or wasn't even done willingly."

"And by putting it out there in its entirety, people can judge for themselves."

Makes about as much perfect sense as anybody could in this situation.

Barbara Gibbon, Head of Sky Real Lives, said: "This is an issue that more and more people are confronting and this documentary is an informative, articulate and educated insight into the decisions some people have to make."

"I think it's important that TV broadcasters, and particularly Sky Real Lives, can stimulate debate about this issue through powerful, individual and engaging stories and give this subject a wider airing."

Public interest

Media regulator Ofcom said it did not act on any programmes until after they had been transmitted.

A spokesman said: "All UK broadcasters must adhere to the Broadcasting Code which sets standards for the content of TV programmes."
"The code contains clear rules about the portrayal of self-harm and suicide in order to protect people from harm."


"We would look at the programme and assess it against the code to see whether we need to take it further."

Although suicide is no longer a crime in England and Wales, aiding and abetting suicide is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Well it's a good thing it was done in Switzerland.

There have been no prosecutions so far of relatives of more than 100 UK citizens who have gone to the Dignitas clinic.

On Tuesday, the Director of Public Prosecutions ruled that prosecuting the parents of a 23-year-old Worcester man who killed himself in a Dignitas clinic was "not in the public interest".
Paralysed rugby player Daniel James died in Switzerland in September. Julie and Mark James travelled to the clinic with their son.

So what do you think?

About assisted suicides, and separately, about tv stations making shows out of suicides.....

 

[karrie]

I don't like the idea of assisted suicide one bit, and the notion that someone would air a tv program and attempt to normalize it is something I like even less.

 

[Zzarchov]

I on the other hand consider the demonization of assisted suicide as repulsive. And welcome any attempt to normalize what has been a cornerstone of most human civilzations.

Ignore the fact that we force our own twisted beliefs on the matter to other cultures one has to ask the logic in it.

In many cases you are not getting better. You are GOING to die, 100% certain. I have yet to ever be told why it is better to suffer slowly than be allowed to choose if you want to die painlessly.


And its in our basic human nature to want to put people out of their misery. Have you ever heard someone about to be executed or murdered say "Whatever you do, please don't make it quick, I want to suffer as long as possible"

Honestly, I want to know why people think a quick death is good when you are faced with inevitable death in some cases, but a long agonizing death should be mandatory?

 

[karrie]

You're making blanket assumptions though Zz. I don't think a long painful death is good, and while I don't advocate it, I don't judge someone ending their life to escape a long painful death. I fully intend to end mine if diagnosed with what plagues my family. What one chooses for themselves and enacts for themselves is one thing. But when you add another human being into the mix, the risk of problems rises dramatically. You're adding in someone else's value judgements, coercions, impressions of when a life is and isn't worth living. I know it boils down to the slippery slope argument, but, this IS the slipperiest of slippery slopes.

Suicide is not the issue here... assisted suicide is.

And, taking the stance I do against assisted suicide, I also advocate palliative research, pain management. I would do everything I could to make sure a loved one isn't suffering.... short of killing them.

 

[Praxius]

You're making blanket assumptions though Zz. I don't think a long painful death is good, and while I don't advocate it, I don't judge someone ending their life to escape a long painful death. I fully intend to end mine if diagnosed with what plagues my family. What one chooses for themselves and enacts for themselves is one thing. But when you add another human being into the mix, the risk of problems rises dramatically. You're adding in someone else's value judgements, coercions, impressions of when a life is and isn't worth living. I know it boils down to the slippery slope argument, but, this IS the slipperiest of slippery slopes.

But are you not doing the exact same thing when you claim that assisted suicides are... well.... something you don't like?

All of it is based on judgements, coercions and impressions on when a life is or isn't worth living, no matter which side of the argument you are on.

Suicide is not the issue here... assisted suicide is.

And, taking the stance I do against assisted suicide, I also advocate palliative research, pain management. I would do everything I could to make sure a loved one isn't suffering.... short of killing them.

Well for me, Suicide and Assisted Suicide are one in the same, the only real difference is that assisted suicides can at least ensure that the suicide is done properly and leaves little chance of surviving, thereby if you commited suicide on your own and failed, your life will probably end up even worse off then it was before.

Case in point:

I seen a few weeks ago on one of those twisted screwed up web sites like Rotten.com (But wasn't rotten) of a guy who attempted to kill himself with a gun to the head..... buddy didn't aim right and blew off everything off his face from the nose down..... no jaw, no upper lips, no nose....... Now if the guy didn't want to kill himself before, he's going to do it now, because there's not a hell of a lot one can do when you missing half your head from an attempted suicide.

Many of the methods people turn to when they want to end their lives are usually not the safest, easiest and sure fire ways of doing it. At least with assisted suicides, there are medical professionals available who know what they are doing and also know what to do when something goes wrong.

And I believe just about every single person who seeks out these places that help with suicide are never forced into the decision but come to their own conclusions.

If I was going to kill myself, I would rather take the option of an assisted suicide, then to risk further injuring myself and making my life even worse then it already was, or by some other method like jumping in front of a truck, or jumping off a building or using a firearm where I can end up putting risk to other people.

As it goes for making a documentary of somone killing themselves, I say go for it. People talk and make shows about all kinds of controvertial things, whether it is for or against that controvertial thing.

It would seem this person knew fully well the stigma that comes with suicides or assisted ones, and wanted to put it on record how he felt about it and for people to see the truth of exactly what was going on. I see it as no different then someone filming themselves giving birth, or going through an operation, or being executed, or having an abortion.

Sure they are all controvertial, but who says people arn't allowed to talk about these things and express how they feel or what they have done in relation to those topics?

And just because one guy has a very bad situation and wishes to kill themselves and show it to the world, and just because I support that kind of openess, doesn't mean I'm going to follow suit and kill myself the first chance I get.

That's like saying homosexuality is contagious...... each person makes their own decisions in life, whether we think it is good or bad. Unless it has a direct effect on our own lives, I don't see how any of us have a right to dictate to them how things should be done.

 

[Zzarchov]

Karrie, my issue is that no one balks an eye at assisted survival.

Its not an issue if they want to live for another week before pumping them full of drugs in a losing battle. If they can't help themselves there is no question that you should help them stay alive, that a doctor should enter in the mix, adding his coercion and values into the mix on whether that person should seek unnatural treatments rather than just accepting their time has come.

But you throw the ball in the other court, and they need your help to end it painlessly, and all of a sudden is a slippery slope?

Slippery slope it may be, but the slope is already full of doctors riding tobogans down it every day.

 

[Hazmart]

On this issue Zzarchov, I very much agree with you.

There should be a legalized system in place to help terminally ill people end their life peacefully, in the company of their family. By not allowing people and their families this choice we are already forcing someone else's values, judgements, coercions, and impressions of when a life is and isn't worth living.

As for the program, if it brings more awareness to the issue then I see no problem with it. If it makes people to really consider all sides of the topic and brings a voice then I think it is a good thing.