CONTROVERSIAL Australian assisted suicide advocate Philip Nitschke is planning to hold his first public meeting and workshop in Dublin later this month.
Dr Nitschke’s group, Exit International, provoked uproar in Britain when it tried to hold such meetings and some were cancelled. He said he was coming to Ireland because, over the years, Exit had received “significant interest” from older people in Ireland wanting information about their end-of-life choices. The meeting is set for March 19th.
Dr Nitschke believes he was the first doctor in the world to administer a legal, voluntary lethal injection to terminally ill patients. In 1996 he provided the injection to four terminally ill patients in Australia during a brief period when assisted suicide was lawful. The Rights of the Terminally Ill Act was overturned after nine months.
He said he would have Ireland’s new blasphemy laws in his sights when he came here. Since last month, blasphemy is a crime, punishable by a fine of up to €25,000.
Dr Nitschke said it was “almost impossible” to talk about a person’s right to die without offending some section of the religious community.
