Best-selling UK author calls for assisted suicide panel to permit Britons to kill themselves
By APMonday, February 1, 2010
British author calls for assisted suicide panel
LONDON — Best-selling British fantasy author Terry Pratchett says he believes an assisted suicide panel should be set up to help Britons who want to kill themselves.
Pratchett, one of the country’s most-read writers, says his proposed panel would allow suicidal Britons to make their case for why they should be allowed to die.
The 61-year-old suffers from early-onset Alzheimer’s and has advocated for assisted suicide in the past.
His comments — widely publicized Monday — come after two high-profile cases have reignited debate on the issue.
In one, a mother was convicted of murder for giving her brain-damaged son an overdose. In another, a mother was cleared of attempted murder for helping her paralyzed daughter end her life.
