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Exit News & Forum 2Jul09

 

 
 
 
 

Exit International (Assisted Suicide/ Voluntary Euthanasia)

 
 
Exit International is a world leading Assisted Suicide/ Voluntary Euthanasia information & advocacy organisation.  Exit is a registered non-profit organisation, with offices in Australia, the US & the UK.   Philip
 
Founded by Dr Philip Nitschke (MD, PhD) who in 1996 became the first physician to administer a legal, lethal voluntary injection, under the world's first Assisted Suicide law - the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act of Australia.
 
A four-time nominee for Australian of the Year (2005, 2006, 2008, 2009), Philip Nitschke holds a PhD in laser physics & is a graduate of Sydney University Medical School.   He is the co-author of the ground-breaking Peaceful Pill eHandbook (online, video edition now available) & Killing Me Softly: Voluntary Euthanasia & the Road to the Peaceful Pill (Penguin 2005).  
 
Exit is supported by a network of local Chapters in over 35 cities & towns in Australia, the UK, New Zealand & the USA (commencing mid 2009).   Exit was previously known as the Voluntary Euthanasia Research Foundation.




>>> Exit US 2009 Workshop Tour

16Jun09

 
Following its successful inaugural tour of the UK & Scotland in May 2009, Exit will bring its unique workshop program to the US this September. Worshops cover a range of end of life strategies including the premier assisted suicide drug, Nembutal, prescription drugs, the use of Inert gases & the Exit Bag, & the Swiss option. 
 
Exit workshops are preceded by an open public meeting where the history & philosophy of the emerging end of life choices movement are discussed. Workshops are restricted to the over 50s & seriously ill.
 
The US Workshops will feature the launch of Exit's newly-developed Drug Test Kit. Dates of the US Tour are below. To be notified of venue details, please join the Exit Email List on this page.
  • San Francisco - Tues 8 September
  • Vancouver - Sat 12 September
  • Los Angeles - Tues 15 September
 
The Exit International Workshop program features on ABC Nightline - click HERE

 

>>> Release of the Exit Euthanasia Drug Test Kit

27 April, 2009
 


Dr Philip Nitschke, will demonstrate the use of the Exit euthanasia drug test kit in London on Sun 3 May.
 
Exit will provide free test for people who have obtained these drugs. The kits (pictured) shows if the sample tested is (a) a barbiturate and (b) if it is of sufficient strength to provide a peaceful death at the time of one’s choosing.
 
Speaking from Darwin, before leaving Australia for the UK, Dr Nitschke said that the kits had been developed by Exit when it was realised there was a growing need for a method of testing euthanasia drugs.

 

“Larger numbers of people are now acquiring the euthanasia drug Nembutal from a variety of uncertain sources so that they have access to this lethal drug should their health deteriorate. This often leads to anxiety over the efficacy of the drug they have obtained, especially if it has been stored for some time – and the test kits will go a long way towards addressing this concern”.
 
The euthanasia drug test kits will also be discussed at the series of public meeting and workshops being held in the UK by Dr Nitschke from May 4 - 10
 
Read an account of the Exit Nembutal Test Kit in TIME
 
 

>>> Angy's Choice - 57 year old Palliative Care Nurse Achieves a Peaceful Death

25 March, 2009
 
Exit member, Angy Belecciu, died peacefully in a motel room in Melbourne after drinking a lethal dose of the Euthanasia drug, Nembutal, on the evening of Monday 23 March 2009. 
 
Suffering from breast cancer that had spread to her bones & a fierce defender of a person's right to a peaceful & dignified passing at a time of their choosing, Angy Belecciu is a proud & brave voice for change where end-of-life laws are concerned.
 
In January 2008, Angie paid for two other elderly Exit members to travel to Mexico to obtain Nembutal on her behalf.   Suffering from the asbestos cancer Mesolthelioma, 78 year old Don Flounders & his wife Iris (85) travelled to Mexico with Channel 7 News, returning to Australia with 3 bottles of the deadly liquid.  Don continues to fight his cancer.  Mr and Mrs Flounders said they were "saddened" by Angy's death but relieved they had provided her with a very special choice.
 
To read the 1900 word article that appeared on the front page of The Age newspaper on Wednesday 25 March 2009, click HERE.
 
 
 

>>> 78 Year Old Grandmother of Five Included on Australian Government Website Blacklist

23 March, 2009
 
Retired Nurse Educator, Mrs Betty Peters OAM, has lambasted the Federal Government for the inclusion of her YouTube video “Do It Yourself with Betty” and “Betty makes a Peaceful Pill” on the ACMA blacklist of banned websites. 
 
A member of Exit International, as part of her volunteer work with Exit Mrs Peters has made several videos, aimed at providing the elderly and seriously ill with practical information about voluntary euthanasia. The videos are routinely shown at Exit workshops around Australia, New Zealand and overseas and are included in the video edition of  The Peaceful Pill eHandbook by Dr Philip Nitschke.

Speaking from her home in Ivanhoe in Melbourne, Mrs Peters said she was “outraged” at the government’s big brother attitude to Australian senior citizens. “My generation has lived through a lot, including WWII.  We more than most people know about death and many of us don’t want to suffer the pain and indignity of illness or a prolonged period as a vegetable in a nursing home.”

“My videos aim to teach people how to take control of their dying days.  As adults it is our right to make these decisions.  We do not need a 40 year old Senator like Stephen Conroy deciding for us what is good and bad. I am appalled that our free country has come to this.”

The secret ACMA blacklist that was leaked on the Internet on Friday (see www.wikileaks.org) and contains 3 banned YouTube and VEOH videos, 2 of which feature Mrs Peters.  None of the videos provide explicit instruction on Suicide.  In November 2008, the New Zealand Literature Review Board ruled that “DIY with Betty” contained no “objectionable” material and should receive an unrestricted classification.