August 6, 2017
PRESS RELEASE: 1000+ elderly Australians book for Exit workshop tour
In a planned national tour beginning on 12 August in Darwin, Exit Director Dr Philip Nitschke will return to Australia to run DIY suicide workshops for the elderly. Workshops will be held in every capital, along with several regional centres. Interest in the planned series has been particularly strong, with over 1000 Exit members, average age 75, booking a place.
Speaking from Amsterdam, where Exit is now based, Dr Nitschke said he was not surprised at the high level of interest by elderly Australians in learning the best ways to end their lives.
“Publicity over the expected law change in Victoria has drawn attention to the issue of choice at the end of life, and the restrictive nature of the proposed Victorian law has many realising that they would be better off establishing their own solution. Indeed the proposed Victorian law is proudly being proclaimed by the Andrew’s government, as the ‘world’s most conservative’, as though this is something to be proud of, and claims like this have many flocking towards the DIY alternative”.
Dr Nitschke said the issue of an elective death as a fundamental right of the elderly, for whatever reason, rather than simply being seen as a medical procedure for the terminally ill, was a change that was gaining strength in Europe and North America. In addition, the development of a number of new technologies making safe and reliable options for a peaceful death available to all who want them, has meant that any Australian law changes that attempt to restrict these options to the terminally ill, are likely to be too little, too late.
“20 years ago, Australia led the world with the pioneering ‘Rights of the Terminally Ill’ in the Northern Territory. With the loss of this law though in 1997, Australia has spent the past 20 years languishing in the dark ages, while the rest of the world has moved on. The cutting edge of the debate, currently being played out in here the Netherlands, is whether ALL elderly should be provided with reliable euthanasia drugs as their right.
Dr Nitschke said that those attending the Exit 2017 workshop series would be given the most recent information on the newest end of life strategies and options. And they would leave knowing the best and most reliable ways of ending their lives at the time of their choosing.
“Those attending will hope they never need to use this information, but will leave the workshop immensely comforted in the knowledge that if they have to end their lives, they now know the best ways to go about it.
The full itinerary for the Exit Australian workshop series is at: https://exitinternational.net/meetings/workshops/
For Information: Exit Legal, Tash Russell tel 0420 499 656 or Philip Nitschke 0407 189 339
natasha@exitinternational.net
6 August 2017