January 26, 2025
Obituary – Derek Humphry by Philip Nitschke
Philip writes:
I knew Derek Humphry for almost 30 years.
He was an inspiring and driving force in the modern right to die movement.
I was delighted when he accepted an invitation to attend the Voluntary Euthanasia Research Foundation (forerunner of Exit) Conference in Broken Hill in outback New South Wales in September 1997.
This was the year we first met. He had published his famous book Final Exit a few years earlier.
It had become the ‘bible’ of the self-help right to die movement. Indeed it was this book that, in turn, inspired the Peaceful Pill Handbook which he kindly launched for Fiona and I, at the Nu Tech conference in Toronto Canada in September 2005.
Derek Humphry & Philip Nitschke, Toronto 2005
He and I both started to work closely when, with others, we co-founded the NuTech group.
We were kindred spirits in terms of limiting the involvement of the medical profession in end of life choices.
In some ways Derek took all the risks when he put himself and Final Exit out there in public in the early 90s.
Derek Humphry launching the Peaceful Pill Handbook, September 2005
He fought some of the battles for me.
The existence of Final Exit made the publication of the Peaceful Pill Handbook easier (at least internationally, if not in Australia where, to this day, it remains a banned publication).
This is why the Peaceful Pill Handbook always has been (and will remain) dedicated to Derek.
Back in 2015, Derek wrote:
‘Fiona and Philip,
Congratulations on your 2015 online version of The Peaceful Pill Handbook which I’ve just read. It is a stunning piece of work, truly the definitive scientific encyclopedia of the how-to-die subject.
My Final Exit book is the still the personal, family version after 25 years. Both are needed — the sales data on Amazon.com consistently shows them parallel.’
As recently as late last year we were talking about the Sarco.
He warned me of the likely push-back from within the mainstream right to die movement; by that he was referring to the big organisations that stop bothering to push the boundaries, who stop taking risks to make the world a better place for those who want autonomy and self-determination at the end of life.
Organisations that will push-back against and who will resent a new invention such as the Sarco.
Their message will be clear, ‘do not to disrupt our comfortable existence!’
Derek Humphry (far left) chairing (with Philip Nitschke speaking) at the NuTech meeting, San Francisco 2011
Derek was acutely aware of the politics of our movement. His long memory invaluable.
He was an ever-present source of advice and support to me.
I will miss his wise counsel very much.
Thoughts are with Gretchen.
