November 7, 2014

Johnny Rotten to Consider Dignitas if Dementia sets in

The Independent by Ella Alexander, 5 November 2014

John Lydon says euthanasia would be “highly popular” in his head if he was later blighted with dementia.

He would also consider going to assisted dying organisation Dignitas.

“If I ever felt senility was coming in, then euthanasia would be highly popular in my head,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to endure that hollow loneliness and isolation. It’s too much and too overbearing.”

“[Dignitas] would occur to me. But I’m not condoning that at all. It would be through sheer necessity. That is a dark place where I wouldn’t ever want to be again.”

His decision stems from worries about his health negatively impacting his family and friends.

“Why make the people around you suffer at a certain point?” he asked.

“If you don’t remember them any longer, you know you are painful to them. It’s a risky topic and I understand that and should be treated on a one-to-one basis.”

The musician was quick to point out he doesn’t approve of “massive euthanasia”.

“I’m no way condoning massive euthanasia,” he told Blinkbox Books. “I don’t want the Tory party quite taking over that way. I don’t want it free on the National Health either.”

High-profile names to have showed support for assisted dying include Richard Branson, Patrick Stewart and Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, who have a suicide pact which covers any life-threatening conditions including Alzheimer’s disease.

In October, Australian doctor Philip Nitschke opened a clinic in the UK to help advise people on how to end their lives.

Called Exit International, the organisation has been branded as “potentially very dangerous” and could be “open to abuse”.

“It is easier to prepare [for death] now. That is the message Exit International has been promoting and why it is so important to have an office in London,” Nitschke told The Independent.

“We encourage people not to wait around until they are seriously ill before coming to see us.”