Suicide Devices Divide Right-to-Die Activists
Right-to-die activists from around the world convened here Saturday to discuss and demonstrate do-it-yourself suicide devices--such as the “expirator” and the “debreather”--that bypass doctors and legislatures.
Moderates in the right-to-die movement boycotted the two-day meeting, saying assisted suicide should remain within medical and legal bounds.
“We do consider these groups on the extreme of the movement as opposed to our advocacy, which is very much on a medical and legal model,” said Barbara Coombs Lee, executive director of the Compassion in Dying Federation in Portland, Ore.
But Faye Girsh, president of Hemlock Society USA, said she attended the conference and found it very worthwhile. The invitation-only event was closed to most news reporters and the public.
The conference was organized by Junction City, Ore.-based Euthanasia Research & Guidance Council--ERGO for short--a group started by Derek Humphry, an author and founder of the Hemlock Society.
All the suicide devices on display at the two-day conference involve breathing deadly gas, from carbon monoxide to helium.
The expirator delivers a fatal dose of nitrogen gas.
The debreather--a mask based on scuba technology--recycles air, gradually removing oxygen until the user blacks out and then suffocates.
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A LEGAL WAY OUT
A pioneering encounter with Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act. Section U
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