Former Brisbane mayor fills war chest

Australian activist Dr Philip Nitschke has A$5 million in his war chest after a bequest from a recently deceased politician to promote the legalisation of euthanasia. Clem Jones, the former Labor lord mayor of Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, died in December but the details of his will only emerged this week. He also left $5 million for stem cell research into brain damage, $5 million for research into macular degeneration of vision and $2 million to campaign for an Australian republic. "We are heartened by the donation," said Dr Nitschke. "Not only the large amount of money, but because it was [given] by someone who commanded a great deal of respect… it will give this issue a degree of legitimacy." In his will Mr Jones said that his bequest was inspired by his wife’s painful battle with illness before her death in 1999.

Meanwhile Dr Nitschke is busy giving euthanasia workshops in South Australia and making videos on how to concoct a euthanasia pill. The first of eight instructional videos, "Betty Cooks with Sodium", was released on the internet this week, he said. (A search on Google and YouTube, however, yielded no results.) ~ Australian, Apr 14; news.com.au, Apr 1

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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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