Gloves off in pro-euthanasia camps

Pro-euthanasia groups are trading barbs after an American woman was charged with helping a woman in New Zealand kill herself.

Susan Wilson, 48, who lives in North Carolina, has denied helping Audrey Wallis, 49, to take her own life in 2007.

Police have charged Wilson with assisting suicide, but she may never be tried in this country because New Zealand's extradition deal with the United States does not include the charge.

Australian euthanasia campaigner Philip Nitschke said Wilson had denied providing the lethal drug Nembutal to Mrs Wallis, or receiving $12,000 from her.

Wilson had provided information and "sat with her when she ended her life using helium", Dr Nitschke said. She had been compensated $2000 for airfares and accommodation but denied being paid $12,000.

Dr Nitschke, dubbed "Doctor Death", attacked right-to-die advocate Lesley Martin for bringing a complaint about Wilson to police.

"This is the first example of the police being employed by one faction of the right-to-die movement to pursue those with an alternative view."

He also described Ms Martin's idea of "dignity havens" – hospices that include assisted suicide options – as quaint.

But Ms Martin, head of Dignity New Zealand, said Wilson's denial was implausible as she had talked openly about helping Mrs Wallis kill herself on a BBC film.

"I think it's naive of anyone to think that someone would travel that distance and sit there and do nothing else. I think she's probably quite a simple-thinking woman who just saw a quick way to make a quick buck."

Mrs Wallis was depressed and could still have decided not to take her own life, Ms Martin said. "In Dr Nitschke's camp of thinking, there are no questions asked. If someone expresses the desire to end their life, he provides a method. And he also derives an income from that."

The right-to-die movement was split between camps who wanted to pursue legislative reform and those who gave people information about euthanasia options, she said.

Dr Nitschke's views would soon be redundant, Ms Martin said.

She was organising a conference in Wellington in October to discuss dignity havens. "They won't be invited. Philip Nitschke's made his name for being controversial and hijacking legitimate forums."

In Wellington, Margaret Page, 60, has not eaten for 15 days after deciding to starve herself to death.

A spokeswoman for the St John of God home, where Mrs Page is a patient, said her condition was unchanged yesterday.

- © Fairfax NZ News