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Couple's Pact Worries Anti-Suicide Groups

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 15, 2009 2:28 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Anti-suicide campaigners fear that the death of a British conductor and his wife in a Swiss suicide clinic this week will cause a rise in "together forever" suicides among the elderly, the Times of London reports. Edmund Downes, 85, chose to die alongside his terminally ill wife. Church groups worry that his decision will inspire others to die when they could have many years of life left.

Assisted suicide "makes death a lifestyle choice, and places an intolerable burden on husbands and wives who could feel pressured into euthanizing themselves alongside their partners even though they are not unwell," said a representative of an anti-euthanasia group. Advocates of allowing assisted suicide disagree, saying that Downes' choice was his to make.

In this Dec. 15, 1967 file photo, British conductor Edward Downes and his wife, Joan, are seen with their new baby son, Caractacus, at the Royal Northern Hospital in London.
In this Dec. 15, 1967 file photo, British conductor Edward Downes and his wife, Joan, are seen with their new baby son, Caractacus, at the Royal Northern Hospital in London.   (AP Photo/PA, file)
Renowned British conductor Edward Downes. Downes and his wife died at a Swiss suicide clinic.
Renowned British conductor Edward Downes. Downes and his wife died at a Swiss suicide clinic.   (AP Photo/Bill Cooper/PA Wire)
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Who are the rest of us to tell Sir Edward Downes what he should or should not have borne? As a conductor, knowing he was losing his sight and his hearing must have been unbearable.
- Debbie Purdy, a campaigner for changing assisted suicide laws

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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 13 comments
brawne
Jul 16, 2009 12:29 PM CDT
Suicide is homicide turned inward. To kill yourself is as morally bankrupt as to kill another. Most religions had to impose the ban because to preach a heaven where you will be with your lost love means losing too many people. So suicide is the sin that keeps you from eternal salvation and the perpetual reunion. Suicide is actually the fact that nulls religion. Because only man could invent a paradise and then go back and add a conditional clause.
armywife
Jul 15, 2009 9:19 AM CDT
my father worked in the annuities business for thirty years and began to notice a distinct trend among elderly couples: when one spouse died, the surviving spouse averaged about only a year before they too died. i know my grandmother said many times she wished she could hurry up and join my grandfather after he passed. she lived 5 more years, but was a much different person and suffered from deep depression. there is something to be said for quality of life over quantity.
kokuaguy
Jul 15, 2009 8:01 AM CDT
wwonder-- debate is great. That's the reason I wanted to post a very provocatve opening statment when I saw my change Sadly, many of the mindless in the Alzheimers wards and on the "life support" machines would not choose to be there. But the health care "industry" gets rich off them and our society is paralyzed by its political quagmire and can't change things.

 
suicide • assisted suicide • euthanasia • conductor • Edward Downes • Joan Downes

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Suicide Law Sees 63 Apply, 36 Die in 9 Months
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