“Death on Demand” Nitschke Moving to New Zealand

Phillip Nitschke, the “Down Under” Kevorkian is moving to New Zealand because Australia has wisely outlawed some of his suicide promoting activities. For those who don’t know of him, Nitschke was paid by the Hemlock Society (now merged into Compassion and Choices)to develop the “peaceful pill,” a suicide concoction that he told the National Review Online should be available to “troubled teens.” In fact, his ill-fated interview with Kathryn Jean Lopez of NRO was the first step of a long and winding road that led to the current outcome.

As a side note, after his interview with NRO, I traveled to Australia to out Nitschke as a death-on demand-fanatic. It was a week of media feeding frenzy in most electronic and much of the printed media—including a front page story in the Australian exposing Nitschke for importing a plastic “Exit Bag” from Canada for use in suicides—illustrated by a photo of me holding said Exit Bag and the suicide instructions that came with it.

It was great advocacy, but I can’t take much credit for it. I was merely the (very willing) public face of a concentrated effort by Australia Right to Life and other anti-euthanasia activists to expose Nitschke for the fanatic he is. But I am proud that my trip served as a catalyst that has now culminated 4 1/2 years later in his being forced to leave the country in order to carry on his twisted suicide promotion activities.