An Australian euthanasia campaigner is set to hold a seminar on suicide methods in a seaside retirement town as part of his tour of Britain.
Dr Philip Nitschke has faced criticism for advising the elderly and terminally ill on suicide methods.
Dr Nitschke hit the headlines in 2008 after Bournemouth council intervened to stop his do-it-yourself suicide ‘workshop’ taking place in one of its buildings.
Concern
Later this month the man dubbed ‘Dr Death’ will hold a euthanasia seminar in Eastbourne, a town which has one of the highest populations of the elderly in the UK. He will also hold seminars in London, Edinburgh and York.
Dr Nitschke claims that decisions about life and death “are not the sole domain of the elites and especially the medical profession”.
But even advocates of assisted suicide have expressed concern about the Australian’s visit.
Dangerous
Dignity in Dying, a pro-euthanasia lobby group, has branded Dr Nitschke’s intention to visit the UK as “dangerous and irresponsible”.
The group added: “We continue to believe that the best course of action for Dignity in Dying is to work within the law to change the law and not to give Dr Nitschke the platform he is seeking.”
In April it emerged that school children were being shown footage of Dr Nitschke demonstrating a lethal injection machine in a DVD about euthanasia.
The DVD was being shown to children aged 14 to 18, mainly those who were studying GCSE philosophy which includes euthanasia in the curriculum.