All News

Voluntary euthanasia campaigner Lesley Martin, who has been charged with the attempted murder of her mother, will fight in court next week against a muzzling order.

Battlelines are being drawn over the right to die after a Wanganui woman was charged with attempted murder on the day legislation forcing a conscience vote on euthanasia was introduced to Parliament.

Prime Minister Helen Clark has come out in support of voluntary euthanasia as mercy killing comes back on to the political agenda.

ARRESTED: Euthanasia campaigner Lesley Martin was charged yesterday (06 March 2003) after the death of her mother, Joy, in 1999.

The case of 92-year-old Margaret Russell illustrates just how complicated end-of-life decisions can be.

Lord Joel Joffe – a retired human rights lawyer who defended Nelson Mandela – wants the right to assisted suicide enshrined on the statute book.

News Chronology of Case of Comatose Florida Woman Terri Schiavo. Judge Says Schiavo’s Feeding Tube Can Be Removed (Nov 22, 2002)

Adapted from the Associated Press, Dec 25, 2002

The following is the timeline in the case of Terri Schiavo, who first collapsed and fell into a coma in 1990. The conflict between Terri Schiavo’s parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, began in 1993, and continues to this day. The court bhattle began in 1998, when Michael Schiavo petitioned the court to remove Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube.

• Feb. 25, 1990: Terri Schiavo collapses in her home. Doctors believe a potassium imbalance caused her heart to stop, temporarily cutting off oxygen to her brain.
  

Legal Fight in Florida Over Comatose Woman Pits Her Parents, Husband Against Each Other.

The husband of a woman who’s been in a coma-like state for 12 years can have her feeding tube removed and be allowed to die, a judge ruled Friday.

After a month of consideration, a judge has once again given his approval to remove the feeding tube from a comatose Pinellas County woman. The decision by Circuit Judge George Greer may clear the way for Terri Schiavo to die.

A judge has again ordered that a comatose woman’s feedings be stopped, siding against her parents and in favor of the husband who believes she should be allowed to die.