| | |  Health & Beauty | December 2008 
Sisters of Suicide Mum Take Aim at Nitschke
 Nicolas Perpitch - The Australian
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| | Euthanasia advocate Philip Nitschke | |
Euthanasia advocate Philip Nitschke has been accused of "relentless self-interest and cruel insensitivity" by the family of Erin Berg, a Perth mother-of-four who committed suicide in Mexico using Nembutal, a veterinary drug promoted by Dr Nitschke.
Berg's three sisters have written an open letter to Dr Nitschke attacking him for his "irresponsible" advice on Nembutal and demanding he stop using images of her in his euthanasia workshop presentations.
Dr Nitschke acknowledges using newspaper and other photos of Berg in his workshops.
He maintains Nembutal is the best euthanasia drug, bringing reliable, peaceful and painless death, but no one knows whether Berg actually used it properly.
The Australian revealed earlier this year the tragic story of Berg, 39, who was suffering severe post-natal depression and was discharged from a Perth mental health unit in March before flying to the Mexican border town of Tijuana.
A bottle of Nembutal, which is not freely available in Australia, was found by her hotel bed, where she had been discovered unconscious. She died two weeks later on May 10.
Her three sisters, Christine, Stephanie and Sally Doyle, say Berg's "long, painful and undignified death" came about after she followed Dr Nitschke's advice on Nembutal in his book Killing Me Softly.
"Any image of Erin, either alive, in a coma, or dead, should stand as a damning indictment of the dangers of your suicide information," their letter says.
"Any use of images of Erin by you to somehow further your own agenda suggests relentless self-interest, and cruel insensitivity towards our grieving family."
"You have done nothing to respect the reality of Erin's suffering in Tijuana, your contribution to this suffering, or to demonstrate basic decency to us as her grieving family."
West Australian Coroner Alastair Hope will hold an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Berg's death. |
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