A terminally ill grandmother in Australia has taken her own life in the presence of friends and family who risk prosecution for aiding and abetting her death.
Ms Nancy Crick (69), who had said terminal bowel cancer was making her life unbearable, died of a drug overdose yesterday in the Queensland state holiday resort of Gold Coast.
Euthanasia advocate Dr Philip Nitschke said the 21 friends and family at Ms Crick's bedside had taken legal advice and would make no public statement.
"Twenty-one brave people chose to break a law that could result in them receiving life imprisonment," Dr Nitschke said. "This is the first time strategies of mass civil disobedience have been used in the voluntary euthanasia movement".
The witnesses could be charged with assisting the woman's suicide, which carries a sentence of up to life in prison.
Anti-euthanasia group Right to Life called for police to investigate her death. Right to Life Australia president Ms Margaret Tighe condemned what she said was a media circus organised by Dr Nitschke. "Dr Nitschke needs to be stopped from roaming the country giving suicidal advice to vulnerable people".
Dr Nitschke, who saw Ms Crick yesterday before she overdosed on medication, described her as a martyr for the euthanasia cause.
AFP