Deaths among young an unintended consequence of euthanasia movement: mother

Sydney Morning Herald 13 July 2015
Twenty-six-year-old Lucas Taylor took his own life by taking Nembutal more than three years ago, but he still gets Exit International’s email newsletter.

After his death in 2012 his mother Judith went through his emails looking for answers and found he had been a paid up member of the organisation.

Mrs Taylor said he used knowledge gained on Exit International’s forums to obtain the drug from Peru. He was not suffering from a terminal illness – although Mrs Taylor said he may have believed he was ill – and later used the drug to take his own life in Germany.

She said the deaths among younger people were an “unintended consequence” of the voluntary euthanasia movement putting out information online on suicide methods.

“Coroners and authorities should be sitting up taking notice of this,” she said of the data on the number of deaths from Nembutal. “This is an international business.”

New data from the national coronial information system shows 120 people died by taking Nembutal – dubbed the “peaceful pill” – between July 2000 and December 2012.
http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/deaths-among-young-an-unintended-consequence-of-euthenasia-movement-mother-20150713-gia7e5