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A 23-year-old who played rugby for England as a teenager has committed suicide in a Swiss euthanasia clinic after having become paralysed from the chest down in a training accident.
Nuneaton rugby club hooker Daniel James felt his body had become a “prison” and lived in “fear and loathing” of his daily life, his parents said last night, having accompanied him to Switzerland from their home in Sinton Green, near Worcester. He had attempted to kill himself several times since March 2007 when a scrum had collapsed on him and dislocated his neck vertebrae, trapping his spinal cord and rendering him immediately tetraplegic.
West Mercia Police have begun an investigation into his assisted suicide, which took place on September 12. Details were made public yesterday when police published a statement relating to an inquest in progress. Assisted suicide is illegal in the UK, and family or friends who help face up to 14 years in jail. Officers have questioned a man and a women in the case and are preparing to submit a report to the Crown Prosecution Service.
James’ parents, Mark and Julie, said last night that their son had been “an intelligent young man of sound mind” and “not prepared to live what he felt was a second-class existence“.
He is one of the youngest Britons to have travelled abroad for assisted suicide. Earlier this month, Dignitas, the centre for assisted dying in Zurich, said that 100 Britons have travelled to Switzerland to make use of its more liberal laws. It is thought James attended a clinic in Berne.
What do you think? Most times we consider the question of the right to die it’s in the context common to supportive laws. That is – someone with a terminal illness – wishing to end their own life with dignity and in the setting they choose themselves.
Very different context. Does that change his right to choose death?
Anyone should have the choice of when and how to die. It’s the most personal decision a person can make.
I know that quadriplegic means that all four limbs are paralyzed but what is ‘tetriplegic?’
I have to turn the question completely around.
Why would anyone think they had a “right” to interfere in something like this?
Your body and mind belong to you and no one else. You can do with then what you want — training, tattoos, (il)legal drugs, suicide, etc.
The same people who feel that abortion is wrong are the same people who feel this is wrong – they feel that they should impose their religious beliefs on a population who, as a whole, doesn’t share them.
I find it outrageous that someone can’t have the control over their own body…that if someone who is, as this person was, ‘trapped’ in their own body and was living in agony day to day shouldn’t have the right to live or die as they see fit.
But we don’t have unlimited rights to do as we wish with our own bodies. Drugs are a classic example. The laws do not take into consideration harm resulting to “others” as a result of possessing or ingesting “drugs”. They only care about “possessing” drugs. You can’t legally inject or smoke many drugs in most places around the world, regardless of remaining behind closed doors. So what does that say about the right to do what we want with our own bodies? If the laws were logically devised, they would include a criteria of proof that the action performed by one on their own body caused, or unquestionably “would” cause harm to others. This is not the case. Our laws are illogical.
I strongly agree with his right to commit suicide.
But, as a parent, I would have really encouraged my son to have tried living with this disability for longer than one or two years. It may take longer than that to work thru the depression from the original accident.
(not to say that this man’s parents didn’t do this)
There are several people on this blog that should consider taking their own life. 🙂
Personally, I want to die like my grandfather, in his sleep and not screaming like the passengers in his car.
In Europe, the term for 4 limb paralysis has always been tetraplegia.
Google is your friend
It is a personal decision… that he was lucky enough to be able to make. I’m pretty sure that Id want to make the same decision.
as for tetra – from the greek for 4
quad is from the latin
#8, Special Ed: Your second paragraph may be the shortest horror story I’ve ever read.
All rational, normal people will say that control over one’s body should never be questioned and I totally agree.
If I want to die tomorrow, and I’ve thought about it (not tomorrow necessarily), I wouldn’t give a damn if any government wanted a say or not. Screw them and their hypocritical policies.
Ok, I’ve decided, I’m going to commit suicide and vote for McCain. Just kidding, except it’d be pretty close to killing an entire country with a check mark.
Sorry Sarah, you’re failin’, campaign’s trailin’, people are bailin’ and you are making us ailin’ so just leave quietly and don’t bother us any more with your high IQ views of the world because we are not smart enough to grasp it all.
The fact that this fellow thought his life wasn’t worth living just because he was disabled is extremely disconcerting. The fact that others applaud his choice is even moreso. People get depressed for various reasons all the time. They are sick and need to be treated… not killed. People have purpose in life even without a functional body. If you can’t see that for yourself then you need a new worldview.
@13.
Agreed!
The reason people think it is not worth to live in this world any more because they think “the fun” is over, therefore no point in being alive. That is very sad.
#13 & 14 – That is easy to say until you have put yourself in his position. This guy was an athlete and suddenly it is game over. Why be a burden to others? If life really worth living if all you can do is blow in a tube? I can only hope if anything ever happened like this to me that some woman would find it in her heart to sit on my face and smother me to death.
hhopper, tetraplegia is like quadraplegia (all four limbs) but you don’t have control over your chest and abdominal muscles. Coughing is agony with this condition which should give you a feel for the quality of life.
It’s up to me, it’s my body/mind.
If I want to check out, for whatever reason, that’s my choice.
I live in pain, arthritis. I chose to live at this time, but if it gets too much, I’m going to walk too far to come back. Or I’ll drill a hole in the ice and fall in.
I’ll fall out of my boat. I’ll hang on as long as I can.
The doctors want me to live on pain killers, I don’t like taking drugs.
#8 – Special Ed
LMAO
#13 – Rectum
I would take your opinion serious if you had the same condition as this dude, but you don’t… you’re just an ignorant, inbred and indoctrinated pro-life slime, who think that every little human life form is sacred. I’m sure you cheer every time your wife or one of your relatives bring another retarded kid into this world… after all, they didn’t do abortion. GFY.
@15.
I kinda knew you or some one else would bring this example – being a burden on somebody else part. But it really should not be understood that way. Otherwise you would see many parents abandoning their children, even animals do not leave their young. I have seen flock of birds attacking a cat defending a little inexperienced bird. A cat distracting a dog so her kitten could get away from danger. We humans are supposed to be more helpful towards each other than these animals.
The question is, why is there no more love for each other when we grow up and we are adults?
Human life is a cycle – born and dependent on others, growing up we need a lot of help from others, we turn adults and after a short while we are old and fragile again depending on others again. In this guys’ case it came little bit early, little bit too fast. But it could be much worse though.
Depending on your belief, what do you think the guy got after he committed suicide?
@17.
Pete, What a story in your sig. (Me and Jack)
#19 – Recall that some animals eat their young. What do I think he got after committing suicide? Relief. It was his choice and I wouldn’t want to deny him of that choice.
#19-That’s all well and good. But it’s his body, and his right to decide what happens to it.
Should we make sure he really means it? Yeah.
Should we make sure he has been treated for depression? Yeah.
Should we make sure it really is a hopeless case? Yeah.
But after all that, if he still wants to do it, he should be able to.
It’s not the right choice for me, but it’s NOT MY CHOICE.
what do you think would happen IF he had decided to LIVE..?
In the USA, its called BILLS. BILLS BILLS BILLS, and no comma’s needed.
In the UK, he would get PAIN killers and a LONELY LIFE..
HOW long would your family,
FEED YOU?
WIPE your BUTT?
CLEAN up your PUKE?
TAKE you WHERE YOU WANT TO GO??
Buy Groceries?
PICK YOU UP, and lay you in bed?
CLEAN your BED SORES? As you cant move and change position?
CLEAN your bed, as you cant control your Bowels..
and ON AND ON, AND ON..
how long until they get a 24 hour NURSE??
Continued:
YOU REALLY want your MOTHER wiping you??
Your SISTER??
MAYBE even your FATHER??
yOU WILL WEAR A diaper THE REST OF YOUR LIFE..
You want to be LIFTED to be by a person to BED, to ANYPLACE, to be PUSHED around by someone, just to View the world. Just to goto BED.
You have lost the INDEPENDENCE an 80 year old Arthritic would have..
you are NO MORE then a Bag of potatoes that WETS itself. you are a PLASTIC DOLL, that EATS and Sh@#$#$# and gets thrown in the corner..
Isn’t this what happened in million Dollar Baby?
There are things worse than death. Yes, I have seen some of them. There are situations that if I were in, I’d much rather be dead. From what I’ve seen, there are far more older women in nursing home situations than men. Males seem far more fragile in their elder years than females. This comforts me a little. But I feel sorry for the ladies.
Smart,
YES…there are..
Iv been handicapped sence birth, and I have seen those WORSE then I.
I can Guarantee, that THOSE with an Opposite opinion, HAVENT seen it, or the suffering, or those that MUST take care of those handicapped.
Iv even asked my doctors to CUT off my legs and let me deal with it…and they WONT.
the problem comes with QUALITY of life, its is NOT quantity…
13-
Ok then let’s paralyze you so that even the most basic of human functions must be performed by another, and see how long you keep up with your fairy tale story.
I couldn’t imagine the agony of having no control over anything, unable to do even the most basic of things…what happened to him was far beyond the realm of your understanding, or mine, so don’t sit there in judgment and dare to compare it to a simple case of depression you soulless buffoon.
People have a purpose in life even without a functioning body? That’s YOUR opinion and expecting everyone to share YOUR opinion and disrespecting those who don’t tells me YOU are the one in need of a new world view.
I think #13 raises a very valid point. The relevant issue is NOT whether or not you have a functioning body but rather of not you have a valid PURPOSE IN LIFE.
What we all would really benefit from is if there was some sort of PURPOSE EVALUATION GROUPENFURE that could go around confirming just why so many abled body people live their lives with no or incorrigible purpose. These hopeless types should be given a one way ticket to Switzerland.
#27, ECA,
I understand your situation. It would be easy to tell you I’m sorry for your plight, but I only know you as some anonymous regular here and that would sound really cheap. BUT, it is because I don’t know you, have never met you, and don’t even know the severity of your situation that prevents me from passing judgment on your choices in life.
I’ve led a relatively healthy life up until just a few years ago; played sports, climbed hills and trees, took long walks with my camera, and held my babies hand as she took her first steps. I can’t put myself in your shoes. I can’t feel your frustrations or pain. The last thing I should be doing is deciding what you may, or may not, do with your body. That philosophy also applies with the young man in this story.
I wish you well my friend and hope that you find relief someway that won’t interfere with that unique insight you bring to DU.
8)