UK Euthanasia Campaigner in Will Appeal

UK euthanasia campaigner in will appeal - Oct. 13 2007

EUTHANASIA campaigner Bill Starr is urging people across the area to write an Advanced Decision will Bill is currently fighting to end the life of his wife Maureen-Anne (63) — who suffers from Alzheimer's and lives at Kirkby's Lowmoor Nursing Home — and has been banned by care home and council officials from feeding his wife or visiting her without permission after threatening to kill her.

An Advanced Decision will, formerly known as a Living Will, was made a legal document [in England] on 1st October under the 2005 Mental Capacity Act and allows people to state their wishes and how they are treated if they become mentally incompetent.

Bill told Chad it was vital residents made their wishes known before it was too late, saying: "If I had been more aware I would have made a will like this with my wife, but it all happened so quickly. You think it will never happen to you but it can do, and it's so important people make an Advanced Decision will so they do not have to go through the pain."

He has been backed by London organisation Dignity in Dying, which is currently campaigning to make assisted death legal in Britain.

Said a spokesman: "We totally sympathise with Bill and what he and his wife, Maureen-Anne, are going through. We understand why Bill is campaigning to be able to end his wife's suffering by assisting her suicide.

"Since the Mental Capacity Act came into force, we have been trying to encourage people to make advance decisions, to protect them and their families if they should be placed in a situation similar to Maureen-Anne's."

By Stephen Thirkill
Chad.co.uk