Assisted-Dying Blog

Derek Humphry, author of the bestselling book ‘Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying‘ has issued a denial of a story by an Oklahoma tv and radio station that his book describes how to kill oneself by the so-called ‘detergent suicide’ method.
Newson6 Mobile (Newson6.com) claimed in a story — also distributed by Google Alerts — that this book has a detailed description of this method and is causing more suicides.
A medical examiner, Amy Elliott, is reported as saying, relevant to a local woman found dead in her car from the use of a mixture of hazardous chemicals, that she used the method: “It [Final Exit] just tells them step-by-step how to carry out this process.”
Humphry, the founder of the Hemlock Society USA, replied that the method is not mentioned in his book, which has been on sale for 22 years. It is published by Random House and was a New York Times bestseller for 18 weeks.
“My book describes safe and non-violent ways in which, either by using prescription drugs or helium gas, a terminally-ill person who is not mentally ill can bring their suffering to an end if they wish,” he said.
“No right-to-die group in the world supports this awful chemical way of dying, which originated in Japan and spread via the internet. Also, it is extremely dangerous to people who might discover the body.”

Tags: Assisted Suicide, choice in dying, Derek Humphry, Detergent suicide, Euthanasia, Final Exit, Self-Deliverance