Many, like me, were shocked when the news came out of South Africa on 19 September that the President of
the World Federation of Right to Die Societies, Professor Sean Davison, had been arrested for the murder of his friend, 43-year old former doctor, Anrich Burger. Dr Burger became a quadriplegic after an accident in 2005. He died in November 2013.
A New Zealander by birth, South African by country of residence, Professor Davison came to public prominence in 2010 after he pleaded guilty for helping his terminally ill mother Pat, also a former medical doctor, to end her life in New Zealand.
Sean Davison had earlier admitted to helping Dr Burger to end his life but maintained that he had not broken South African laws.
In the media, Professor Davison was quoted as saying that Dr Burger had organized his own lethal drugs and had repeatedly stated very clearly that he wanted to die.
