“Dr Death” Philip Nitschke is dangerous and should not be welcome in Britain

Dr Philip Nitschke, the Australian euthanasia “activist”, has been visiting Britain again. Dr Nitschke, director of Exit International, an international pro-assisted suicide campaign group, has just given the final “workshop” of his current tour, in York. Philip Nitschke is an extreme advocate of assisted suicide, arguing that almost everyone - not just the terminally ill, the seriously disabled or those in great pain - should have the legal right to die. When challenged about the suspicion that his suicide advocacy was contributing to the suicides of young people, Dr Nitschke's reply was to the effect that it was a price worth paying if it meant that he was able to carry on obsessively spreading his pro-death views.

Numerous groups have criticised Dr Nitschke and spoken out against his extremism. Even some of those on his own side of the debate have sought to distance themselves from him. We're glad that his time in the UK is at an end, but we wonder why  he was even allowed to enter the UK in the first place, given that he seeks to advise people to break the law (on a previous visit he was questioned by police).

The authorities must continue to make sure that the law preventing assisted suicide is enforced properly and fairly. It is essential that we maintain the absolute prohibition on intentional killing; for the protection of the vulnerable, the promotion of good medicine, and the common good.