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US woman files suit to end her own life
Source: Agencies |
December 20, 2010, Monday
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LIVING with a fatal degenerative disease, Susan Caldwell relied heavily on the support of a Georgia-based right-to-die group in the United States. She tried to kill herself in 2008 by strapping on a helium-filled hood, and just knowing the group - the Final Exit Network - was there for her gave her peace of mind.
Then, the organization went on hiatus in Georgia when four group members were charged with assisted suicide. Awash with anxiety, the 43-year-old Caldwell filed a lawsuit last week asking a federal judge to let the group assign her an "exit guide" who could hold her hand and guide her through her final hours if the pain of living becomes unbearable.
"It is not the illness I fear, it is the suffering it causes," she said. "Final Exit Network provided relief and compassion to people like me."
She claims in the lawsuit that the state's assisted suicide law is unconstitutional. She contends it violates her free speech rights as it blocks her from seeking help of right-to-die groups.
Caldwell has Huntington's disease, a genetic disorder that usually leads to dementia, difficulty speaking and involuntary movements. The disease, which afflicts an estimated 30,000 people in the US, is passed from parent to child. There is no cure. Most people die about 15 to 20 years after developing symptoms.
Caldwell's grandfather and uncle had it. Her mother grew so fearful in 1985 that her children would develop it that she shot and killed Caldwell's brother, 19, and then tried to shoot Susan, who was then 18, but missed.
Caldwell's mother Glenda was sentenced to life in prison, and was diagnosed with the disease while in jail. She was released after a retrial found her not guilty by reason of insanity.
Glenda Caldwell died in 2001 and a year later, Susan Caldwell was diagnosed. By August 2008, she said she was so concerned her extended family would be burdened by her for years that she attached a helium tank to a hood and tried to kill herself.
The Final Exit Network's members have bristled at prosecutors' use of the term assisted suicide, saying they don't actively aid suicides but rather support and guide those who decide to end their lives.
Critics say the group sends a dangerous message to society.
Then, the organization went on hiatus in Georgia when four group members were charged with assisted suicide. Awash with anxiety, the 43-year-old Caldwell filed a lawsuit last week asking a federal judge to let the group assign her an "exit guide" who could hold her hand and guide her through her final hours if the pain of living becomes unbearable.
"It is not the illness I fear, it is the suffering it causes," she said. "Final Exit Network provided relief and compassion to people like me."
She claims in the lawsuit that the state's assisted suicide law is unconstitutional. She contends it violates her free speech rights as it blocks her from seeking help of right-to-die groups.
Caldwell has Huntington's disease, a genetic disorder that usually leads to dementia, difficulty speaking and involuntary movements. The disease, which afflicts an estimated 30,000 people in the US, is passed from parent to child. There is no cure. Most people die about 15 to 20 years after developing symptoms.
Caldwell's grandfather and uncle had it. Her mother grew so fearful in 1985 that her children would develop it that she shot and killed Caldwell's brother, 19, and then tried to shoot Susan, who was then 18, but missed.
Caldwell's mother Glenda was sentenced to life in prison, and was diagnosed with the disease while in jail. She was released after a retrial found her not guilty by reason of insanity.
Glenda Caldwell died in 2001 and a year later, Susan Caldwell was diagnosed. By August 2008, she said she was so concerned her extended family would be burdened by her for years that she attached a helium tank to a hood and tried to kill herself.
The Final Exit Network's members have bristled at prosecutors' use of the term assisted suicide, saying they don't actively aid suicides but rather support and guide those who decide to end their lives.
Critics say the group sends a dangerous message to society.
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