Andrew Denton has interviewed a lot of interesting people in his lengthy media career.
There’s Angelina Jolie, Bill Clinton, Ben Stiller, Mel Books, Cate Blanchett, Richard Dawkins, Bob Hawke, Michael Parkinson … the list of celebrities, politicians, thought game-changers and the simply fascinating touches all corners of the globe and all walks of life.
One name that doesn’t seem to fit that list is Liz.
Liz was 48, a businesswoman and dying of terminal cancer. Denton interviewed her as part of his 17 part podcast series produced in conjunction with The Wheeler Centre, Better Off Dead, that looks into the complex issue of assisted dying in Australia and asks why “good people are being forced to die bad deaths”.
“I’ve had the privilege of interviewing some great people in my career,” Denton half laughs.
“Liz is in my top ten. If life is water she was an Alka Seltzer.”
Watch Andrew Denton describe his stance on euthanasia below (post continues after video).
At the time of the interview, Liz – who has since passed away – was dying painfully and cruelly. When ‘every single door closed behind her’ she wanted to be able to save herself from unnecessary suffering. But no-one would help her die and she had to organise her death herself. It was complicated because she didn’t want to die violently and she didn’t want to risk any legal consequences for her 26-year-old son Callum or her brother. She researched the lethal and illegal drug Nembutal, bought it and spent six hours, on one of her last days, weighing it on her kitchen table and conducting tests for purity. She was forced to contemplate dying alone. She didn’t want to die alone.
Top Comments
The problem is that we have laws that regulate effective pain relief and sometimes make it unobtainable. It is cheaper to euthanase people than keep them on morphine for many years.
Why should this be so. Let them grow a few poppies on their window ledges.
(After the war Monfreid retired to a mansion in a small village in Ingrandes, France. There he played piano, wrote, painted, and quietly raised in his garden a plantation of opium poppies).
I support euthanasia but I think that some people who are dying a terrible and painful death from something like cancer may feel pressured to act sooner than they would like in order to spare their families and stop the rising costs (treating cancer is expensive).
My father died from cancer within 3 months of diagnosis. Pain medication was a problem because he didn't like the side-effects of being so out of it. It felt like a wasted day. I'm sure the combination of pain, rising medication costs (he didn't reach the threshold until nearly the end) and the worry and unhappiness his illness was causing may have weighed on my dad's mind. How would he balance his desire to not lose a day with the temptation to end it all quickly?
Moreover, what happens to people who can't give consent (eg neonates with painful, terminal
conditions)? Should euthanasia be available for them?
Finally, how do we stop politicians who wish to save a buck from promoting the idea of euthanasia?
I think these questions have solutions and I think we should have voluntary euthanasia for painful, terminal conditions. I just hope we put in some protections.