Daniel James was spinal cord injured in March of 2007 due to a rugby accident. He became tetraplegic, with limited finger function. In September, 2008, he traveled from the UK to Switzerland to take his own life.
James' assisted suicide has launched waves of controversy throughout the world, and sparked an investigation into his parents' roles in his death. Helping a person to commit suicide is illegal in the United Kingdom, as it is in most countries. Daniel James is believed to have been the youngest UK resident to travel to Switzerland for the purpose of an assisted suicide.
While James' youth and the relatively short period between his injury and his suicide have prompted criticism and dismay from many in the disability community, Daniel's mother continues to support her son's choice. Julie James defended her son's suicide in a series of emails to the Times Online earlier this month.
"Whilst not everyone in Dan’s situation would find it as unbearable as Dan, what right does any human being have to tell any other that they have to live such a life, filled with terror, discomfort and indignity, what right does one person who chooses to live with a particular illness or disability have to tell another that that they should have to," asked Mrs. James in one email. In a second email, she states, "Our son could not have been more loved and had he felt he could live his life this way he would have been loved just the same, but this was his right as a human being. Nobody but nobody should judge him or anyone else."
However, some suspect that James did not receive optimal treatment and rehabilitation following his injury, and that this may have contributed to his feelings of hopelessness and his need for round-the-clock care. One poster on the CareCure Community forums, posting under the name "Cherry," claims to have personal experience with the clinic tasked with Daniel James' rehabilitation.
The hospital in question, Stoke Mandeville in Aylesbury, is known worldwide for having the largest spinal injuries department in the world. The facility can house 60 patients for rehabilitation purposes at one time.
What do you think? Should Daniel James' parents be prosecuted for their role in his assisted suicide? Do you have a personal experience with Stoke Mandeville to share? Should Daniel James have waited longer than 18 months after his injury to make this choice-- and did he have a right to this choice at all?
Filed under: uk, abuse, controversy, assisted suicide, rugby, switzerland, rehabilitation, dignitas, euthanasia, sporting injury, daniel james, spinal cord injury, stoke mandeville
