Man Cancels Own Assisted Suicide to Fight for Others' Right to Die

A 26-year-old man with Charcot-Marie-Tooth, a painful neurological disease, says he's canceled his plans to commit assisted suicide so that he can speak out for the right of others to die at the time and place of their choosing. When the Georgia Bureau of Investigations effectively shut down the Final Exit Network, a group that had been helping Kurt Perry plan his assisted suicide, Perry says he found a reason to live.

"I felt I've got to speak out about this," Perry told the Associated Press. "I just feel that this is a huge setback for the rights of many to pursue the right to die."

Perry had planned to kill himself on February 26, 2009. Less than 24 hours before the 26-year-old man's scheduled "exit," an undercover sting resulted in the arrest of four Final Exit Network volunteers and the effective paralysis of the group's efforts. When Kurt learned that his Final Exit Network guides would not be able to observe his suicide, he elected not to kill himself without the guides' assistance.

"I want to do everything I can to support the right-to-die movement," Perry told the Chicago Tribune. "I'm going to wait." He expressed hope that the four guides would be cleared of all charges and permitted to begin attending exits again.

Perry's condition, Charcot-Marie Tooth, or CMT, is incurable but usually not life-threatening, and does not affect brain function. In Perry's case, symptoms including pain, muscle weakness, and difficulty breathing motivated him to seek assisted suicide.

What do you think? Should the Final Exit Network be permitted to provide assisted suicides? Do you think that Perry made an informed choice in deciding to pursue assisted suicide? Is a non-terminal condition ever grounds for assisted suicide? Are there any grounds for assisted suicide?

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