Australian quadriplegic,who won right to starve,dies

Lawyer John Hammond,who five weeks ago won a court battle allowing Rossiter to refuse food and medication,said his client had welcomed death and empowered all severely ill people who wanted to die on their own terms.

“He wanted to die and it will be some relief that he is now dead because he underwent so much pain in his final years of life,” Hammond told public broadcaster ABC.

“Rossiter set an important precedent — and that was the right of people to refuse food and medication when they saw fit,so he’s left behind an important legacy.”

In the historic ruling a court said that Rossiter,a former stockbroker and outdoor adventurer who became a quadriplegic following two separate accidents,had the right to refuse to be fed.

Western Australia’s chief judge Wayne Martin said Rossiter had the right to direct his own treatment and that his carers,Brightwater Care Group,would not be held criminally responsible for complying with his wishes. Rossiter had asked the care group at least 40 times to stop feeding and hydrating him through a tube to his stomach before he took the case to court in an effort to end his suffering.

UK looks to assisted suicide reform

LONDON: As populations around the world age,governments are increasingly being confronted with the taboo idea of dying as something people can volunteer to do. The demand for the option is growing rapidly,said Dr Philip Nitschke,61,founder and director of the pro-euthanasia group Exit International.

Calls for reform and a legal decision in July forced the government to promise to clarify the law. Draft guidelines are due this month with a final version by next spring,but Derek Humphry,former president of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies said significant changes in Britain would likely not come until after a 2010 election. Agencies