Friday, July 9, 2010

Nitschke appears to be trolling the internet for death clients.

By Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

I was googling stories on assisted suicide when I noticed an interesting phenomenon. The first link in the search engine was the link to Philip Nitschke's suicide instruction manual. 

To make it worse, when I clicked the second group of articles the link for the suicide instruction manual was first again.

I understand how google works. Organizations and individuals can pay a fee for advertising on google or to have their product or website - come up first - in the search engine when certain words are google searched. It appears that Exit International, Nitschke's organization, must be investing serious money to have the link to Nitschke's products appear as the #1 and the #11 link on the google search engine.

I should not be surprised. Assisted suicide and euthanasia represent Nitschke's livelihood. Every online sale of his suicide manual gives Nitschke approximately $75 in his jeans. He appears to be selling thousands of his online maunuals.

Recently Barbara Coombs Lee, the leader of Compassion & Choices, wrote an article that suggested that she hoped that, internet suicide predator, William Melchert-Dinkel, will be convicted of assisted suicide in Minnesota for counseling and abetting, via the internet, at least five people to commit suicide.

One of Melchert-Dinkel's victims was Canadian Nadia Kajouji who was a first year student in Ottawa at Carlton University. Kajouji was very depressed and seeking advice for her depression when she bumped into Melchert-Dinkel who was trolling the internet looking for someone like Kajouji who was thinking of commiting suicide.

Is Philip Nitschke different than Melchert-Dinkel?

Last February I wrote about a report of 51 people in Australia who died from Nembutal use that was in the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine.





The further problem is that Nitschke craves the media attention. Everytime the media publishes a report on his antics, he gains attention that creates greater awareness of his products, and in turn he sells more suicide manuals.

Melchert-Dinkel, who was a nurse, admitted to counseling and abeting the suicide deaths of at least 5 people who were depressed, whereas Nitschke has been involved, even if indirectly, with the deaths of many people who were depressed or mentally ill.

The only real difference is that Melchert-Dinkel was motivated by wanting to watch the suicide deaths, like a voyeur, via his webcam. Nitschke appears to be motivated by the fame he has gained and the financial windfall he is making from his online sales of his suicide manuals.

Link an Australian news article on the issue:

Links to previous blog articles:

No comments: