Assisted suicide: retired GP faces arrest for giving ‘final tips’ to MS sufferer – An 83-year-old retired GP (Dr Libby Wilson) expects to become the first person to be arrested since the publication of new guidelines on assisted suicide, after disclosing that she gave advice to a terminally ill academic about taking her own life.
By Matthew Moore – Telegraph
Dr Libby Wilson, a right-to-die campaigner, will be interviewed by police after revealing that she gave “final tips” to Cari Loder, a 48-year-old multiple sclerosis sufferer who killed herself at her Surrey home by inhaling helium gas ordered over the internet.
Dr Wilson is the founder of the Friends at the End (Fate) lobby group, which advises terminally people on how to commit suicide and helps arrange trips to the Swiss clinic Dignitas.
After Mrs Loder’s death in June, Dr Wilson denied helping her die but said that she “wouldn’t be surprised” to face questions over her involvement.
“I spoke to Cari many times. She just wanted to make sure she had everything in order and to ask whether I had any final tips that might help,” she said at the time.
“It’s not my business to persuade people to not commit suicide.”
Dr Wilson made the 450-mile journey from her home in Glasgow over the weekend and will spend Sunday night with family members in Surrey before her appointment at Woking police station on Monday morning.
She has been told that she faces arrest, but expects to be released on bail.
She will become the first person be detained since Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, released guidelines last week intended to clarify the law on assisted suicide.
The new rules make it less likely that people who help terminally ill patients die will face prosecution, unless they stood to gain financially.
A spokeswoman for Fate said that Dr Wilson’s arrest was expected, and said that the case showed the need for a proper debate in parliament about assisted suicide.
“She has always known that this was possible, but she is a doughty fighter and a strong individual. She won’t be losing any sleep over this.”
Two other people arrested on suspicion of helping Mrs Loder die have both been released on bail. Surrey Police declined to comment.
Dr Wilson has campaigned for a legalisation of assisted suicide for more than 30 years, and has co-written a book advising terminally ill patients how to starve and dehydrate themselves to death.
Another member of the Fate, retired GP Michael Irwin, is currently on police bail for helping a man with cancer kill himself at the Dignitas clinic.
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Tags: Science & Medical