Many readers of this blog are probably already aware that the Final Exit Network (FEN) has put up a promotional billboard in San Francisco. The group promises to erect more in New Jersey and Florida.
There hasn’t been a great deal of attention paid to the group and the billboard as of yet, but what little there is shows clearly the advantage FEN has in managing the information about themselves, as can be seen in this SFGate blog entry:
According to its site, FEN provides support, information and counseling, and doesn’t physically help people end their lives. But authorities believe the group played an active role in the death of a cancer-stricken man in Georgia and have charged four network members with assisted suicide, evidence-tampering and racketeering, reports Time. They were indicted by a grand jury in April.
Interestingly, the blog links to a story in the last sentence of this paragraph that gives a lot more detail – and contradicts the claims made by FEN that are otherwise unchallenged in this report. Here’s an excerpt from the MSNBC article in the link above, referring to two of the defendants in the Georgia case, Thomas Goodwin and Clair Blehr:
Goodwin and Blehr were with Celmer when he died, each holding one of his hands, according to court records. Afterward, investigators said they removed a helium tank and hood Celmer wore to help him suffocate. Investigators say Egbert and Sheridan evaluated him before his death and gave the OK for his suicide.
FEN members also cleaned up the scene, removing the helium tank, plastic hood, etc. As for “holding” hands, the allegations of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are stronger than that:
The death had been planned for months, authorities say. Two helium tanks were purchased, along with an “exit bag,” or hood to be placed over the suicidal man’s head.
Thomas “Ted” Goodwin, 63, formerly of Kennesaw, and Claire Blehr, 76, of Atlanta, would observe the death of the man they were told suffered from pancreatic cancer. In truth, the man was a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent conducting a sting operation at a residence in Dawson County.
On Wednesday, authorities say, Goodwin walked the undercover agent through the steps that would have killed him. He demonstrated how he would hold down the undercover agent’s hands to prohibit him from removing the “exit bag.” (Emphasis added.)
I’ll be writing more about FEN, and some reactions (past and present) from different parties and what it can tell us about the broader “right to die” movement. I think we’re getting to the point where groups like “Conflation & Con Jobs” AKA “Compassion and Choices” can’t accuse us of being fearmongers when we accuse their movement of following “incrementalist” or “slippery slope” strategies. –Stephen Drake
These people are murderers. How much clearer can it be?