By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
After winning the right to end his life, an Australian quadriplegic says he could still be dissuaded from killing himself.
According to WAToday.com.au, West Australian Chief Justice Wayne Martin ruled on Friday that Christian Rossiter, a 49 year old quadriplegic from Perth, could have his feeding tube removed, allowing him to be starved and dehydrated to death.
Mr. Rossiter lost all body movement after he was hit by a car in 2004 and suffered two falls in 2008 which led to spastic quadriplegia, a condition that renders both the upper and lower body incapable of motion or sensation. Mr. Rossiter attended the court proceedings in his wheelchair, accompanied by a nurse.
Justice Martin ultimately ruled it would be unlawful to continue feeding Mr. Rossiter against his wishes if he had been informed of the consequences of ceasing nutrition and fluids. He also said it was his task to simply apply the law to the case, saying it was not about euthanasia or the right to life, but about Mr. Rossiter’s right to make his own decisions.
Mr. Rossiter describes his life as a “living hell” and said he’s not afraid to carry out his wish to die. “I’m a rock climber, I used to climb Table Mountain, I’ve climbed Yosemite (in the US),” he told reporters.
“I walked up after and stared down a 3000-foot vertical wall. My father was an airline captain and I flew aircraft … I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps, but he discouraged me because he thought aviation was not a safe employer.”
About the court’s decision, he said, “I’m happy that I won my right to die, and (have) no sustenance and no water,” he said. “The judge was so benevolent that he considered those, that he set a legal precedent in Australian law. That similar quadriplegics can choose whether they want to live.”
However, he intends to seek further medical advice from an experienced palliative care doctor before deciding to end his life and admits that there’s still a chance he’ll change his mind.
“I want to end my life, but after I speak to a medical professional,” Mr Rossiter said. “He could dissuade me. I have to seek advice. There’s a possibility I could still be dissuaded.”
But ultimately, it will be his decision, he says. “I’m a religious man, I say the Lord’s Prayer, I pray for world peace and the dolphins and the whales.”
He also admits that he’s unsure if he’s destined for heaven. “I wonder about heaven,” he said.
Should he decide to end his life, his lawyer made known his wish to be given painkillers that will make him drowsy and to watch TV while he waited to die.
“ . . . I would like to be made drowsy in my final moments so the time would pass more quickly,” the statement said. “And I would like to watch Foxtel on the television to pass the time.”
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