In a remarkable front page story, the London Times has an excellent article on why assisted suicide should be legal in any rational country, as it is in Oregon and apparently Switzerland. The story is called Why a retired GP chose to end her life seven years before time and it shows how a determined lucid retired physician from the UK made the right choice for herself, but was forced to travel far from home to do so. Luckily her children supported her through the process, and they present a united front to those who’d interfere in the rights of those who want to make this choice. She wrote more than 100 letters explaining her actions.

On a personal note, my own grandmother made a similar choice and committed suicide when she felt the infirmities of her old age was making her life unbearable. She wrote me a loving letter that I received after her death, but unfortunately society wasn’t ready then to allow her to do it in a more public way, or to let us know it was coming. I wish that I’d had the opportunity with her that the GP’s children had with their mother.