Euthanasia Michael Caine persuaded the doctor

Euthanasia: Michael Caine persuaded a doctor: The discussion of the assisted dying is rekindled by an unexpected side: The actor Michael Caine said in an interview that at the age of 22, he assisted euthanasia in his liver cancer patient, Maurice Joseph Micklewhite.

The event is said to have taken place in 1955, according to Caines, who is now 77 years old. The treating physicians had then given the seriously ill father Caines only about four days to live. In conversation with the radio station Classic FM said the two-time Oscar winner Caine („The Dark Knight“), that he asked a doctor if he could not overdose on his then 56-year-old father and end his illness earlier. He was then asked to come back to the hospital around midnight. When he arrived there at the time specified, his father Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, who was a convinced strict Catholic, died shortly after. Caine, who was 22 at the time, has kept the whole story for 55 years. Also to his mother, who died in 1989.

Euthanasia again in public
Thus, Caine, whose real name is Micklewhite, has again brought the euthanasia discussion back to the public. Caine is one of the most famous British actors: Through films such as the films of „God's work and the devil's contribution“ (after the novel by John Irving), „The honorary consul“ (after the eponymous book by Graham Greene) or „Hannah and her sisters“ (by Woody Allen) he has become known worldwide. This guarantees a correspondingly large publicity for the message, not only in the UK. So far, there is only one transcript of the interview with Caine Classic FM- it should be broadcast on Saturday. Active euthanasia is a criminal offense in England and on par with murder. This can be done with a conviction „Life Sentence“ be punished.

Discussion about euthanasia in Germany
In Germany, the discussion about euthanasia is fanned above all by the former Hamburg Senator of Justice Roger Kusch, who in tabloid media partly as „Dr. death“ was designated. At the beginning of the year Kusch had the euthanasia association "Die Sterbe Hilfe Deutschland e.V." in the town of Oststeinbek in Schleswig-Holstein. founded and triggered a large ambivalent media response. Active euthanasia is also punishable in Germany. In the summer of this year, a survey was conducted by the German Medical Association, according to which every third doctor in Germany could imagine providing euthanasia in certain cases. As a result, the demands were made louder to regulate laws governing the use of euthanasia in Germany more clearly. The Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg have so far been the only countries in the European Union (EU) to regulate and authorize certain aspects of euthanasia. (tf, 09.10.2010)

Also read:
Every third doctor is open to euthanasia
Palliative medicine: doctors decide on death
Ex-Justice Senator Kusch founds euthanasia e.V.

Picture credits: D. Braun