UK TV Broadcasts an Assisted Suicide

A documentary that aired on Sky TV last night showed an assisted suicide, stirring up a major debate in Britain about the right to die and the responsibility of television programmers, the Independent reports. Craig Ewert, 59, who suffered from motor neuron disease, traveled to a Swiss clinic, drank a lethal cocktail, and died with his wife at his side. Assisted suicide is illegal in the UK, and PM Gordon Brown opposes it.

"I think it is very important that these issues are dealt with sensitively and without sensationalism and I hope broadcasters remember that they have a wider responsibility to the general public," said Brown. "We believe that there is a role for television to inform public debate about even the most challenging subjects," responded the head of the network.
(More assisted suicide stories.)