Editing Assisted suicide (section)

==Publicized cases==
In 2006, British doctor Anne Turner took her own life in a Zurich clinic having developed an incurable degenerative disease. Her story was reported by the BBC and later, in 2009, made into a TV film ''[[A Short Stay in Switzerland]]'' starring [[Julie Walters]].

In 2009, British conductor Sir [[Edward Downes]] and his wife Joan died together at a suicide clinic outside Zürich "under circumstances of their own choosing". Sir Edward was not terminally ill, but his wife was diagnosed with rapidly developing cancer.<ref name="CB1">{{cite web |url=http://criminalbrief.com/?p=7887 |title=YOUthanasia |vauthors=Lundin L |date=2 August 2009 |publisher=Criminal Brief |access-date=9 July 2013 |archive-date=26 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726065607/http://criminalbrief.com/?p=7887 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2010, the American PBS TV program ''[[Frontline (U.S. TV series)|Frontline]]'' showed a documentary called ''The Suicide Tourist'' which told the story of Professor Craig Ewert, his family, and [[Dignitas (euthanasia group)|Dignitas]], and his decision to die by assisted suicide using [[Pentobarbital|sodium pentobarbital]] in Switzerland after he was diagnosed and suffering with [[Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis|ALS]] (Lou Gehrig's disease).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/suicidetourist/|title=The Suicide Tourist – FRONTLINE – PBS|work=pbs.org|access-date=24 August 2017|archive-date=23 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423210547/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/suicidetourist/?utm_campaign=homepage&utm_medium=proglist&utm_source=proglist|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2011, the BBC televised the assisted suicide of Peter Smedley, a canning factory owner, who was suffering from motor neurone disease. The programme – ''[[Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die]]'' – told the story of Smedley's journey to the end where he used The Dignitas Clinic, a voluntary euthanasia clinic in Switzerland, to assist him in carrying out his suicide. The programme shows Smedley eating chocolates to counter the unpalatable taste of the liquid he drinks to end his life. Moments after drinking the liquid, Smedley begged for water, gasped for breath and became red, he then fell into a deep sleep where he snored heavily while holding his wife's hand. Minutes later, Smedley stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating.

In 2022 in Colombia Victor Escobar became the first person with a non-terminal illness to die by legally regulated euthanasia. The 60-year-old Escobar had end-stage [[chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]].<ref name="Escobar">{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/09/americas/colombia-euthanasia-intl/index.html |title=Man becomes first person in Colombia with non-terminal illness to die by legal euthanasia |date=9 January 2022 |publisher=CNN.com |access-date=9 January 2022 |archive-date=10 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110092121/https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/09/americas/colombia-euthanasia-intl/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2025 Wayne Hawkins in California invited the [[BBC]] to be present at his assisted suicide.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8rgd4yrz3eo|title=Assisted dying: California man invites BBC to witness his death|date=2 April 2025|website=BBC News}}</ref>