After Googling, here's the cached copy from Chronicle-Herald files: By IAN FAIRCLOUGH Valley Bureau | 5:36 PM RCMP say they have opened a file in the assisted suicide of a Windsor woman who died at a clinic in Switzerland. Elizabeth MacDonald died June 8 in husband Eric's arms after taking barbiturates at the Dignitas clinic. She suffered from an aggressive form of multiple sclerosis that left her in a wheelchair and had begun to paralyze her throat. AND A FOLLOW-UP from 29 June 2007: Probe sought into assisted death Group concerned Valley woman chose to die in Switzerland By LAURA FRASER | 6:34 PM ADVERTISEMENT An anti-euthanasia group has called on police to investigate the death of a Windsor-area woman. Elizabeth MacDonald died in Switzerland in June with the help of staff at Dignitas, a clinic that gives people the means to take their own lives, her husband told a Halifax newspaper. Ms. MacDonald suffered from an aggressive form of multiple sclerosis, according to her obituary. Swiss physicians can legally assist suicide as long as they do so for unselfish reasons. But the executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition said he wants to know whether any Canadian laws might have been broken. Alex Schadenberg questioned whether the person who travelled with Ms. MacDonald could be charged with assisting suicide. "When a (medical) condition is advanced it’s very likely (for someone) to need help in this act and our Criminal Code says that it wrong," he said. A companion would probably only be held criminally responsible if their actions were directly linked to the suicide itself, said Halifax lawyer Duncan Beveridge. "Travelling with somebody to Switzerland . . . may have the effect of aiding, but the question is, are they doing it for the purpose of (helping) that person commit suicide?" Mr. Beveridge said a doctor connecting a patient to "a suicide machine" and instructing them how to use it would constitute aiding or abetting, whereas acting as a travel companion to a person wishing to end his or her life would not likely qualify. Meanwhile, Mr. Schadenberg also questioned the role that the Right to Die Society of Canada played in Ms. MacDonald’s decision and whether any action should be taken against the group if it provided her with information. Again, Mr. Beveridge said he didn’t think any charges could be laid. Counselling means that a person would have to urge or encourage someone to pursue assisted suicide, he said. "Not by the longest stretch of anyone’s imagination can providing information be considered counselling." The president of the Right to Die Society agrees. "It’s pretty well-established that to provide information is not criminal," Ruth von Fuchs said. "I tend to think that, on the whole, information is pretty useful stuff and that the truth is better than myths. . . . We are well aware of what the law forbids and we do not do it." Although she doesn’t believe Ms. MacDonald was a member of the society, Ms. von Fuchs said it’s possible that they spoke on the phone. "For some people, with certain diseases, it’s very natural to fear the future," Ms. von Fuchs said. "There’s a widespread assumption that there is a duty to live . . . but life is not an obligation." (lfraser@herald.ca) Jared > Hello: > > > > Does anyone know how I can find an obit for Elizabeth MacDonald who died > June 8, 2007 in the Windsor area? > > > > I tried checking the Halifax Herald and you can only go back one week. > > > > Is there anywhere, on-line, that I can look up recent, past obits? Or, is > anyone saving them to a site on rootsweb anywhere? If so, could you > please > e-mail me the address? > > > > I would appreciate any help I can get on this. > > Thank you, > > > > Kathy. > > ---------------------------------------- > Basic List Commands: > > 1. To post to the list > Send a message to: > NOVA-SCOTIA-L@rootsweb.com > > 2. How to unsubscribe > a. List mode: Send a message to NOVA-SCOTIA-L- > request@rootsweb.com that contains only the word > unsubscribe > > b. Digest mode: Send a message to NOVA-SCOTIA-D- > request@rootsweb.com that contains only the word > unsubscribe > > 3. How to subscribe > Send an email containing only the word > subscribe > to NOVA-SCOTIA-L-request@rootsweb.com > > 4. How to change to Digest mode > a. Unsubscribe from List mode (2.a. above) > b. Subscribe to Digest mode > Send an email containing only the word > subscribe > to NOVA-SCOTIA-D-request@rootsweb.com > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > NOVA-SCOTIA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > ------------------------ Jared "Jed" Handspicker jedh@jedh.com