Right-do-Die ring members due for court

This is an interesting story for anyone who believes in a person's right-to-die should they willingly choose. A ring of four members who offered services to people who wanted to die peacefully is due in court for the criminal charges they received after they'd helped a man in Georgia kill himself.

Members of an assisted suicide ring say they've done nothing wrong and seem eager for a court battle over criminal charges they helped a Georgia man kill himself, while their supporters are using the case as a rallying cry for more debate about end-of-life issues.

Four members of the Final Exit Network were arrested Wednesday on charges they violated Georgia's assisted suicide laws by helping 58-year-old John Celmer use helium and an exit bag - a plastic hood with tubing attached - to suffocate himself.

[...]

In Baltimore on Friday, Dr. Lawrence D. Egbert and Nicholas Alex Sheridan smiled and waved to supporters before asking a judge to release them on bond so they could travel to Georgia to face charges. The judge later agreed to release and their attorney said they were expected to travel to Georgia over the weekend.

What else can I say? Of course, I'm all for it, myself. A person should have a right to die just as much as they should have their inherent right to live. I'm not saying kill any depression-wracked miserable soul who comes knocking when they just need to throw away the beer bottle clutched in their hand; people with genuine reasons to cease living, when they're living in physical pain or incapacity, should be the judge to when they want their time to be up in this world. I don't count these four activists as 'heroes', but I certainly do commend their efforts and actions.

They're also being charged with 'tampering with evidence and violating anti-racketeering laws'. There're few details on this, but personally I wouldn't be surprised if this was plain fabrication to try and inculpate them out of the prosecutors' close-minded moral rights.

Anyway, best luck to them to escape jail time of course, and if anything this will hopefully spark a stronger debate that, just maybe, will result in people actually getting to choose when to end their lamentable existence on this planet.