David Moor (1947–2000) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

general practitioner who was prosecuted in 1999 for the

euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

of a patient. He was found not guilty but admitted in a press interview to having helped up to 300 people to die. He was the first doctor in Britain to be tried solely for the mercy killing of a patient.

Career

Moor worked as a GP in Stamfordham,

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

, but retired just before his trial in 1999.

George Liddell

George Liddell was an 85-year-old ex-ambulance driver and a widower, who had cancer of the bowel. An operation was done to remove part of his bowel, but there was still some cancerous tissue left in surrounding fatty tissue and the

liver The liver is a major Organ (anatomy), organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for ...

. Liddell was sent home by the hospital to live with his daughter, and be treated by Moor and a team of nurses. The patient's condition deteriorated and he became depressed and appeared to be in significant pain. Moor prescribed 5 mg of

diamorphine Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brown ...

(heroin) to be taken at intervals, but this had to be doubled when the pain got worse. It was agreed by his carers he was "

terminally ill Terminal illness or end-stage disease is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer, dementia or advanced he ...

". It was agreed to send Liddell to a

hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by ...

. Moor set the diamorphine level at a rate of 30 mg per 24-hours by means of a

syringe driver A syringe driver, also known as a syringe pump, is a small infusion pump, used to gradually administer small amounts of fluid (with or without medication) to a patient or for use in chemical and biomedical research. Some syringe drivers can both ...

. Liddell's breathing got worse and on 19 July 1997 Moor gave him an injection of diamorphine and

chlorpromazine Chlorpromazine (CPZ), marketed under the brand names Thorazine and Largactil among others, is an antipsychotic medication. It is primarily used to treat psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. Other uses include the treatment of bipolar dis ...

. Within about 20 minutes Liddell was dead. The case would have gone unnoticed, but when ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' published an article by Michael Irwin on euthanasia, a journalist

Rachel Ellis Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...

asked Moor his opinion on the subject. Moor said that he had given many patients

overdose A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended.

s of diamorphine, a comment he repeated in an interview on television. In particular, his statement that "This week I helped two patients on the way to a pain-free release from their painful agony and suffering" and that he had perhaps helped 10 patients per year for 30 years attracted considerable media attention. One newspaper called Moor "Britain's greatest

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

" and referred to him as "Doctor Death".

Trial

The trial, presided over by Mr Justice Hooper, took place at

Newcastle Crown Court Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England * Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastl ...

on 4 April 1999 and concluded on 11 May 1999. It was prosecuted by James Goss QC and Moor was defended by Anthony Arlidge QC. One key turning point in the case was the exclusion of

toxicological Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating expos ...

evidence regarding the amount of diamorphine given, calling into question whether the final injection had in fact caused death.'All I tried to do was relieve his agony, his distress and suffering' , UK news , The Guardian
/ref> The jury took 65 minutes to find Moor not guilty. Mr Justice Hooper awarded the defence team only two-thirds of their costs, because Moor had brought the prosecution on himself by "very silly remarks to the press" and by lying to the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

and the police.

Reaction

Michael Wilks Michael Wilks (born 14 December 1973) is a former Australian international lawn bowler. Bowls career Wilks made his Australian debut in 2003 and won the silver medal in the fours at the 2004 World Outdoor Bowls Championship. He won two medal ...

, chairman of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association's headquar ...

's ethics committee, said after the trial that guidelines for doctors were insufficiently clear: "We are no further along the road towards any change in the law on euthanasia ..This case just tells us that doctors who take the law into their own hands, who intend to kill their patients, as it was originally thought that Dr Moor had, are likely to be prosecuted." Broadcaster

Ludovic Kennedy Sir Ludovic Henry Coverley Kennedy (3 November 191918 October 2009) was a Scottish journalist, broadcaster, humanist and author best known for re-examining cases such as the Lindbergh kidnapping and the murder convictions of Timothy Evans and ...

said: "Dr Moor should never have been tried - the whole trial was a complete waste of time and money ..He was only doing what hundreds and hundreds of doctors do in this country every year. The sooner the law is changed to allow doctors to legally help people on their way, the better."BBC News , Health , Medics review 'doctor-assisted suicide'
/ref>

References

External links

A detailed analysis of Euthanasia and the case of Dr MoorBBC report of the caseBritish Medical Journal analysis of the case's ramifications for the legal profession
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moor (doctor), David 1947 births 2000 deaths 20th-century English medical doctors Euthanasia activists Euthanasia doctors People from Stamfordham