Nancy Crick (1932 – 21 May 2002) was an Australian woman who committed suicide by drinking a solution of
Nembutal
Pentobarbital (previously known as pentobarbitone in Britain and Australia) is a short-acting barbiturate typically used as a sedative, a preanesthetic, and to control convulsions in emergencies. It can also be used for short-term treatment of i ...
, while surrounded by 21 voluntary euthanasia supporters and family. Nancy was supported in her decision by
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 ...
activist Dr.
Philip Nitschke
Philip Haig Nitschke (; born 8 August 1947) is an Australian humanist, author, former physician, and founder and director of the pro-euthanasia group Exit International. He campaigned successfully to have a legal euthanasia law passed in Austra ...
. Nancy's death became highly politicised after her autopsy results were leaked to the media. This was because the autopsy showed that at that the time of her death, Nancy was 'cancer free' but had an inoperable bowel condition that may have been the cause of her suicide-inducing pain.
Critics of her actions seized on this fact, equating 'cancer free' with being 'well'. This was not the case for Nancy. After her cancer surgeries, Nancy found herself with extensive adhesions from the surgery. Adhesions are well known for making a patient's quality of life worse after surgery than before. Critics argue that Nancy Crick committed suicide even though, technically, she had no sign of the bowel cancer. The autopsy makes reference to extremely densely bound adhesions of her large and small bowel.
Dr Nitschke said the scar tissue from previous cancer surgery had caused her suffering. "She didn't actually want to die when she had cancer. She wanted to die after she had cancer treatment," he said.
In an interview with the newspaper, 'The Australian', two months before her death, Nancy was quoted as saying: "I don't know what I've got and they don't know what I've got, but whatever it is, it's bloody well there. And they can't find it with their operations and in the end, it comes down to quality of life and I've got none of that now." Nancy Crick committed suicide after she decided that her quality of life post-'successful' cancer surgery was unacceptable to her. She said she was in "too much pain".
According to her Internet diary at nancycrick.com (now defunct), Nancy spent most of her time on the toilet.
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
newspaper ''
The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'' commented: "What she says she does in there is neither dignified nor pleasant. For these reasons, we can understand why she's had enough".
Her death
Nancy died after drinking a 100ml solution of the drug,
Nembutal
Pentobarbital (previously known as pentobarbitone in Britain and Australia) is a short-acting barbiturate typically used as a sedative, a preanesthetic, and to control convulsions in emergencies. It can also be used for short-term treatment of i ...
. She was surrounded by twenty-one family and friends. One of the reasons why so many people were present at her death was to frustrate any prosecutor who might be tempted to lay charges against the observers for assisting with her suicide. Nancy felt strongly that she did not want to die alone. She resented the legal risk that her children might face should they have sat with her when she died. To protect them, Nancy invited supporters from the voluntary euthanasia group, ''
Exit International
Exit International is an international non-profit organisation advocating legalisation of voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide. It was previously known as the ''Voluntary Euthanasia Research Foundation'' (VERF Inc.).
Exit International ...
'', to be with her.
The support network ''"Nancy's Friends"'' was established by ''Exit International'' in 2005 in her memory. ''Nancy's Friends'' is a network of trained volunteers who provide support and friendship to people considering their end of life decisions.
Nancy is buried alongside her husband, James, in the Pimpama Uniting Church Cemetery at the
Gold Coast
Gold Coast may refer to:
Places Africa
* Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana:
** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642)
** Dutch G ...
.
The story of her death was covered extensively in ''Killing Me Softly: Voluntary Euthanasia and the Road to the Peaceful Pill'' by P. Nitschke & F Stewart, Penguin, Sydney, 2005).
References
External links
Transcript of Nancy Crick videoat the
Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crick, Nancy
1932 births
2002 deaths
Deaths by euthanasia
Drug-related deaths in Australia