Customs clears suicide bag

By REBECCA WALSH

A voluntary euthanasia campaigner who brought the first plastic "exit bag" into New Zealand describes his endeavour as a watershed for people wanting to achieve a dignified exit.

Jack Jones, spokesman for the Voluntary Euthanasia Society (Auckland), arrived from Sydney yesterday happy that the bag - launched by Australian euthanasia advocate Dr Philip Nitschke in August - had been cleared by Customs.

Made of "robust" plastic, the bag has a velcro strapping device to tie it shut. It is vacuum packed and comes with a warning, "Do not put this bag over your head. It could kill you."

Said Mr Jones: "The person who wishes to end their own life does not want to botch the attempt ...

"I believe today is a watershed in that these simple items are now clearly legally available to citizens to achieve a dignified exit in the absence of proper legislation."

Mr Jones said the bag, obtained from Dr Nitschke, was his property and he had no intention of giving it to anyone else.

"It is my own personal insurance policy."

The society would work with Dr Nitschke on establishing a protocol for its members to import the bags.

It was likely they would have to fill out an application form and provide proof of their membership.

They would also be required to sign a disclaimer that the bag was for their own use, would not be passed to a third party, that they had no immediate intention of committing suicide and were not in a depressive state.

Customs spokeswoman Janice Rodenburg said plastic bags were not prohibited imports and there was no reason they would not be allowed into the country.

The Rev Michael McCabe, director of the Catholic Bio-Ethics Centre, said the bags did not empower the terminally ill but abandoned them.