死亡的權利:英國老婦絕食自殺稱"自己沒有選擇"

An elderly woman has starved herself to death to get around the UK's tight and restrictive laws on assisted suicide.

一老年婦女通過絕食自殺的方式來回應英國約束性越來越強的協助自殺法律。

Octogenarian Jean Davies, who is also a right- to- die campaigner, spent five weeks attempting to end her life and succeeded in doing so on 1 October.

Octogenarian Jean Davies是一名支持死亡權力的女性。她花了五週的時間試圖結束自己的生命，並在10月1號的時候真的去世了。

The former maths teacher, 86, did not have a terminal illness, but suffered a range of conditions that made her life un comfortable including chronic back pain and fainting episodes.

這名86歲的前數學老師並沒有得絕症，但是時常受着慢性背痛和頭暈的折磨。

She told the Sunday Times: “It is hell. I can't tell you how hard it is. You wouldn't decide this unless you thought your life was going to be so bad. It is in tolerable.”

她告訴週日時報說：“太難受了，我簡直沒辦法描繪這種感覺。如果不是覺得這太糟糕了你是不會做這樣的決定的。太難以忍受了。”

It is under stood that she stopped drinking water on 16 September and was frustrated that her death wasn't days after, but two weeks.

她從9月16號開始不再喝水，但她並沒有立即死去，而是直到兩週後才真正離世。

Ms Davies' four children and two grand children were reportedly supportive of her decision.

據報道她的四個孩子以及兩個孫兒都很支持她的決定。

She told the paper that she had no alternative as the other methods are “either illegal or I would need to go to the Dignitas clinic in] Switzerland – and I want to die in my own bed”.

她告訴報紙說她毫無他法因爲其他的方法都“要麼違法要麼就得去瑞士-但是我想死在我自己的牀上。”

Earlier this month Australian doctor Philip Nits chke opened a clinic in the U K to help advise people on how to end their lives.

月初，澳大利亞醫生Philip Nitschke在英國開了一家診所來幫助並建議人們如何結束生命。

He told The Independent at the time: "It is easier to prepare for death now. That is the message Exit International has been promoting and why it is so important to have an office in London."

他告訴獨立報說：“現在準備（死）要更容易些了。這是Exit International一直倡導的，也是爲什麼要在倫敦開個公司的重要原因。”

"We encourage people not to wait around until they are seriously ill before coming to see us."

“我們鼓勵人們不要等到病的不行了纔來找我們。”

Sarah Woot ton, Chief Executive of Dignity in Dying, campaigners seeking a change in the law on assisted dying for terminally ill adults, said: "Assuming Exit International's intention is to provide potentially vulnerable people information on how to die then it is both unwelcome and potentially very dangerous."

安樂死公司的CEO Sarah Wootton也試圖能夠讓法律進行修改，爲成年末期病患者提供協助自殺。他說：“如果Exit International的意圖是爲脆弱的人提供死亡的信息，那麼這是不能被接受的也是很危險的做法。”