I'm Sorry, but It Was Wrong to Help Lynn Die ; in a Deeply-Felt Account, Anne Atkins -Whose Own Family has Known the Curse of Me -- Questions the Widely-Held View That Kay Gilderdale Was Justified in Hastening the End of Her Daughter's Life

Mail on Sunday › January 31, 2010

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Summary

Last summer, I was on BBC's The Big Questions with Australian Philip Nitschke, dubbed Dr Death. The day before, he had been detained for hours at Heathrow, suspected of breaking British law. He demanded the right to post information on the internet on how to kill yourself, as a service to people who feel suicidal. It wasn't until after the programme that I realised how angry I was. Twelve years earlier, aged ten, our son had been one of those he seeks to 'help'.

At the time undiagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, he was persuaded he was a freak, unable to fit in and a constant nuisance to teachers, who bullied him ceaselessly to conform.

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I'm Sorry, but It Was Wrong to Help Lynn Die ; in a Deeply-Felt Account, Anne Atkins -Whose Own Family has Known the Curse of Me -- Questions the Widely-Held View That Kay Gilderdale Was Justified in Hastening the End of Her Daughter's Life

Exhausted with trying to please, he climbed up on to the school roof and looked down. A crucial factor that kept him alive was his acknowledged ignorance - he couldn't be sure of success. If he wasn't high enough, he would simply make his life worse. Had Dr Nitschke had his way in 1997, he could have killed my brilliant, compassionate and sensitive son, now probably the happiest and most balanced - and kindest - person I know.

There cannot be anyone who has read about the desperate death of Lynn Gilderdale, and the subsequent trial of her loving mother Kay, who doesn't feel the deepest sympathy.

Aged 14, the athletic and musical Ly...

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