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Cat, Photoblogger ([info]cat_mcdougall) wrote in [info]unfunny_fandom,
@ 2011-06-13 11:21:00


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Current mood:Flattened

Putting this here, because it's not funny, and he's a fandom all his own
Terry Pratchett starts proceedings to end his life

Three and a half years ago, Terry Pratchett, the beloved author of the Discworld series, announced that he has early-onset Alzheimer's disease. Now he's made an even more startling announcement.

Pratchett, who has campaigned in his native United Kingdom for the right of assisted suicide, has begun the formal process of assisted suicide in Switzerland, one of the few countries in the world to legalize euthanasia. Specifically, this would take place at Dignitas, a clinic that provides qualified doctors and nurses to assist with the patients' suicides.

Dignitas has sent Pratchett the paperwork he needs to sign to begin the assisted suicide process—but he has yet to sign it.

According to The Guardian,

"The only thing stopping me [signing them] is that I have made this film and I have a bloody book to finish," he said during a question-and-answer session following a screening at the Sheffield documentary festival Doc/Fest.

He said that he decided to start the process after making the film Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die, which shows the moment of death of a motor neurone sufferer, millionaire hotel owner Peter Smedley.

Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die airs tonight in the United Kingdom, which means the end could be nigh for our literary hero. But the The Guardian wrote that "According to Dignitas, 70% of people who sign the forms do not go through with taking their own lives."

We wish Pratchett the best, no matter what his decision is.




Sir, whatever you choose, I hope it is as you choose and with the dignity you have shown in your life.



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[info]azazello
2011-06-13 10:15 pm UTC (link)
My understanding from what I read in the UK papers this weekend is that he is preparing a decision against a day when he may be incapable of making one. I got no clear impression that he intends to die shortly, just that he intends to leave with dignity and at a time of his choosing, fully aware.

I am lost in admiration for his courage and openness.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)


[info]frenzy
2011-06-13 11:15 pm UTC (link)
That's good to know. I wondered whether it was something like that, or if his condition had worsened and I'd missed hearing about it. I'm glad he's still doing well enough to make all these decisions for himself, and taking the opportunity to do so.

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]trialia
2011-07-01 08:16 pm UTC (link)
This.

(Also, if he's working on a book, this cannot be Snuff, which is due out in September, and must almost certainly be one due out next year sometime, because Snuff will already be with the publishers by now.)

(Reply to this)(Parent)


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