Sean Davison and his mother Pat. Photo supplied.
The man charged with the attempted murder of his
terminally ill mother has joined a group that promotes assisted
death and wants to start his own group in South Africa.
Sean Davison might also tour his adoptive country with a
high-profile New Zealand euthanasia campaigner before he
faces trial in the High Court in Dunedin.
Davison's bail was varied this month so he could leave the
city to be with his family in Cape Town, to return to New
Zealand for trial in the middle of next year.
Details of the application were suppressed, but Davison's
lawyer Len Anderson yesterday confirmed, when asked, it was
supported by the University of Western Cape, where Davison is
a professor.
New Zealand has no extradition treaty with South Africa, and
the university has made his return for trial a condition of
his employment.
Davison told the Otago Daily Times he would return to Dunedin
and that he wanted to contribute to seeking changes to
end-of-life laws in South Africa.
He joined the Dignity New Zealand Trust, formerly EXIT NZ,
before he left Dunedin and he wanted to set up an affiliate
organisation in South Africa, Davison said.
He was in regular contact with Dignity New Zealand founding
trustee Lesley Martin who, in 2004, was sentenced to 15
months' jail for the attempted murder of her terminally ill
mother.
Ms Martin was charged with attempted murder after writing
about the events leading to the 1999 death of her
cancer-suffering mother, Joy.
Davison was charged after writing Before We Say Goodbye and
later admitting he gave his mother, Dr Patricia Ferguson,
morphine before she died in 2006.
Davison said he admired Ms Martin's work in seeking a law
change on euthanasia in New Zealand.
"I have now joined her organisation and will seek Lesley's
assistance in starting an organisation called Dignity South
Africa, with the goal of achieving a similar law change in
South Africa."
Davison "realised that when I am old and possibly have a
terminal illness, I will have limited ability to influence
the law makers".
"I intend to contribute to the process of seeking law change
and I must do it now, while I have the strength to do so."
Ms Martin said she understood there was interest in the South
African media to pay for her and Davison to conduct a
speaking tour of the country early next year.
Assisted death was a global issue but it would be interesting
to see how it was considered in South Africa, which was used
to dealing with "hard-core" human rights issues.
Ms Martin was counselling Davison with what she learned since
being thrust into the assisted-death debate after helping her
mother at the end of her life.
She said she got similar advice a decade ago from
Australia-based Dr Philip Nitschke, the controversial
pro-euthanasia campaigner later abandoned by EXIT NZ amid
concerns over his "disturbing suicide methodologies".
stu.oldham@odt.co.nz
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