Not surprised to learn that Dr Philip Nitschke is in hot water again over his passionate crusade for the right to die "with dignity". (I always think that phrase is kinda weird in and of itself, don't you?  Death is many things, but dignified is not one of them. I mean, how many humans live with dignity, let alone die with it?)

This latest scandal involves a Perth man called Nigel Brayley. In a dark space for various reasons, but certainly not terminally ill, he asked for Nitschke's assistance. The doc gave him what he wanted, yet didn't refer him to a shrink. I heard the euthenasia advocate defending his position on the wireless this morning. His whole position creeped me out big time.

It's not just the details of this case that are unsettling. It's the man's whole attitude to, er, life. He really seems to be the ultimate hypocrite. He's like the Al Gores of the world -- those grotesque greenies who jet about the globe leaving humungous carbon footprints as they lecture everyone else on how to severely decrease theirs. But he's even creepier because he finds meaning in life in helping people end theirs. And he doesn't just help when asked, he actively endorses euthanasia.

And this case shows that the parameters within which he sees that as acceptable are alarmingly wide. I mean, you can certainly understand why someone who's gonna cark anyway and is in constant severe pain would want to end it all. And you can see the sense in that. But a middle aged guy who's going through a blue patch? No way. It's as if Nitschke sees death as a solution to a lot of life's problems. Makes you wonder where he would actually draw the line ... 

That's the problem with people like him. If they get the law changed in their favour the line shifts big time. What was previously deemed beyond the pale eventually becomes commonplace and acceptable. Call me old fashioned, but I think that would be a very bad thing. Life, no matter how much of a struggle it is, should always be valued over death.