This guideline provides all the information needed for self - determined dying by helium resp. noble gases. In addition to basic information, there are tips on obtaining all the items needed (a "buyers guide" is included) and detailed information about the technical construction will be given. It is an updated and expanded edition of the chapter "Helium" of the 2017 published manual "Self-determined Dying - Manual for a Rational Suicide" by J. Dueber

The use of plastic bags in combination with sleeping pills for self-determined dying is a method that has been known and used for a long time, but has fallen somewhat into oblivion due to the increasing popularity of the so-called helium method. The method "plastic bag and sleeping pills" is comparatively easy to carry out and does not require much effort to obtain the necessary equipment. Nevertheless, there are frequent reports of failed attempts and sometimes incorrect reports regarding the way it works. There are some details which are of great importance for a successful implementation. This publication provides a comprehensive description of the underlying principle and shows which points should be remembered for the success of self-determined dying with the "plastic bag and sleeping pills" method.

Recently, I have received more frequent inquiries regarding the correct execution of a suicide by means of compression of the carotid arteries. While looking through the available literature on this method, I came across not only quite comprehensive explanations, but also instructions that propagate the method without going into the underlying pathophysiological aspects and the resulting necessities for practical implementation. For some people this might be enough - I want to express this without criticism, because it is my concern not to complicate methods for rational suicide by unnecessary theoretical explanations. However, I believe that more comprehensive information on the basics and on the practical implementation is needed to seriously address the question of whether interrupting the oxygen supply by compressing the carotid arteries is a suitable method for a painless and peaceful, self-determined death. This little book is therefore intended to provide interested parties with an opportunity to gain an overview of the "Carotid Artery" method, as I would like to call it here. The paper contains basic information on the principle of the method and its practical implementation, deals with possible sources of error and presents some options that could make the method safer and more reliable.

Jessica Düber Self-Determined Dying with Poisonous Plants - The Yew Using poisonous plants to induce death is an option that has not had a good reputation in the euthanasia literature of recent years. The actual active ingredient content of the plant is often too uncertain, the effects too incalculable, and the death, often experienced while fully conscious, too agonizing. And indeed, the symptoms caused by herbal poisoning that precede death do not sound pleasant in any case. Thus, in my work so far, I have also focused on the currently "modern" methods - besides inducing hypoxia through various approaches, these are mainly methods in which drugs are taken in severe overdose. However, the "perfect dying pill" does not exist or is not available for people willing to die - due to lack of political will (e.g., pentobarbital, which in high doses leads to a peaceful sleep followed by a peaceful death and which is also used for rapid and painless euthanasia of non-human animals). Thus, in methods that induce death by drug overdose, one usually uses a combination of different agents. Again, it is often the case that the lethal agent alone would result in a very unpleasant death and therefore must be combined with a strong sleeping agent so that the dying process is not consciously experienced. To be able to use poisonous plants for self-determined dying, they should also be combined with additional substances (antiemetics, and strong sleeping pills). With this premise in mind, I looked at poisonous plants and examined their potential uses for suicide.The great advantage of herbal poisons is that they are very easy to obtain and we cannot be denied access to them. In the use of pharmaceuticals, we depend on availability in pharmacies, on the black market, or just liberal legislation. With sufficient knowledge about the possibilities of nature, on the other hand, no one will be able to restrict us in our self-determination. Therefore, I would like to introduce the yew tree in this little booklet.

First published in the US in 1991 by the Hemlock Society, it discusses the practicalities of suicide and assisted suicide for those terminally ill, and is intended to inform mature adults suffering from a terminal illness. It also gives guidance to those who may support the option of suicide under those circumstances. The Australian edition was prepared by Dr Helga Kuhse. The author is a US journalist who has written or co-authored books on civil liberties, racial integration and euthanasia and is a past president of the World Federation of Right to Die societies. Sales of the book are category one restricted: not available to persons under 18.

The author recounts his more than 6,500-mile journey across America, during which he visited the sites of famous rock star deaths and experienced philosophical changes of perspective.

Suicidal Thoughts is a compilation of some of the most moving and insightful writing accomplished on the topic of suicide. It presents the thoughts and experiences of fifteen writers who have contemplated suicide-some on a professional level, others on a personal level, and a few, both personally and professionally. Through this collection, the reader is able to bear witness to the struggle between life and death and to the devastating aftermath of suicide. Suicidal Thoughts provides readers with a better understanding of the reasons why some individuals give serious consideration to killing themselves.

iEaseful Death/i sets out in straightforward terms the main arguments both for and against the legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia. The legal choices confronting those caring for the terminally ill, and indeed those patients themselves who may be facing intolerable suffering towards the end of their lives, have been the cause of fierce public debate in recent years. The book takes as its starting point attempts in Britain and other countries to bring compassion into the rules governing the end of a patient's life. Drawing on experience in the Netherlands, Belgium, and the US state of Oregon, where either assisted dying or euthanasia have been legalized, the authors explore the philosophical and ethical views on both sides of the debate, and examine how different legislative proposals would affect different members of society, from the very young to the very old. They describe the practical, medical processes of palliative care, self-denial of food and water, and assisted dying and euthanasia, and ultimately conclude that the public is ready to embrace a more compassionate approach to assisted dying. This sensitive and authoritative short volume is informed throughout by a strong sense that, whatever the results of the legislative argument, compassion for one another must be both the guide and the restraint upon the way we treat people who are dying or who want to die.

An engrossing memoir-meets-investigative report that takes a fresh, frank look at how we treat depression Depression is a havoc-wreaking illness that masquerades as personal failing and hijacks your life. After a major suicide attempt in her early twenties, Anna Mehler Paperny resolved to put her reporter’s skills to use to get to know her enemy, setting off on a journey to understand her condition, the dizzying array of medical treatments on offer, and a medical profession in search of answers. Charting the way depression wrecks so many lives, she maps competing schools of therapy, pharmacology, cutting-edge medicine, the pill-popping pitfalls of long-term treatment, the glaring unknowns and the institutional shortcomings that both patients and practitioners are up against. She interviews leading medical experts across the US and Canada, from psychiatrists to neurologists, brain-mapping pioneers to family practitioners, and others dabbling in strange hypotheses—and shares compassionate conversations with fellow sufferers. Hello I Want to Die Please Fix Me tracks Anna’s quest for knowledge and her desire to get well. Impeccably reported, it is a profoundly compelling story about the human spirit and the myriad ways we treat (and fail to treat) the disease that accounts for more years swallowed up by disability than any other in the world.

Physician-Assisted Death is the eleventh volume of Biomedical Ethics Reviews. We, the editors, are pleased with the response to the series over the years and, as a result, are happy to continue into a second decade with the same general purpose and zeal. As in the past, contributors to projected volumes have been asked to summarize the nature of the literature, the prevailing attitudes and arguments, and then to advance the discussion in some way by staking out and arguing forcefully for some basic position on the topic targeted for discussion. For the present volume on Physician-Assisted Death, we felt it wise to enlist the services of a guest editor, Dr. Gregg A. Kasting, a practicing physician with extensive clinical knowledge of the various problems and issues encountered in discussing physician assisted death. Dr. Kasting is also our student and just completing a graduate degree in philosophy with a specialty in biomedical ethics here at Georgia State University. Apart from a keen interest in the topic, Dr. Kasting has published good work in the area and has, in our opinion, done an excellent job in taking on the lion's share of editing this well-balanced and probing set of essays. We hope you will agree that this volume significantly advances the level of discussion on physician-assisted euthanasia. Incidentally, we wish to note that the essays in this volume were all finished and committed to press by January 1993.