HLI DEMANDS LEGAL ACTION, HEMLOCK INVESTIGATION IN HAWAII SUICIDES

March 09, 2000 - 12:00 PST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA ADVISORY

HUMAN LIFE INTERNATIONAL News Release HLI World Headquarters 4 Family Life Front Royal, Virginia 22630 www.hli.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Andy Blom March 6, 2000 PH: 540-622-5204 HLI DEMANDS LEGAL ACTION, HEMLOCK INVESTIGATION IN HAWAII SUICIDES FRONT ROYAL, VA--"How many killings will it take for the American media to wake up to the reality of the Culture of Death? It is time for us to take responsibility for the poison offered to our families in the guise of entertainment," stated Fr. Richard Welch, CSSR, JCD, President of Human Life International, the world's largest pro-life, pro-family, pro-faith apostolate. Responding to the recent suicides that followed a television airing of pro-suicide material in Hawaii, Fr. Welch declared, "we do not operate with empty words. Human Life International will be leading the effort to bring accountability back to our besieged culture." Fr. Welch referred to the recent airing of "Final Exit," a video produced by Hemlock Society co-founder Derek Humphry, that graphically illustrates how to commit suicide. The video was aired at the request of the Hawaii Hemlock Society by Olelo, a community access channel owned by Oceanic Cable. Although both medical professionals and pro-life groups warned that showing the video on television could lead to copycat suicides, Olelo made the decision to air it anyway based on issues of censorship. "The men and women who founded this country and shed their blood to defend our freedom were not fighting for the freedom of a TV station to instruct the ill, the depressed, and the young on how to commit suicide," commented Fr. Welch. "Free Speech is one of our greatest freedoms, but it must be tempered with responsibility, accountability and concern for the welfare of others. The grieving friends and relatives of the victims of this tragedy will hardly be comforted by the fact that their public access TV remains uncensored." The two victims--an adult man and woman--were both suffering from depression and suffocated themselves in the manner described in the program. Depression is nearly always treatable, usually by medication. The deputy medical examiner in Honolulu has stated her belief that the two suicides and the show were connected. Jason Jones, Executive Director of Hawaii Right to Life, participated in a panel discussion prior to the show and had asked Olelo to run a suicide hotline number concurrent with the airing of the video. The request was denied. "We told them this was going to happen and they turned their backs on these poor people. Hemlock and Olelo have blood on their hands," said Jones. -MORE- March 8, 2000 2-2-2-2 Fr. Welch stated that Human Life International is prepared to offer all necessary resources and support to see that justice is done. In addition to offering the assistance of HLI legal experts to the victims' families, should they choose to file a civil suit or wrongful death action against the station and/or the Hemlock Society, HLI is demanding that the Hawaii Attorney General file charges against Humphry, the Hemlock Society and the station for facilitating a suicide and demonstrating a callous disregard for human life. Facilitating a suicide is a felony under Hawaii Revised Statutes. "We have come to the point when ordinary citizens must demand that both individuals and the media take responsibility for their role in promoting violence in our culture," declared Fr. Welch. "And make no mistake--just because this time the killings were self-directed does not lessen the horror of this latest media glamorization of death. We have watched the excuses and empty promises fly as our schoolyards have become killing fields. Now we have seen television allow Derek Humphry and the Hemlock Society to become bizarre electronic Dr. Kevorkians." "Hawaii has proven once again what all those who are engaged in fighting the Culture of Death have known for years--that the road to euthanasia is really the slippery slope leading to the devaluation of all human life. Whatever their intention, this TV station and the Hemlock Society affirmed the suicidal intentions of not only these two victims, but of countless other potential suicides in Hawaii. Suicidal feelings are the sign of an illness--a curable one. We should be reaching out to these people, showing them God's love and mercy, and doing our best to bring them back into the human community. Instead we have handed them a map to despair, depression, and death. To encourage suicide for any reason--to say that there is such a thing as a life not worth living--is to tell those in suffering that they are unwanted or unneeded by society. Olelo and the Hawaii Hemlock Society owe an apology not only to these victims and their families, but also to everyone whom the grief and pain of a suicide have touched." "The final word is this," concluded Father Welch. "This must be the 'final exit' for Humphry and Hemlock. By civil or criminal action, they must be brought to task. They must be repudiated by every institution in our society, barred from every respectable media outlet. Who will the next suicides be? Just think of who watches television. Think of who is at risk of seduction by these suicide peddlers. The old and vulnerable? Teenagers? Young children? Human Life International commits itself to doing everything in our power to protect America and the world from these macabre merchants of death. We call on everyone, yes everyone, to join us and rid society of this poison." "Call the Hawaii Attorney General's Office at 808-586-1292. Fax them at 808-586-1239. The whole world needs to tell Hawaii--we want action. It's time to stop the killing." Founded in 1981, Human Life International is the world's largest pro-life and pro-family educational apostolate, with chapters in the United States and a network of international branches and affiliates serving 90 countries. -30-

Contact

Human Life International
hli@hli.org
VA, US
Fr. Richard Welch - President, 0 540

Keywords

suicide hli hemlock pro-life hawaii culture of death

Category

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