Right-to-die group indicted in Georgia

A grand jury indicted four members of an assisted suicide group Tuesday on charges that they helped cancer patient John Celmer, kill himself.

The Final Exit Network’s former president Thomas E. Goodwin, ex-medical director Dr. Lawrence D. Egbert, regional coordinator Nicholas Alec Sheridan and member Claire Blehr are charged with offering assistance in the commission of suicide, tampering with evidence and violating state anti-racketeering charges.

Goodwin and Blehr were with Celmer when he died, according to court records. The case highlights a rift in the right-to-die movement. Final Exit Network leaders said the group helped people with terminal illnesses, but also those who were suffering were not necessarily dying.

Critics within the right-to-die movement, including Dr. Jack Kevorkian, have said people should be able to seek assistance ending their lives but only from doctors and only if they are terminally ill.

Georgia authorities said Celmer was making a remarkable recovery from cancer when the network sent exit guides to his home.

— AP Report