(Live Action) – A heartbreaking op-ed published in the Australian edition of the “Huffington Post” claims that the author’s mother, Elayn, should not have died by suicide. The answer to the predicament, according to author Nikki Gemmell, is euthanasia. Gemmell argues that if euthanasia had been available in Australia, her mother’s suicide could have been prevented.

“Elayn had had painful feet for years, after a childhood of ballet classes and decades of wearing the most fashionable high heels,” Gemmell explained. “It all came back to haunt her in her seventies. A year before she died she had an operation to fix her foot agony. It made the situation worse, much worse.” Elayn was in so much pain that she had to rely on a walking stick and could no longer drive; she had lost much of her independence.

“She was facing a future of pain, stuck in her flat and relying on all the madly busy people around her with their crazy-busy lives. She was terrified of ending up in a nursing home. Of losing control of her life,” Gemmell wrote. CONTINUE