A man from the Gold Coast has been accused of illegally supplying lethal drugs to a quadriplegic man so he could end his own life after he had failed to qualify for assisted suicide or euthanasia in Queensland, Australia.
According to reports, the 53-year-old, Brett Daniel Taylor, has been charged with aiding in the suicide of quadriplegic David Bedford, 43. Police allege Taylor and two accomplices were involved in an assisted suicide racket that used a charity called ‘Cetacean Compassion Australia Ltd’ as a front to access the veterinary euthanasia drug pentobarbital, doses of which were then given to “vulnerable” people for thousands of dollars.
As part of the probe, police are investigating as many as 20 deaths linked to this “end of life service”.
“The alleged conduct involves deliberately targeting vulnerable people”
According to Detective Inspector Mark Mooney, the “business” allegedly provided “suicide kits” for people to use in ending their own lives. Bottles of the lethal drug pentobarbitone were allegedly found in Taylor’s mother’s house in Victoria.
The Detective Inspector said “[Bedford] had suffered from medical conditions for a long period of time but his medical conditions did not meet the voluntary assisted dying laws of Queensland”.
“The alleged conduct involves deliberately targeting vulnerable people and exploiting them in their most desperate moments”.
“We will allege [Taylor] hasn’t acted compassionately at all. This is a business transaction for him … just for pure money”, he added.
Police documents also allege that Taylor “infiltrated” pro-euthanasia group Exit International to procure clients for his ‘End of Life Services’ business.
The assisted suicide and euthanasia law in Queensland, which came into force at the beginning of 2023, permits the prescribing of lethal drugs to those who fulfil the eligibility criteria.
In Queensland, from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024, a total of 793 people ended their lives by assisted suicide and euthanasia. Of these people, 261 (33%) died by assisted suicide and 532 (67%) died by euthanasia.
Controversial incidents raise concerns about Queensland’s assisted suicide laws
Taylor’s arrest comes after further controversial incidents, which call into question the safety of the assisted suicide law in Queensland. Earlier this year, a man in Queensland nearly died after allegedly taking his partner’s lethal drugs for an assisted suicide.
The couple allegedly joined a health worker in drinking shots of alcohol at Gold Coast University Hospital’s ‘Voluntary Assisted Dying’(VAD) unit before the woman used lethal drugs to end her life. The man then allegedly took the drugs his partner had just used and nearly died before being resuscitated with Naloxone, a drug used to reverse opioid overdoses, and was admitted to the hospital’s emergency department.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “David Bedford had a profound disability, and it is tragic that someone apparently took advantage of his vulnerability for financial gain and assisted him in ending his own life. However, if he had been able to end his life under Queensland’s assisted suicide and euthanasia laws, this whole situation would have been no less tragic”.
“Suicide ought not to be facilitated by the state or by individuals for financial gain. It should be discouraged, and vulnerable people should be supported to get the help they need”.
