Mexico attracts foreigners seeking euthanasia

The Mexican newspaper Reform cited Exit International, a pro-euthanasia non-profit organisation from Australia that promotes Mexico as a destination for patients seeking to end their lives.

"On the basis of Exit research, the best places to visit are the 20-odd (US-Mexico) border crossings, from Tijuana in California through to Matamoros on the Gulf of Mexico," the group says on its website.

 

The organisation says that, nembutal, a drug usually used to put down animals, is "widely, cheaply and legally available, not only in Mexico but in many other South American countries."

"Throughout Mexico veterinary Nembutal is available for between $20 and 40 per 100ml bottle," it says. "One only needs to know the location of a veterinary supplier and the labelling in use at that location."

The Reform article features Don Flounders, a 78-year-old British-born retiree with a deadly form of cancer who travelled from Australia to the Pacific coast town of Tijuana to get the medicine.

Flounders told the newspaper that he found a veterinary pharmacy that had a sign advertising "articles for Australians."