Euthanasia advocate and Melbourne doctor may risk jail in fight to assist terminal cancer patient.

By Janine Cohen

Melbourne doctor Rodney Syme could lose his medical licence and face criminal charges if he defies regulatory authorities and proceeds to help a 70-year-old man end his life.

Dr Syme promised to give Bernard Erica, who has terminal cancer, the lethal and illegal drug Nembutal for him to take at a time of his own choosing.

The Medical Board of Australia held an urgent hearing last month and found that Dr Syme posed a serious risk to Mr Erica and ruled the doctor was not to give any end-of-life advice or care to people.

The 80-year-old euthanasia advocate told Australian Story his options were to abide by the Medical Board, or help Mr Erica and face the consequences.

Dr Syme promised months ago to give Nembutal to Mr Erica, who has tongue and lung cancer.

The Medical Board found there were also serious risks when Dr Syme was not consulting with the rest of Mr Erica’s team of treating practitioners.

It warned Dr Syme that “any action that results in the intentional death of a person may be a criminal offence”.

In Victoria, assisting another person to suicide carries a five-year prison sentence.

“I will not desert Bernard, I will continue to support him in every way that I can. Just how that pans out remains to be seen,” Dr Syme said.

“At this stage, I haven’t decided what I will do, but it’ll be a huge battle with my conscience to do anything other than what I have been doing.

“I believed that providing him with my support and advice, and in particular, medication, would be the best palliative care that I could provide.”

Patient ‘pissed off’ GP reported Dr Syme

Mr Erica’s general practitioner reported Dr Syme to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (APHRA) which alerted the Medical Board.

Mr Erica said he was “pissed off” that his GP reported confidential conversations he had with him.

“Rodney was certainly trying to help me and I don’t think it is right,” Mr Erica said.

“That man has gone out on a limb to help people who are in genuine pain and want to end their life peacefully and this has put him in a very difficult position.”

The Medical Board of Australia will not comment on the case.

Dr Syme is appealing the Medical Board’s ruling that he is not to give any end-of-life advice or care to people.

Dr Syme supplied euthanasia drug to 100 people

Before meeting Dr Syme, Mr Erica had tried to purchase the lethal drug Nembutal over the internet.

“I’ve tried on a couple of occasions to purchase Nembutal overseas and both of them have been a rort and it’s cost me $2,300,” he said.

Barbiturates such as Nembutal are a border control drug and the penalty for smuggling them into the country can carry a prison sentence or heavy fine.

Despite this, some terminally ill Australians have purchased Nembutal from Mexico and China.

Without Nembutal, Mr Erica said he had no alternative but to end his life using violent means.

Dr Syme said he would not discuss how he acquired Nembutal, although he said over the years he had given it or other medication to about 100 Australians with unbearable suffering.

Although he has been interviewed several times by police, he has never been charged.

Dr Syme said this was because authorities lacked the will to prosecute someone for alleviating suffering.

But separate to its latest ruling, the Medical Board also decided to conduct a wider investigation into Dr Syme’s professional conduct.

‘Who is Rodney Syme to decide?’

A general physician with the Alfred Hospital, Dr Karen Hitchcock, said she did not know what motivated Dr Syme to “kill people”.

“I guess the thing that concerns me about this is who is Rodney Syme to decide? Is Rodney Syme the one who decides now when people’s life is not worth living or is worth living, or does he triage people into suicide prevention or suicide enablement?” she said.

Dr Hitchcock, who is strongly opposed to euthanasia, said in the 13 years she had worked at public hospitals, she had never had “a single patient beg” her for death towards the end of their life.

“Physical pain towards the end of life is treatable — we have powerful drugs available to us,” she said.

Mr Erica disagrees. He wants to die at home and at a time of his own choosing.

My Conscience Tells Me goes to air on Australian Story tonight at 8:00pm on ABC.

This post originally appeared on ABC News.