Philip Nitschke
| Philip Nitschke | |
|---|---|
Nitschke in 2016
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| Born |
8 August 1947 Ardrossan, South Australia, Australia |
| Education |
University of Adelaide (B.Sc.) Flinders University (PhD), University of Sydney (Sydney Medical School) (M.B.B.S.) |
| Years active | 1988 to present |
| Known for | Influencing euthanasia debate worldwide |
| Medical career | |
| Profession | Physician and author |
| Specialism | Euthanasia medicine |
| Research | Euthanasia & voluntary assisted death |
| Notable prizes |
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Philip Haig Nitschke (/ˈnɪtʃkɪ/; born 8 August 1947) is an Australian humanist, author, former physician and founder and director of the pro-euthanasia group Exit International. He campaigned successfully to have a legal euthanasia law passed in Australia's Northern Territory and assisted four people in ending their lives before the law was overturned by the Government of Australia. Nitschke was the first doctor in the world to administer a legal, voluntary, lethal injection, after which the patient activated the syringe using a computer. Nitschke states that he and his group are regularly subject to harassment by authorities. In 2015 Nitschke burned his medical practising certificate in response to what he saw as onerous conditions that violated his right to free speech, imposed on him by the Medical Board of Australia.
Born in 1947 in rural South Australia, Nitschke studied physics at the University of Adelaide, gaining a PhD from Flinders University in laser physics in 1972. Rejecting a career in the sciences, he instead travelled to the Northern Territory to take up work with the Aboriginal land rights activist Vincent Lingiari and the Gurindji at Wave Hill. After the hand-back of land by the then Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, Nitschke became a Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife ranger. However, after badly injuring his subtalar joint, which effectively finished his career as a ranger, he began studying for a medical degree. In addition to having long been interested in studying medicine he has suffered from hypochondria most of his adult life and futilely hoped with his medical studies to educate himself out of the problem. He graduated from the University of Sydney Medical School in 1989.
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