By Dave Andrusko

Editor's note. Be sure also to post this TN&V on your social networking pages by going to www.nrlc.org/News_and_views/Feb09/nv022709.html and clicking on the "Share" button. Part Two looks at "Obama Administration to Rescind Bush Rule on 'Conscience' for Doctors and Health Care Providers."

Four members of what the Associated Press calls an "alleged assisted suicide ring known as the Final Exit Network" have been charged in the June 2008 death of John Celmer, a 58-year-old Georgia man. "Authorities say the group may have been involved in up to 200 deaths across the country," the AP reports.

Founded in 2004, the Network, based in Georgia, claims 3,000 members, donors and volunteers. The Final Exit Network bases its work on the best-selling suicide manual, "The Final Exit," by Derek Humphry, who is chairman of its advisory board.

The four members of the Final Exit Network included its president, Thomas E. Goodwin, and its medical director, Dr. Lawrence D. Egbert. They were charged with assisted suicide, tampering with evidence, and violation of the Georgia RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act. According to the AP, the assisted suicide charge carries a penalty of up to five years.

"The law is very clear," said Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) spokesman John Bankhead, "and they clearly violated it."

According to GBI documents, Celmer had not appeared to be seriously ill at the time of his death. He was cancer-free and his physician said he had made a "remarkable recovery" from throat and mouth cancer, the Associated Press reported. "Authorities said he may have been embarrassed about his appearance after jaw surgery."

After Celmer's death, his wife became suspicious. She found one of the letters he had sent to the Final Exit Network "as well as release forms he had signed for the group," the Los Angeles Times reported. "According to investigators, Goodwin and [member Claire] Blehr were with Celmer when he died, each holding a hand, and the two cleaned up the scene afterward by removing the hood and the helium tanks."

An undercover agent was able to infiltrate the network, posing as someone who wanted to commit suicide.

His "death had been planned for months, authorities say," the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. "Two helium tanks were purchased, along with an "exit bag," or hood to be placed over the suicidal man's head. Thomas 'Ted' Goodwin, 63, formerly of Kennesaw, and Claire Blehr, 76, of Atlanta, would observe the death of the man they were told suffered from pancreatic cancer. In truth, the man was a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent conducting a sting operation at a residence in Dawson County."

According to authorities, on Wednesday, "Goodwin walked the undercover agent through the steps that would have killed him. He demonstrated how he would hold down the undercover agent's hands to prohibit him from removing the 'exit bag,'" the Journal Constitution reported. At that point additional agents moved in to make the arrests.

Meanwhile, the group's medical director, Dr. Lawrence D. Egbert, was arrested by Maryland authorities, as was a regional coordinator, Nicholas Alec Sheridan. "Investigators said Egbert and Sheridan evaluated Celmer before his death and gave the OK for his suicide."

Investigators "searched 14 sites in Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, Colorado, and Montana," as part of the eight-month-long probe, the Times reported.

The vice president of Final Exit Network had a different take. "We're just there to help," Jerry Dincin, the group's vice president, who was not arrested, told the Los Angeles Times "People insist upon it. They want to do what they want to do. They're suffering, and if they have intolerable pain, then they want to sometimes get out of that intolerable pain."

Stephen Drake, of the anti-euthanasia organization, Not Dead Yet, posted this on his blog yesterday. "Back in 2007, the Phoenix New Times published an investigative report about the suspected involvement of members of the group in the death of Jana Van Voorhis, who struggled with issues related to depression for many years. Yesterday, the county attorney in charge of the Van Voorhis case announced it is now on the "front burner."

If you have thoughts on this, please email me at daveandrusko@gmail.com.