Doctor aids first legal euthanasia act

The controversial general practitioner who helped a 66 year old patient with cancer become the first person in the world to die under euthanasia legislation says more deaths could follow soon. Northern Territory doctor Philip Nitschke said that five more people, including three from the southern states, were seeking to die under the territory's Rights of the Terminally Ill Act.

The death of former carpenter Bob Dent, who used a computer operated machine to administer a lethal dose of drugs on September 22, has provoked an ethical storm around Australia. However, the Northern Territory's bill, which came into force only …