Lesley Martin to publish new book on euthanasia bid

Lesley Martin

Euthanasia campaigner Lesley Martin will reveal the reasons behind her decision to go public on her attempt to kill her mother in a new book.

Martin who yesterday successfully fought off a move to have her struck off the nursing register.

In her first book, To Die Like A Dog, she wrote how she had tried to fulfil a promise to her dying mother, Joy, to end her suffering, by firstly giving her a morphine overdose and then smothering her with a pillow.

The publication of the book led to police charging Martin with attempted murder.

Speaking at yesterday's hearing of the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, defence lawyer Donald Stevens QC said Martin had shown the manuscript to the police officer who had interviewed her after her mother's death for him to check the facts and context.

He had warned her that if the book were published, it would result in the reopening of the investigation.

Dr Stevens said Martin had gone ahead anyway because she was "a person of integrity", who was willing to face jail for her beliefs.

Martin was sentenced to 15 months in jail in 2004 after being convicted of attempting to murder her mother.

Speaking after the hearing yesterday, Martin said the seven and a half months she spent behind bars developed her outlook on many issues.

"It certainly gave me a deep insight into the administration of the criminal justice system -- especially the gap between philosophy and practice and what causes people to reoffend."

She said her new book, To Cry Inside, which is to be published in August, would explain why she went public with her story in the first place, knowing it would make her vulnerable to prosecution.

"It also covers my experiences with the police investigation, the trial, the media and my time in prison."

Martin, who now lives in New Plymouth, said she had decided to fight the Nursing Council to retain her registration because "it was a matter of principle".

The tribunal stopped short of cancelling or suspending her registration yesterday, but set strict conditions.

Before returning to nursing she must undergo a full assessment by the Nursing Council and a psychologist, and practise under supervision for three years.

Despite comments by the tribunal's chairman, David Collins QC, that members had "serious misgivings" about her ability to make decisions under pressure, Martin insisted she was no threat to the public.

"I am proud of my unblemished record as a nurse... I get all sorts of opinions and criticisms levelled at me all the time, and you can't take these things on board personally."

However, she said she had no intention of returning to practice.

"I've moved on from nursing."

Having abandoned a counselling course to return to New Zealand to nurse her mother, she was currently completing a degree in psychology and politics extramurally through Massey University.

"I decided to study extramurally to give me the flexibility to keep travelling with the Dignity Trust," she said, referring to the euthanasia lobby group of which she was a founding member.

"I really feel I have found my life's work."

- NZPA