KYOTO Two male doctors were arrested Thursday on suspicion of assisting a woman suffering from a terminal disease to die by giving her a lethal drug.<\/p>\n
Yoshikazu Okubo, who operates a clinic in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, and Naoki Yamamoto, a doctor in Tokyo, allegedly administered a sedative to the woman at her home in Kyoto in November last year with her consent, investigative sources said.<\/p>\n
The woman, who had the progressive neurological disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis also known as Lou Gehrigs or motor neurone disease is believed to have wanted to die.<\/p>\n
Okubo, 42, and Yamamoto, 43, were not her attending physicians and are suspected of helping her die for money, the sources said.<\/p>\n
Okubos wife Miyo, a former House of Representatives lawmaker, 43, told reporters in Natori that her husband often engaged in part-time medical work.<\/p>\n
The woman transferred over 1 million ($9,300) to Yamamotos bank account, according to the sources. There were signs that she had contacted Okubo via social networking services to request euthanasia.<\/p>\n
The sources said the womans ALS had progressed, and while she could talk, she could hardly move her body.<\/p>\n
ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that causes gradual paralysis. Approximately 10,000 people are affected by the disease in Japan.<\/p>\n
On the day of the incident, the woman had told her caretaker that acquaintances are coming, and invited the two doctors into her home.<\/p>\n
They left about five to 10 minutes later, and the caretaker found the woman unconscious soon after. The woman was transported to a hospital where she died.<\/p>\n
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Two doctors suspected of getting paid to help Kyoto woman die - The Japan Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" KYOTO Two male doctors were arrested Thursday on suspicion of assisting a woman suffering from a terminal disease to die by giving her a lethal drug. Yoshikazu Okubo, who operates a clinic in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, and Naoki Yamamoto, a doctor in Tokyo, allegedly administered a sedative to the woman at her home in Kyoto in November last year with her consent, investigative sources said. Continue reading