Couple Who Wrote Suicide Letter Found Dead

An elderly British couple who wrote a letter to the BBC criticizing UK laws on assisted suicides have been found dead at their home.

Police confirmed that Dennis Milner, 83, and his wife Flora, 81, were found dead in their home in Newbury on Sunday, according to the BBC .

Prior to their deaths, the couple sent a letter to the BBC saying they had "chosen to peacefully end our lives." The letter arrived Tuesday.

The letter, which was dated Aug. 14 but the postal stamp on the envelope said Nov. 2, was addressed to "Dear Editor" and in it Milner talks about his campaign to change the law to give people the right to choose how and when to end their lives.

Milner first wrote about the subject in a letter that was published 60 years ago and asked the BBC to also publish this letter. He then outlined the couple's reasons for ending their lives: "We have each reached the point where all the finest available treatment and TLC can no longer attain the desired and acceptable level to support an enjoyable and worthwhile life."

The Milner's son and daughter said they knew of their parents' plan, but didn't know when they would actually go through with it.

"I think they made this decision because they'd had a very positive life. They'd enjoyed life," daughter Chrissy said. "They'd always said they wanted a positive death, they wanted a good death."

She added that they told her, "We won't be here for Christmas."

The couple was not suffering from any serious medical conditions. Flora's eye sight was beginning to fail, Dennis suffered from angina and both had undergone hip replacements, reported Newbury Weekly News .

The state of Oregon , The Netherlands, and Belgium permit physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill, competent adults, but it is for residents only. Switzerland also permits assisted suicides.

The Dignitas clinic in Forch, Switzerland , operates under Swiss law, which, since 1940, has permitted assisted suicide provided it is done for altruistic reasons.

There is a campaign underway in the UK to change the laws on assisted suicides there. The director of public prosecutions in Britain has acknowledged that new guidelines on assisted suicide could lead to an increase in numbers of Britons choosing to die at home in the UK rather than traveling to Dignitas.