全球社会热点新闻 一英指挥家同重病妻子一起自杀（在线收听）

British conductor and his seriously illed wife suicided together

一英指挥家同重病妻子一起自杀

Edward spent his life conducting world-renowned orchestras, but was almost blind and growing deaf the music he loved increasingly out of reach. His wife of 54 years had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. So Edward and Joan Downes decided to die together.

爱德华是世界知名的指挥家,然而,随着年龄的增长,爱德华逐渐失明失聪，失去了与音乐的交流，而和他一起生活了54年的妻子琼又诊断出痛症晚期,于是两人决定一起自杀。

Downes and his wife ended their lives last week at a Zurich clinic run by the assisted suicide group Dignitas. They drank a small amount of clear liquid and died hand-in-hand, their two adult children by their side. He was 85 and she was 74.

85岁的爱德华和72岁的琼上周在设于瑞士苏黎士的“尊严”协助自杀组织的诊所内终结了自己的生命。两人一起喝下少量透明液体,手牵着手离开了人世,当时两个已成年的子女陪伴在他们身边。

The deaths were a poignant coda to Edward Downes’illustrious musical career, and have reignited a debate in Britain about whether people should be able to help ailing loved ones end their lives.

他们的死成为了爱德华唐斯辉煌的音乐生涯令人叹惜的休止符，两人的死讯在英国引发了是否该协助挚爱自杀的热议。

The Metropolitan Police force said it had been notified of the deaths, and was investigating. Charges are unlikely.

伦敦警察局称,他们已经了解了唐斯夫妇自杀的事,正在展开调查，但指控唐斯夫妇子女的可能性不大。

Under British law, assisting a suicide is punishable by up to 14 years in prison. But courts have become reluctant in recent years to convict people. No relative or friend of any of the Britons who have died in Dignitas clinics has been prosecuted.

根据英国法律，协助他人自杀可能被判14年监禁,然而目前没有任何在“尊严”组织诊所协助亲人自杀的英国人遭到起诉。

The couple’s children said on July 10 that they died “peacefully and under circumstances of their own choosing” on July 14.

唐斯夫妇的儿子卡拉克塔克斯和女儿布狄卡14日发表声明说， 两位老人在6月10日“安详地离开了人世,这是他们自己的选择”。

“After 54 happy years together, they decided to end their own lives rather than continue to struggle with serious health problems,” said a statement from the couple’s son and daughter, Caractacus and Boudicca.

“他们在一起度过了幸福的54年，决定选择共同结束生命而不是与疾病痛苦地抗争。”

“They wanted to be next to each other when they died,” Caractacus Downes told London’s Evening Standard newspaper. “They held hands across the beds.”

卡拉克塔克斯接受英国《旗帜晚报》采访时说:“他们希望能够一起离开人世，所以躺在两张床上时还手拉着手。”

“It is a very civilized way to be able to end your life,” he added.

他认为广这是一种结束生命的文明的方式。”

Downes，manager Jonathan Groves said the couple were inseparable and would have reached the decision together.

唐斯夫妇的经纪人乔纳森格罗夫斯也指出,唐斯夫妇十分亲密,两人应该是一起决定选择自杀的。

“Sir Edward would have survived her death, but he decided he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to go on living without her," Groves said.

他说广爱德华爵士原本可以不选择自杀,但他不愿意在没有妻子陪伴下一个人生活。”

One of Britain’s most renowned conductors, Downes had a long and eminent carecr, which included years as head of the BBC Philharmonic and a five-decade association with Royal Opera House.

作为英国最著名的指挥家之一爱徳华的音乐生涯十分显赫,他曾多年领导BBC爱乐乐团，并与英国里家剧院合作长达50年。

Sir Edward was knighted by Queen Elizabetii II in 1991.

爱徳华在1991年被英国女王伊面莎白二世封为爵士。

In recent years he had become almost blind and nearly deaf, increasingly relying on his wife for support.

然而最近几年,爱德华爵士的视力和听力逐渐衰退,生活上越来越依賴妻子琼的帮助。

Joan, a former ballet dancer, choreographer and television producer, had devoted years to working as his assistant, but she was recently diagnosed with cancer of the liver and pancreas, and given only weeks to live.

琼曾是一名芭蕾舞演员、编舞和电视制作人,后来担任丈夫的助手。只是最近琼被诊断出肝脏和胰腺癌症晚期,医生说只剩下几周时间了。

Groves said be was shocked by the couple’s deaths but called their decision "typically brave and courageous".

格罗夫斯说，他听到唐斯夫妇自杀时吃了一惊，但认为他们作出了“勇敢”的决定。

Sarah Wootton, chief executive of campaign group Dignity in Dying, said the couple's deaths showed the need to regulate assisted suicide.

“尊严”组织则继续为自己辩护。该组织负责人萨拉伍顿说,唐斯夫妇自杀的例子表明,有关方面应该规范协助自杀方面的法规。

“This problem is clearly not going to go away,” she said.

她说：“这个问題显然不会消失。”

People should be able to make siwh decisions for themselves, but safeguards are the key,” she said.

她说：“人们应该有权利决定自己的生命,但要在安全的前提下。”