Nancy Crick

Nancy Catherine Crick (1932 — 21 May 2002) was an Australian retiree whose death at 69 reignited the voluntary euthanasia debate in Australia.

Crick was born to a single mother in Melbourne. She was educated at North Melbourne Primary and Flemington Girls' School, and married Jimmy Crick at 19; they had two sons in the next three years. The Cricks settled in the Melbourne suburb of Fawkner. Nancy Crick began work as a barmaid, and was an icon of the Cumberland Arms in Brunswick for more than thirty years until her retirement to Queensland ("Eulogy," 2022).

After a battle with stomach cancer, Crick committed suicide at home in Burleigh Waters, Queensland, by drinking a large quantity of the barbiturate Nembutal. Crick wanted her immediate family with her at the time of her death, but was concerned that they could be charged with assisting her suicide - a charge that carried a penalty of life imprisonment. To this end, she also invited members of Exit International to be present, hoping that this would discourage prosecution (Nitschke, [n.d.]). On the day, there were 21 attendees in total. The Exit International delegation, under the banner "Nancy's Friends", offered their presence to others contemplating suicide under similar circumstances. Philip Nitschke advised Crick, but was at home in Darwin on the day of her death (Willis, 2003).

Crick's death was initially reported as an argument for legalising assisted suicide. However, an autopsy showed that she was in fact cancer-free and suffered from a twisted bowel and adhesions probably caused by her three cancer surgeries. Although indeed incredibly painful, these might have been remedied with further surgery ("The Troubling Death of Nancy Crick", 2002). The fact that she wasn't terminally ill after all was made much of by anti-euthanasia lobbyists. Dr. Philip Nitschke commented in response: "She didn't actually want to die when she had cancer. She wanted to die after she had cancer treatment." (Paget, 2004).

Eulogy. (2022, February 9). The Epitaph of Nancy Crick [archived from the original]. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20040915184152/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/24513/20020909-0000/nancycrick.com/index.htm

Nitschke, P. [n.d.] Nancy Crick. https://www.exitinternational.net/story/nancy-crick/

Paget, D. (2004, 8 June). Crick had no cancer - report. The Age. https://www.theage.com.au/national/crick-had-no-cancer-report-20040609-gdy00c.html

The Troubling Death of Nancy Crick. (2002, May 28). The Age. https://www.theage.com.au/opinion/the-troubling-death-of-nancy-crick-20020528-gdu8st.html

Willis, L. (2003, May 22). A year today since Nancy Crick committed suicide [radio transcript]. ABC AM. https://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2003/s860960.htm