NO-HEADLINE

An American doctor who has helped 28 seriously-ill people to commit suicide is now planning to harvest organs for transplant from the deceased. The scheme has outraged the American and British medical establishments, who have barely come to terms with the success of Dr Jack Kevorkian's campaign in the United States to legitimise doctor-assisted suicide. Last month, Dr Kevorkian, 68, evaded jail for the sixth time in six years after a jury in Michigan acquitted him of causing the death of two women.

Critics of the new scheme fear that some patients who are terminally- ill may feel pressured into agreeing to suicide so their families could benefit from any potential profits. A British Medical Association spokeswoman said that it opposed any attempts to legalise a doctor's part in a patient's suicide. "It would undermine a fundamental principle in a doctor's support for the value of life ... Given this position, it would be difficult for us to condone the harvesting of organs." Profile, page 19.