Jenni Murray has made her pact with death. The popular and controversial presenter of "Woman's Hour," a popular program on the BBC, stated her views on a recent television program called "Don't Get Me Started," broadcast in Great Britain.

Murray, who is a member of the Order of the British Empire, announced on the program that she had entered into a "suicide pact" with two friends who agreed to kill each other if illness or incapacity should leave them unable to commit suicide.

"When my time comes I want to be able to decide about my destiny," Murray stated, offering her own "personal rant" about the issues of euthanasia, assisted suicide, and mercy killing. Murray's two friends, Sally Feldman and Jane Wilton, discussed how they came to this conclusion and then agreed to seal their pact with a formal document of agreement.

As the friends discussed their plans to end each other's lives, Feldman told Murray that she would be willing to help her die only if she were suffering extreme pain or had "lost her marbles." According to The Times [London], Murray, Feldman, and Wilton discussed possible methods of bringing about death such as "injections or smothering one another with a pillow."

In delivering her "personal rant" Murray complained that assisted suicide is illegal in Great Britain only because it is demanded by a "religious minority" who hold to outdated views concerning the value of human life. Furthermore, this "religious minority" also holds to the quaint belief that children have a moral obligation to care for elderly parents.

Murray began her argument by suggesting that she did not want to be a burden to her own two children as she reaches advanced years. Nevertheless, she shocked her television audience by suggesting that she does not want to be "trapped" into caring for her own mother who is currently ill with Parkinson's disease.

In response to controversy, a BBC spokesperson said: "Jenni is angry that, having fought so hard to become liberated and independent, woman are now being trapped into caring for dependent parents."

Without doubt, this dimension of Murray's argument--and the revealing statement released by the BBC--demonstrates the true nature of her pact with death. It is not just about ending her own life, but the obligation of others to die and get out of the way, lest they interfere with her own life plans.

Increasingly, arguments for "assisted suicide" and euthanasia are moving from claims of a supposed "right" to die to an obligation to die. The argument reflects the fact that, according to its proponents, an inordinate percentage of medical costs are directed towards the end stages of terminal diseases and the final years of life. With a rapidly aging population, the escalation of these costs is a fact that must be faced by all advanced societies.

Beyond this, the developing argument for a "duty to die" moves directly toward the concerns of Jenni Murray--concerns related to lifestyle issues and the question of whether there is any obligation to care for dependent parents.

Controversies over assisted suicide and euthanasia are now raging on both sides of the Atlantic. Of course, there are plenty of intellectuals and professional bioethicists ready to help make the case for a right or obligation to end one's life.

In Great Britain, the most significant of these advocates is Mary Warnock, one of Britain's most influential philosophers and, since 1985, Baroness Warnock of Weeke.

Warnock first came to international attention when she served as chair of the official British committee that established the basic framework for rules on in vitro fertilization in 1984. Now, after establishing herself as a major secular figure pushing the limits of modern morality, she has turned to the question of euthanasia and suicide.

In an interview published in Philosophy Now, Baroness Warnock declares that "it is high time that people spoke honestly about assisted dying." In her view, the law ought to be changed so that persons can gain legal assistance in committing suicide. "What horrifies me most is that people, mostly old people, who are not competent anymore, are just allowed to wither away," she stated. "Nobody has any policy about this at all; it just happens."