Politico has now published an extensive article about a prominent political consultant named Hal Malchow, who has made the decision to travel to Switzerland to seek assistance from one of the country’s well-known end-of-life clinics.
This piece reads like a prelude to an obituary, chronicling the man’s unwavering dedication to Democratic politics in the process.
It also attempts to paint Malchow’s morbid decision to kill himself in a positive light.
“In a sense, Hal Malchow has been planning for this day ever since 1987, when a genetic marker test revealed he was likely to develop Alzheimer’s. At the time, he was barely 35 years old, a hustling political operative who had recently come off managing Al Gore’s first Senate campaign while overcome with worry about his mother’s early descent into dementia.” the piece reads.
“…After his mother’s untimely death, in 1990, Malchow was intent on never letting himself endure the same thing. If he showed symptoms for Alzheimer’s, Malchow resolved at the time, he would take his life before he became too diminished.” it continued.
Throughout the story, Malchow’s planned suicide is portrayed as a source of strength.
Presenting Malchow’s decision to end his life as an act of bravery also happens to go against the media guidelines on covering suicide set by the World Health Organization.
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