LONDON , England ( CNN ) -- A British TV channel was scheduled to air a controversial documentary Wednesday night showing a terminally ill man committing assisted suicide . Craig Ewert dictates a letter to his children before leaving for his assisted suicide in Switzerland . The film follows retired university professor Craig Ewert during the last four days of his life in 2006 , when he visited a Swiss clinic with his wife , Mary , in order to die . The 59-year-old suffered from motor neurone disease ( MND ) , which deprived him of the use of his arms and legs and caused him to be on a ventilator , Mary Ewert told The Independent . MND destroys the body 's motor nerves , eventually resulting in paralysis . Most sufferers die within five years of diagnosis although scientist Stephen Hawking has survived with the disease for more than 40 years . `` Right to Die : The Suicide Tourist '' shows Ewert lying in a rented Zurich apartment , where an employee of the clinic prepares a lethal dose of drugs for Ewert to drink . As the camera rolls , and with his wife by his side , Craig Ewert then closes his eyes and dies . Mary Ewert said her husband wanted his death to be filmed in order to show that a terminal illness does not have to result in a painful death . `` For Craig , my husband , allowing the cameras to film his last moments in Zurich was about facing the end of life honestly , '' she told The Independent . Watch more about the case » . `` He was keen to have it shown because when death is hidden and private , people do n't face their fears about it . They do n't acknowledge that it is going to happen , they do n't reflect on it , they do n't want to face it . That 's the taboo . '' What 's your view ? Click here to comment . Ewert was an American who lived in North Yorkshire , England with his wife . In a clip on the Web site of British satellite channel Sky Real Lives , which planned to air the documentary , he dictates an e-mail to his son and daughter in America . `` I truly expect that death is the end , that there is no everlasting soul , no afterlife , '' Ewert says . `` This is a journey that we all must make at some time . I would hope that this is not a cause of major distress to those who love me and I expect that my dear sweet wife will have the greatest loss , as we have been together for 37 years in the deepest intimacy . '' Read explainer about assisted suicide . The scheduled airing of the documentary provoked controversy in Britain . It was featured on the front pages of several newspapers , with the Daily Mirror asking in bold letters , `` Is this an insight into the issue of euthanasia or just a cynical attempt to boost ratings ? '' The production company behind the film says it explores the difficult choices made by patients and families of those who commit assisted suicide . `` 'The Suicide Tourist will take the audience on a journey they could only have imagined , and will not forget , '' Point Grey Pictures says on its Web site . Oscar-winning Canadian filmmaker John Zaritsky made the documentary with the family 's permission and gained rare access to the Dignitas clinic in Zurich , where Ewert died . Mary Ewert told The Independent that she was `` very happy '' with how the film turned out . Opponents of assisted suicide said , however , the film was cheap voyeurism . `` I think it 's reducing somebody 's death to a kind of reality show , a peep show . I think it 's very cheap , '' said Phyllis Bowman , executive director of Right to Life . Bowman said she feared the film would encourage the idea of assisted suicide . That was echoed by Care Not Killing , an alliance of human rights , disability rights , and health care groups . `` The disproportionate media coverage given to a very small handful of persistent people , desperate to end their lives , creates the false impression that there is a growing demand for assisted dying , '' Care Not Killing said in a statement on its Web site . The group said more attention should be paid to palliative care for dying people , rather than assisted dying . It is against the law in the United Kingdom to help someone commit suicide , and it can bring a prison sentence of as long as 14 years . Recent court cases have sought clarity on the law , however , saying it does not specify at what point assistance begins . Swiss law says only that helping someone commit suicide must not be for personal gain .
The suicide of 59-year - old Briton Craig Ewert is to be shown on TV . Ewert , a motor neurone disease sufferer , went to Swiss assisted suicide clinic . Assisted suicide is illegal in Britain and carries 14-year prison term . No one in the UK has been prosecuted under the 1961 Suicide Act .