Euthanasia
World – Assisted dying round-up
In New Zealand the public will vote on voluntary euthanasia on October 17. In nine US states and the District of Columbia assisted suicide is legal. Some political observers believe that the Bay State could become the tenth. In Portugal earlier this year the parliament passed measures to permit euthanasia but got held up by an appeal for a referendum and will be worked out in October. In Austria four people are challenging the Constitutional Court on the euthanasia ban, the court will decide before the end of the year. In Ireland the issue of legalizing euthanasia is being debated but currently delayed until next year to grant time to parliament to study the issue. In Tasmania, the parliament of the Australian state is also still debating the merits of euthanasia. The suggested bill is the fourth in ten years. Previous bills failed in 2010, 2013 and 2017.
Let’s take a look at what happens when euthanasia is legalized; Argentine mother seeks to euthanize son who has cerebral palsy because she’s exhausted and fed up with caring for him. In the Netherlands, a woman seeking help with post-traumatic stress disorder was told she met the criteria to be euthanized on her first appointment. She was angry at this offer and said Yes, I’m broken, but I want to become whole again. I’m asking for help to get better, not for death!”. In Canada, a wife lost a lawsuit to prevent her husband’s death by euthanasia, another incident described a psychiatrist in Oregon who determined that an elderly woman with dementia was mentally unable to consent to assisted suicide, and believed her daughter was pushing for it, but it happened anyway. In USA, Texas a disabled, 46-year old African American man named Michael Hickson, was euthanized without his consent or that of his wife. The doctor said it was better to euthanize Michael because he is paralyzed and not like “walking and talking people.” In Belgium, nurses admitted to euthanizing patients without their consent. The future for many citizens in a country that legalizes euthanasia looks very grim when one considers the above accounts of ordinary people. Read extracts taken from: BioEdge, NewsBreak, National review, NY Post, Christian Post UK, Daily Mail
Netherlands – Seeks to extend euthanasia to children
The Netherlands Minister of Health, Hugo de Jonge, announced that their government will amend or re-interpret the euthanasia law to permit child euthanasia to help terminally ill sick children between one and twelve. Currently, Netherlands euthanasia law permits euthanasia for children as young as 12, when parents or guardians consent; and for disabled newborns. People over the age of 16 are considered adults and can therefore provide consent to euthanasia. The recommendation comes as experts found that a small group of children may be suffering because doctors fear the consequences of actions to hasten their deaths. A petition by citizenGo is circulating in opposition to this and has gathered over 20,000 signatures. Read more
Belgium – The ‘downside’ to euthanasia is swept under the rug
Three children euthanized in Belgium, one being an 11 year-old with cystic fibrosis (CF). This congenital respiratory disease is incurable and fatal, but modern treatments enable many patients to enjoy high quality of life well into their 30s or even beyond. A member of the euthanasia commission resigned in protest because it refused to recommend prosecution when a woman with dementia who had not requested euthanasia was nevertheless put to death at her family’s request. Since then, 360 Belgian doctors, academics and others have signed a petition calling for tighter controls on euthanasia for psychiatric patients. While debating assisted suicide legislation in the UK, one sponsor of the assisted suicide bill watched Fatal Flaws (a film that questions the so-called compassion around euthanasia) and had a change of mind. The next day he stood up in the legislature and said that he changed his mind after watching Fatal Flaws. Guernsey then defeated the assisted suicide bill by 24 to 14.
Sadly, under-reporting of euthanasia and euthanasia without request is common in Belgium. Lethally injecting people without request are considered criminal acts in every jurisdiction in the world, but under the banner of assisted death these acts becomes a difficult but necessary part of protecting the “human right” to kill in a post-post-modern society. (this article was written in 2018) Read more, Watch Fatal Flaws