Tag: assisted suicide

NZ referendum legalises euthanasia and assisted suicide

Christian Institute – November 9, 2020

New Zealand has voted to legalise euthanasia and assisted suicide, following a public referendum.

The End of Life Choice Act was passed in the country’s parliament last year by 69 votes to 51, allowing doctors to administer or supply lethal doses of drugs to patients. However, it still required official public support before it could become law.

New Zealand will join a tiny group of countries that allow the practices, including the Netherlands and Canada.

From 6 November 2021, citizens over 18 years old will be permitted to kill themselves with a doctor’s assistance.

Criteria include having a terminal condition that is ‘likely’ to end life within six months, a ‘significant decline’ in physical capability, and having the ability to make an ‘informed’ decision.

The law also states that two doctors must approve before administering any life-ending dosage.

Pro-life group Euthanasia-Free NZ said following the referendum that the public had voted for a “flawed” law, which did not contain proper safeguards.

Renée Joubert, Executive Officer of Euthanasia-Free NZ, said: “The New Zealand Parliament voted down 111 out of 114 amendments that could have made this law safer. Many amendments were rejected without even being debated.”

The group said there was “widespread confusion” as to what the law would actually entail, with polls showing that 80 per cent of voters believed the End of Life Act would legalise turning off life-support for patients, which is already legal in the country.

There has been vocal opposition to the legislation throughout the process.

When the Bill was voted on by MPs last year, protesters outside held signs reading “assist us to live not die” and “euthanasia is not the solution”.

The vote has also raised concerns that those facing chronic conditions may feel pressured to die so as to not be a ‘burden’ on their families, as has been the case in Canada.

https://www.christian.org.uk

Netherlands contemplates expanding assisted suicide for people over 75 ‘tired of living’

Jeanne Smits – July 27, 2020

(LifeSiteNews) – A draft law proposing the legalization of assisted suicide for people over 75 who are “tired of living” has been presented in the Second Chamber of the Dutch parliament by Pia Dijkstra, of the D66 progressive “social-liberal” party. While there is a relatively small chance that the proposed law will be able to cross all legislative hurdles – this usually takes at least nine months – before the present cabinet steps down, Dijkstra made clear that her main objective is to push the theme to the fore in order to be extensively discussed.

The idea of allowing people to choose to leave this life for personal reasons has been around for some time in the Netherlands. Since euthanasia became legal in 2001, pressure groups have been working to extend the scope of “chosen death” in the name of personal autonomy. People who consider their life to be “complete” should be allowed to put an end to it even when they do not comply with the legal conditions: “unbearable suffering,” either physical or psychological, due to a serious or terminal medical condition, absence of available treatment, no perspective of improvement of their condition.

The principle of assisted death for people who are “done with life” is gaining traction in the Netherlands. Four years ago, in 2016, it was the ruling Dutch cabinet that promoted a new provision in the euthanasia law, via a letter signed by Health Minister Edith Schippers and Justice Minister Ard van der Steur. The proposition never came to Parliament because of the general elections that were to take place one year later, and liberal as the Netherlands are, it shocked public opinion.

But lobbying has continued, in particular on the part of the National Association for a Chosen End of Life (NVVE) that had applauded the cabinet’s initiative.

Over the last years, the Dutch government has decided to consult the population before a similar proposition is examined. Commission Wijngaarden, as it is known, was created in 2017 to consult “senior citizens” to find out how many are actually “tired of living.” It appeared as a way of avoiding inevitable confrontations between Christian and Christian Democrat parties with more liberal parties in a country where forming a government is impossible without political alliances.

Second Chamber member Pia Dijkstra decided to accelerate the process, promising last September that she would “soon” present a draft law.

https://www.lifesitenews.com

‘Assisted suicide an NHS moneysaver’, ‘disturbing’ report says

Christian Insitute – March 18, 2020

Academics in Scotland have been criticised for suggesting that legalising assisted suicide would financially benefit the NHS.

Ethicist Dr David Shaw and healthcare economist Professor Alec Morton say it would be “irresponsible not to consider” the economic costs of denying assisted suicide.

Dr Gordon Macdonald, Chief Executive of Care Not Killing, called the report “highly disturbing”.

Dr Macdonald said: “Very quickly the argument moves from that of personal autonomy to doctors and nurses making value judgments about the quality of other people’s lives while seeking to save money and tackle so-called ‘bed blocking’ in health services.”

He cited the situation in the US states of Oregon and Washington, where “a majority of those ending their lives cite fear of being a burden on their families and finances.

“We have also seen cancer patients denied life-saving and life-extending treatments due to their cost but offered the drugs to end their lives”.

The study claimed legalization would be positive, as helping some patients to kill themselves would free up resources for other patients.

The researchers also said the controversial practice should be legalized because where patients die naturally, their organs deteriorate and are less likely to be viable for transplant.

In the Netherlands and Belgium it is already possible for organs to be donated following an assisted suicide.

https://www.christian.org.uk