Netherlands addressing end of life issues: If you're dying and Dutch, you're not much

On Tuesday, April 10, 2001, the Netherlands' Senate voted 46-28 to legalize euthanasia. This vote made the Netherlands the only country in the world to legalize euthanasia, which they have tolerated since it was decriminalized in 1973 by a Dutch court ¹. The Senate passed the legislation, which is likely to take effect soon in spite of thousands of protesters who pleaded that life be respected. The law is a part of the continuing trend in the Netherlands to tolerate euthanasia.

The law states that in order for the doctor's actions to be legal they must:
•be convinced the patient's request was voluntary, well-considered and lasting
•be convinced the patient was facing unremitting and unbearable suffering
•have informed the patient about their situation and prospects
•have reached the firm conclusion with the patient that there was no reasonable alternative solution
•have consulted at least one other independent physician, who has examined the patient and formed a judgment about the above points
•terminate the life in a medically appropriate fashion

Before this law, euthanasia wasn't permitted by law, but doctors could use a standard defense in the Dutch courts and not have to serve prison time. Dutch doctors wouldn't get prosecuted if they met the requirements published by the Royal Dutch Medical Association. These requirements were similar to the current requirements of the new law.

Doctors have often found loopholes in these requirements that allowed them to euthanize patients who weren't really terminally ill. One of these loopholes was a Dutch Supreme Court ruling in 1993 that psychiatric reasons, such as depression, can be considered grounds for euthanasia. This ruling came in a case where a severely depressed woman, who had lost her two daughters, wanted to commit suicide ². Instead of trying to work through and overcome her suicidal thoughts, her psychiatrist met with her 4 times in 5 weeks and then provided assistance so that she could end her life.

The viewpoint that preciousness of life ends when pain or abnormalities enter the picture, has led the Netherlands down the slippery slope of euthanasia. Dutch doctors first euthanized only terminally ill patients, but now doctors are allowed to terminate the lives of infants and depressed people, not to mention disabled individuals or brain damaged comatose patients ³.

This law is especially troubling when alternatives to euthanasia, such as palliative care, can be considered. Palliative care focuses on caring for the individual at the end of life and working to make the remainder of their life as comfortable as possible. The discussion on improving palliative care is often placed on the back burner while efforts to increase the number of patients who are eligible for euthanasia is placed in the forefront. This is a way for medical professionals to escape from actually caring for the needs of patients who are suffering from physical and mental anguish.

Right to Life of Michigan's Educational Resource Centers have a variety of materials available on end of life issues. Brochures and pamphlets regarding the fallacies of pro-euthanasia arguments, pain management, and Oregon's assisted suicide policy are available. Also a variety of books and videos about different end of life issues can be borrowed for group discussions, research projects or for those interested in learning more about end of life issues.

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References:
1 Jay Branegan, Time, 3/17/97, p. 30.
2 New York Times, 4/5/93, p. A3, and Washington Times, 4/22/93, A2.
3 Herman van der Kolk, "Euthanasia the Progressive Undermining of Legal Protection for Human Life," Conference 98: Human Rights and Abortion and Euthanasia.

 

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