Posted on 03/10/2010 8:06:20 PM PST by traumer
Assisted suicide for anyone over 70 who has simply had enough of life is being considered in Holland.
Non-doctors would be trained to administer a lethal potion to elderly people who 'consider their lives complete'.
The radical move would be a world first and push the boundaries even further in the country that first legalised euthanasia.
The Dutch parliament is to debate the measure after campaigners for assisted suicide collected 112,500 signatures in a month.
Euthanasia has been available for the terminally ill in Holland since 2002 in cases of 'hopeless and unbearable suffering' certified by two doctors, but this would be a far bigger step.
Supporters say it would offer a dignified way to die for those over 70 who just want to give up living, without having to resort to difficult or unreliable solitary suicide methods.
They might include widows and widowers overwhelmed by grief, those unwilling to face the frailties of extreme old age or people determined to ‘get out while they’re ahead’ and meet death on their own terms.
The assistants who administered the deadly cocktail of sedatives would need to be certified, campaigners said.
And they would have to make sure that patients were not acting on a whim or due to a temporary depression, but from a heartfelt and enduring desire to die.
But critics say there is scope for the elderly to come under untoward pressure from unscrupulous relatives.
Many religious groups oppose any form of suicide on principle.
And the Royal Dutch Medical Association - which played a key role in supporting the nation's euthanasia law - fears patients would use the policy as a way of getting around their own doctors.
Although Switzerland allows assisted suicide in cases where someone is not terminally ill, the Dutch measure would go further.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Saw this coming. The world is starting to look like a Vincent Price movie from the 60s.
How inspirational.
Why...make sure they don't screw up and kill somebody?
You captured the sense of it, thanks!
Time to get on the Merry Go Round.
Let’s see. Who is over 70 years old I could nominate for this.....
hmmmm.
madness. we must liberate Europe from themselves.
Or, to make sure they don’t screw up and allow someone to survive.
This year it’s optional...next year probably starts the “it’s your duty”!
Checking to make sure Holland isn’t on my golden years list.
Years ago I read that elderly people in Holland will not allow a doctor to examine them because they fear the doctor will determine on his own that the old have no more “quality of life” left and poison them.
or to make sure they don’t screw up and the patient lives
Wrongful life lawsuits?
Holland used to be a religious country with laws based on Christian moral principles. They will soon be governed by sharia for forsaking their heritage. Any country that turns towards secular humanism is on the road of destruction.
I guess the “social” spending in Holland on their equivalent of Social Security is getting really out of hand. God help us should *our* politicians decide that a final solution is the only way to save SS and Medicare...
Exactly what is coming here. Obama vision.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.