Santorum needs his head examined. His claim is absolutely outrageous, and I understand the Dutch being furious over it.
FACTCHECK:
Euthanasia in the Netherlands is regulated by the "Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide (Review Procedures) Act" from 2002. It states that euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are not punishable if the attending physician acts in accordance with criteria of due care. These criteria concern the patient's request, the patient's suffering (unbearable and hopeless), the information provided to the patient, the presence of reasonable alternatives, consultation of another physician and the applied method of ending life. To demonstrate their compliance, the Act requires physicians to report euthanasia to a review committee.
Actually the assisted suicide cases represent 1.2% of all deaths in Netherlands
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euthanasia_in_the_Netherlands
Depends on your definition of euthanasia, I suppose:
‘Schadenberg also said a 2007 report showed about 10 percent of all deaths in The Netherlands were related to terminal sedation. “Many of those deaths were caused by dehydration, due to the physician sedating the patient and then withholding hydration until death occurs, which usually takes 10 [to] 14 days,” he said.’
http://erlc.com/article/life-digest-dutch-euthanasia-cases-increase/
“Actually the assisted suicide cases represent 1.2% of all deaths in Netherlands”
Most of the reported cases concerned terminal cancer patients.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2848393/posts ~ Euthanasia is an issue in current French Presidential Race. It is apparently something the big dogs there see as having vote getting value! They will be using Nederland as a bad example ~ both sides of the issue in fact.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8466996/Fearful-elderly-people-carry-anti-euthanasia-cards.html ~ the assisted suicide debate in United Kingdom was underway at the time this article was published. The thing is EUTHANASIA is not Assisted Suicide. Nederland has 2700+ ACTS OF EUTHANASIA ~ which is where your doctor or nurse just flat out kills you like an animal. They had 21 cases of EUTHANASIA that didn’t involve any sort of permission, implied or otherwise last year. Don’t try to trick us by confounding Suicide, Assisted Suicide, Euthanasia, Involuntary Euthanasia and Murder when reporting these statistics.
Google the Groningen Protocol, which outlines the steps for purposefully withholding treatment from newborns and preemies to ensure their demise.
In short, Santorum was correct.
“Actually the assisted suicide cases represent 1.2% of all deaths in Netherlands
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euthanasia_in_the_Netherlands";
Yes, and unemployment is 8.3 % and Obama is going to cut the deficit in half and the Stimulus created 300 billion jobs.
You believe everything you find on FactCheck and Wikipedia?
You think the Dutch government would admit that 10% of the deaths are euthanasia? If the Dutch government admits 1.2 % you can be darn sure the real amount is much higher.
My guess is that a qualifier was missing — 10% of hospital deaths, perhaps. Santorum may have goofed but not in any significant way. That the Dutch are angry at him only indicates who much they’ve invested in lying to themselves about how principled and limited their euthanasia program really is.
Santorum probably was basing himself on an estimate by pro-life analysts trying to get to the real number through the fog of Dutch government stats.
Good grief.
Picture a President Santorum p!$$!ng off world leaders, one by one.
Now picture President Gingrich recruiting allies who can finally trust America again.