Posted on 03/13/2010 3:56:53 PM PST by NYer
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 ...
Is it just me, or am I mistaken in thinking this proposal has the FULL SUPPORT of Holland’s mullahs? [Those old folks are the only ones still bothering to attend Christian services...]
Europe really is dying.
Why stop at 70?
Why not 50?
Why not 20?
Why have an age limit at all?
And why should Holland care if someone just wants to die because they are depressed or because a love one just died? Does it mean their lives are any more valuable than a granny in their 70s?
Government has no business drawing a line on this. They should either be all in or all out. Otherwise, it’s a form of discrimination.
I suspect it has to do with falling away from religious faith and not bothering to produce a next generation to speak of. When you have no stake in the future and nothing much matters but idle comfort, then life itself becomes cheap.
“Holland pays out incredible benefits to retired people and I guess this must be the sign that they’re feeling the pinch.”
I saw a list recently showing Netherlands at or near the top of the list of countries ranked by total debt as a percent of GDP. They were at about 400% (US was at 90% IIRC). Virtually all the European countries were above the U.S. on this list. Thus, not only do we enjoy lower taxes in the U.S. (government share of economy is about 10 percentage points lower in the U.S. compared to OECD), but so far, we have much lower debt levels. As well, they are way ahead of us when it comes to the “graying” of their population, resulting in a lower ratio of workers to retirees compared to us.
Obama appears bound and determined to eradicate every single one of those competitive advantages by turning us into a European welfare state in which work is penalized and living off the government dime encouraged.
How stupid is that?
70 is way to young to be calling it quits. At least in a free country, which Europa isn’t any more.
If some of the elderly decide to “do their duty for the common good” as they see that duty, it might go hard on the members of the death panels. What are they going to do to the elderly? After you get to be so old, any sentence is a life sentence and the older you get the shorter a life sentence gets.
I this healthcare bill passes we will be Holland in a few years...
Bingo!
That's just for starters to get the law on the books. Then we file an "age discrimination" lawsuit and get it opened up so everyone has the same right.
“That could never happen in Holland. Gramma doesn’t have any money to inherit. She already gave it all to the government! “
W I N N E R !!
My father dropped bombs on the heads of right-to-die fascists. I see no reason the work can’t be started up again.
Well, this IS the next step. Holland or the Netherlands as they call themselves has been LETTING the elderly die in their beds for a number of years now.
The slippery slope: discussion >> persuasion >> coercion >> force.
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.