Fighting against euthanasia in Europe: a fight lost in advance?
Fighting against euthanasia in Europe: Belgium on the path of nazi Germany?
Welcome to this new blog. As indicated, it will be consecrated to questions of human rights and bioethics in Europe. The author is a law graduate and has a diploma in biomedical ethics from the "Catholic University of Louvain-la-neuve" (UCL - Belgium). He has also studied human rights and canon law in the framework of his studies.
The aim of this blog is to give you up to date information on all latest developments in law and discussions on Human rights (especially from the point of view of the action of police and law-enforcement forces) and on bioethics (where we shall specialize on the question of vulnerable persons and their protection in today’s society).
You can visit regularly this blog to keep up to date with our latest articles. Today, the question considered will be the subject of euthanasia in Europe, and more particularly in Belgium. Active euthanasia has been depenalised (actually legalised) in Belgium since the Act of 28 May 2002 relating to euthanasia (M.B., 22 June 2002). If you understand French or Dutch, you can research the act on this site of the Belgian government: http:/www.moniteur.be
The situation of euthanasia in Belgium has been getting even worse since a new bill was introduced in July 2004 by senators Jeanine Leduc and Paul Wille, preconising involuntary euthanasia (euthanasia which is not asked for by persons having the capacity to decide for themselves) for patients suffering of dementia or minors (children). Have a look at that bill on the site of the Belgian Senate over here: http://www.senate.be/wwwcgi/get_pdf?50332915
The legalisation of euthanasia in two countries of Europe (Belgium and the Netherlands) is caused by a growing movement of anti-religious lobbying, and of lay militantism which often negates to its opponents any right to fundamental freedoms recognized by the European convention of Human rights.
This saddening evolution of « old Europe » took place in Belgium because the Belgian society is based on compromise as a political system. Hence, according to Bishop André-Mutien Léonard of Namur, the Belgian society and the Belgian Catholic Church have not discussed to the bottom the implications of legalising euthanasia (Dimanche Catholic newspaper, dated 13/02/2005).
In our opinion, if the bill of Leduc and Wille was to be approved, it would mean that Belgium is being directed on the path that was once followed by nazi Germany, when they "euthanized" people who were mentally ill, and “non-productive” beings. The essence of the debate around euthanasia amounts to this: are we willing to be a humane society with enough time and incentive to take care of the weakest among us? Belgium and the Netherlands seem to have already replied by the negative, and the few opponents who are still present in those two countries seem to have chosen silence, instead of fighting strongly those terrible deviations.
An article published in 2003 in the French Jésuit publication Esprit wrote then about the sick person being transferred to palliative care: "the status of this patient is now commanded by his end", in that most services sought to get rid of their dying patients. At the same time, continued the article, there is a "psychologisation of death", the patient being viewed as a victim of his fate. And the author pointed out the practices of medical teams which increase brutally the doses after a patient has been viewed by the palliative care team. Hence the dying patient became, in a way, a "Job" who received from his doctors only unsatisfying replies (R.W. HIGGINS, "L’invention du mourant. Violence de la mort pacifiée", Esprit, January 2003, p. 139-168).
If you are interested in having a complete survey on the situation of euthanasia and assisted suicide around the world, then visit this site: http://www.internationaltaskforce.org/
An American site, it has regularly updated information and scientific comments.
Welcome to this new blog. As indicated, it will be consecrated to questions of human rights and bioethics in Europe. The author is a law graduate and has a diploma in biomedical ethics from the "Catholic University of Louvain-la-neuve" (UCL - Belgium). He has also studied human rights and canon law in the framework of his studies.
The aim of this blog is to give you up to date information on all latest developments in law and discussions on Human rights (especially from the point of view of the action of police and law-enforcement forces) and on bioethics (where we shall specialize on the question of vulnerable persons and their protection in today’s society).
You can visit regularly this blog to keep up to date with our latest articles. Today, the question considered will be the subject of euthanasia in Europe, and more particularly in Belgium. Active euthanasia has been depenalised (actually legalised) in Belgium since the Act of 28 May 2002 relating to euthanasia (M.B., 22 June 2002). If you understand French or Dutch, you can research the act on this site of the Belgian government: http:/www.moniteur.be
The situation of euthanasia in Belgium has been getting even worse since a new bill was introduced in July 2004 by senators Jeanine Leduc and Paul Wille, preconising involuntary euthanasia (euthanasia which is not asked for by persons having the capacity to decide for themselves) for patients suffering of dementia or minors (children). Have a look at that bill on the site of the Belgian Senate over here: http://www.senate.be/wwwcgi/get_pdf?50332915
The legalisation of euthanasia in two countries of Europe (Belgium and the Netherlands) is caused by a growing movement of anti-religious lobbying, and of lay militantism which often negates to its opponents any right to fundamental freedoms recognized by the European convention of Human rights.
This saddening evolution of « old Europe » took place in Belgium because the Belgian society is based on compromise as a political system. Hence, according to Bishop André-Mutien Léonard of Namur, the Belgian society and the Belgian Catholic Church have not discussed to the bottom the implications of legalising euthanasia (Dimanche Catholic newspaper, dated 13/02/2005).
In our opinion, if the bill of Leduc and Wille was to be approved, it would mean that Belgium is being directed on the path that was once followed by nazi Germany, when they "euthanized" people who were mentally ill, and “non-productive” beings. The essence of the debate around euthanasia amounts to this: are we willing to be a humane society with enough time and incentive to take care of the weakest among us? Belgium and the Netherlands seem to have already replied by the negative, and the few opponents who are still present in those two countries seem to have chosen silence, instead of fighting strongly those terrible deviations.
An article published in 2003 in the French Jésuit publication Esprit wrote then about the sick person being transferred to palliative care: "the status of this patient is now commanded by his end", in that most services sought to get rid of their dying patients. At the same time, continued the article, there is a "psychologisation of death", the patient being viewed as a victim of his fate. And the author pointed out the practices of medical teams which increase brutally the doses after a patient has been viewed by the palliative care team. Hence the dying patient became, in a way, a "Job" who received from his doctors only unsatisfying replies (R.W. HIGGINS, "L’invention du mourant. Violence de la mort pacifiée", Esprit, January 2003, p. 139-168).
If you are interested in having a complete survey on the situation of euthanasia and assisted suicide around the world, then visit this site: http://www.internationaltaskforce.org/
An American site, it has regularly updated information and scientific comments.
posted by dawnofeurope | 2:12 pm
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