By Matt for the TIB Network:
The slippery slope of the Groningen Protocol manifests itself in a Dutch decision on euthenasia (via Lifesite.net) of perfectly healthy adults:The Royal Dutch Medical Association has concluded, after a three-year investigation, that Dutch doctors ought to be able to kill patients who are not ill but who are judged to be "suffering through living."This is just inexcusable. What next? Legalizing murder? Total anarchy?
The decision contradicts the Dutch Supreme Court that ruled in 2002 that patients may only request euthanasia if they have a "classifiable physical or mental condition," and not if they are merely "tired of life." The law however, does not require a medical condition, but only that a patient must be "suffering hopelessly and unbearably." Pro-life activists have warned that such ambiguous language is an open door for new interpretations that would make the law a license to kill.
The new report says many Dutch doctors believe some cases of "suffering through living" could be judged "unbearable and hopeless."
Insta-Update
From the British Medical Journal:Jos Dijkhuis, the emeritus professor of clinical psychology who led the inquiry, said that it was "evident to us that Dutch doctors would not consider euthanasia from a patient who is simply ‘tired of, or through with, life,’" (terms used in the original court case). Instead his committee chose the term "suffering through living," where a patient may present a variety of physical and mental complaints.This guy says it best:
He said there was "enormous protest" from doctors to the Supreme Court’s ruling. "In more than half of cases we considered, doctors were not confronted with a classifiable disease. In practice the medical domain of doctors is far broader … We see a doctor’s task is to reduce suffering, therefore we can’t exclude these cases in advance. We must now look further to see if we can draw a line and if so where."
His report recommends caution, saying that doctors currently lack sufficient expertise and that their roles remain unclear. It recommends drawing up protocols by which to judge "suffering through living" cases and collecting and analysing further data. In the meantime it recommends an "extra phase" to treatment, where therapeutic and social solutions can first be sought.
Henk Jochemsen, director of the anti-euthanasia Lindeboom Institute for Medical Ethics, said that the report has dangerous signs, to the effect that "we as a society should say to people who feel their life has lost meaning: right you had better go away."Again, this is the reason why the Groningen Protocols were so vociferously objected to by American conservatives. Remember, folks, this is coming from the SAME organization that brought us the Groningen Protocols and now they want to do it again...only for people who aren't ill.
For those of you who read Dutch, check this out. That's teh report from the Dutch Medical Association.
