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Netherlands set to legalise euthanasia
By ANTHONY DEUTSCH
AP
Friday 24 November 2000
The Dutch Parliament is set to become the first in the world to officially sanction mercy killings next week.
Lawmakers held a final debate today on the bill that is likely to pass easily through the 150-seat lower house of Parliament next Tuesday. Only the small Christian parties are expected to vote against it, and upper house support is considered assured.
If passed, the measure is expected to be implemented early next year.
“While some countries quietly tolerate it or practise it secretly, we will become the first country in the world where euthanasia is officially legal,” said Rob Jonquiere, head of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society.
In 1993, Parliament decriminalised euthanasia a step short of legalising it and adopted guidelines under which it was understood doctors would not be prosecuted. The legal penalty for euthanasia remained on the books, however, with a maximum prison sentence of 12 years.
Barring a few impassioned speeches from opponents, the routine tone of today's debate belied the groundbreaking nature of the bill.
“After 25 years of practising it and 25 years of talking about it, now legislators are taking their responsibility,” said Boris Dittrich of the Democrats 66 party which drafted the bill.
Opponent Bas van der Vlies, of the Christian party SGP, told the house decisions of life and death belonged to God, not man. “I appeal to you from the depths of my soul to refuse this path and choose the path of the Bible.”
Guidelines under the new bill state that a patient must suffer from irremediable and unbearable pain, be aware of all other medical options and have sought a second professional opinion before opting for the lethal injection. A small commission of legal and medical experts will assess each case to ensure adherence to the rules.
A late hurdle was cleared earlier this year when a contentious clause in the draft bill was removed that would have allowed 12- to 16-year-olds to request physician- assisted suicide without parental consent.
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