02/09/99 MEDIA RELEASE EUTHANASIA – A NEW ATTRACTION FOR TOURISTS TO SOUTH AFRICA? In spite of having responded positive to the press release by the South African Law Commission (DFL Press Release 29/7/99), Doctors For Life (DFL) is stunned by the contents of the proposed bill itself. DFL views the original press release by the Law Commission as misleading in that, contrary to what was said, active euthanasia is very much part of the proposals. This casts a dark shadow over the Commission’s integrity. We consider the new proposals for legislation on euthanasia by the South African Law Commission as a medical horror story which signifies a total departure from medical practice as we’ve come to know it. The legislation is based on the same principles as the German T4 program, which was condemned as a crime against humanity at Nuremburg. If the options are accepted, the proposed legislation will not only legalise physician assisted suicide and active euthanasia but also unadulterated, compulsory euthanasia. If passed as proposed, it will be the most liberal in the world – more slack than even Holland. DFL would also like to know whether the law commission took the opinion of doctors into consideration. Recently the South African Medical Association did a survey amongst its members to determine their stand on, amongst other things, active euthanasia. Were the results taken into account? Contrary to the (already internationally criticised) legislation in Oregon, the South African legislation:
The doctor just has to have perfect paper work. He is indemnified from all liability even if he misses a diagnosis or messes up the suicide. The family cannot sue the doctor who kills their loved one. He just has to write in the chart that the patient requested it, get another doctor to agree (in Holland doctors find and consult with doctors who will agree with them and refer these cases to them) and document it. The patient will be dead and the family will have no recourse, even if the doctor coerced the patient into it. Other points of concern include the mirriads of vague, non-specific and poorly identified terms used like incompetent, extreme suffering etc. If not restricted to South African citizens only (it’s not clear from the proposed legislation) one can well imagine people flocking to South Africa for a new form of tourism with ads inviting you to "See beautiful South Africa in your final days and be euthanised in our state of the art seaside facilities while enjoying a beautiful sunset and a complementary glass of our world class wine" Doctors For Life sees this proposal as a tragedy for South Africa. Patients will be in enormous jeopardy. The doctor will be both the judge and the executioner with no court of appeal. This is exactly what happened in Germany before the Nazis. It was proposed (with similar safeguards) by psychiatrists to deal with the incurably insane and they emptied 2/3rds of the mental homes’ beds within a few years. Doctors For Life is an organisation of more than 600 doctors, specialists and professors of medicine from across South Africa. For more information contact Dr A. van Eeden: (031) 306-0972 |
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