13/08/99 HOLLAND LEGALISES THE KILLING OF CHILDREN We are stunned by the recent proposals to the Dutch Parliament to legalise euthanasia for children from the age of 12 and up. According to this horrific piece of legislation a 12 year old girl can request euthanasia without or against the wish of her parents and, if the doctor agrees, her request must be granted. Once again it proves what DFL had been warning against - ultimately such legislation does not so much give the patient the right to die, but gives of the doctor both judge and executioner. It also confirms the reality of the "slippery slope" principle when starting to legalise intentional killing (active euthanasia) by doctors. Over a period of 27 years Holland has gone down the slippery slope from legalising voluntary euthanasia for the terminally ill to legalising voluntary euthanasia for the chronically ill; to legalising non-voluntary euthanasia; to legalising euthanasia for people experiencing mental suffering; to infanticide and now even euthanasia for minors. According to the South African Law Commission the new proposed legislation on euthanasia does not include active euthanasia. It is important to mention that Holland even now has not legalised active euthanasia but simply tolerates it. Even though DFL is still studying the proposed legislation on euthanasia we would like to earnestly warn against any legislation that would open the way to tolerate active euthanasia. Suicide is an "infectious disease". Human beings have a morbid attraction to suicide because it appears to be an easy way out when life gets difficult - even more so for a young inexperienced teenager. For that reason ancient civilisations through the ages (e.g. the Greeks) actively tried to discourage it. We must therefore also be careful that new legislation does not send an unofficial message that it is acceptable to a society. DFL realises that medical science has become powerful. We hope that the new South African legislation is supposed to protect the public from over zealous doctors who are prolonging the dying process rather than prolonging life. Nobody wants to be rigged up to a ventilator and be artificially kept alive when they are dead already. One wonders whether, with the present economic climate and limited resources in the health sector, the danger is not rather that you may be taken off the ventilator too early rather than keeping them too long. DFL is an organisation of about 640 doctors, specialists and professors of medicine from medical faculties across our country. For more information contact: Dr A. van Eeden - Tel: (031) 306-0972. |
| You are viewing this
page from one of the Doctors For Life web sites. To return to the site you
were visiting, close this window. All Materials ©2004 Doctors For Life International unless otherwise noted. |