Dutch Approve Euthanasia Bill
Updated 3:53 PM ET April 10, 2001
Associated Press Writer THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP)
Despite protests outside parliament, the Netherlands legalized mercy killings and assisted suicide Tuesday, becoming the first nation to allow doctors to end the life of patients with unbearable, terminal illness.
About 10,000 euthanasia opponents surrounded the building, praying, singing hymns and quoting the Bible, while the upper house of parliament, the Senate, considered the legislation. The Senate voted 46-28 in favor of the law, likely to take effect in the summer.
Before the vote, Health Minister Els Borst reassured legislators the bill could not be abused by doctors because of careful supervisory provisions. The law presupposes a long doctor-patient relationship and requires patients be legal residents of the Netherlands. "There are sufficient measures to eliminate those concerns," Borst told the senators. Euthanasia, she said, will remain a last resort for those who have no other choice but endless suffering. The law formalizes a practice discreetly used in Dutch hospitals and homes for decades, turning guidelines adopted by Parliament in 1993 into legally binding requirements. Doctors can still be punished if they fail to meet the law's strict codes.
Outside parliament, some protesters were masked in black balaclavas and carried oversized syringes dripping with fake blood. Others gathered signatures for a petition that already had 25,000 names before the debate opened Monday evening. Several Christian schools canceled classes to allow students from across the country to participate in the demonstrations. "We don't have the right to decide about matters of life and death, but God does," said 19-year-old Henrico van der Hoek as he walked passed Parliament. "As Christians, we simply cannot support this law." After the vote, they said they were disappointed but not surprised.
The Senate vote was considered a formality for the bill, already passed by the lower house. "The tide will turn back someday," said 69-year-old Piet Huurman of the Cry for Life protest group. "They will realize they have made a terrible mistake." Despite the strong showing of opponents on Tuesday, van der Hoek, who belongs to the Dutch Reformed Church, admitted he is one of a small minority in the Netherlands, once a stronghold of Christian politics. In the debate, Borst said a broad consensus had coalesced after 30 years of discussion, with some 90 percent of the population backing the changes.
Under the law, a patient would have to be undergoing irremediable and unbearable suffering, be aware of all other medical options and have sought a second professional opinion. The request would have to be made voluntarily, persistently and independently while the patient is of sound mind. Doctors are not supposed to suggest it as an option. The new law also would allow patients to leave a written request for euthanasia, giving doctors the right to use their own discretion when patients become too physically or mentally ill to decide for themselves. An independent commission would review cases to ensure the guidelines were followed. If a doctor is suspected of wrongdoing, the case will be referred to public prosecutors for review and possible punishment.
Several countries - Switzerland, Colombia and Belgium - tolerate euthanasia. In the United States, Oregon has allowed doctor-assisted suicide for the terminally ill since 1996, but its law is more restrictive than the Dutch bill. In Australia, the Northern Territories enacted a law in 1996, but it was revoked in 1997 by the federal parliament. The drafters of the Dutch bill denounced a plan from Australia's leading euthanasia campaigner to set up a floating clinic in a ship flying the Dutch flag off the coast. Dr. Philip Nitschke had said if the Dutch legalize euthanasia he would offer clients lethal injections in international waters off the Australian coast. Borst said the Dutch government would do "whatever it could" to counter any such effort and stressed that the scheme "could by no means" fit into the Dutch rules.