Euthanasia for any and no reason in the Netherlands

By Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Radio Netherlands has reported that once again, euthanasia will be debated in late January in the Netherlands lower house. The euthanasia lobby is pushing for euthanasia to be prescribed for any and no reason.

The push to expand the availability of euthanasia has been going on for a long-time. In 2006, I attended the World Federation of Right to Die Societies conference where the then leader of Right to Die NL stated that their goal was to legalize euthanasia for people who are "tired of living."

Recently the euthanasia lobby in the Netherlands has also been pushing for mobile euthanasia teams to deliver death to people with disabilities. Does this mean that death is preferable to living with a disability?

Euthanasia was first accepted in the Netherlands for people who were terminally ill and suffering. Now euthanasia is done for people who are not terminally ill, who are experiencing depression, for newborns with disabilities, and possibly soon for any and no reason.

It should not surprise anyone that the number of euthanasia deaths continue to rise in the Netherlands with a 19% growth in euthanasia deaths in the past year alone.

Once death becomes the answer for one reason, there will soon be many more reasons to prescribe death. The logical conclusion is that once euthanasia becomes accepted, that death will be prescribed for any and no reason.

The answer is to say not to euthanasia.