Netherlands politician pushes to expand euthanasia to people who are "tired of living."

Alex Schadenberg

Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

In October 2016 I reported that the Dutch government were considering expanding the euthanasia law to include people who are not physically or psychologically suffering but who believe that their "life is complete."

The issue of the "completed life" was not legislated at that time, but now the Dutch media reported that Pia Dijkstra, a D66 parliamentarian, stated that she is planning to introduce "completed life" legislation, next year. The DutchNews.NL reported:

The Liberal democratic party is drawing up its own legislation which would make it possible for the elderly who consider their life is at an end to be helped to die. D66 parliamentarian Pia Dijkstra told the AD in an interview that she plans to introduce a draft bill early next year. 

Ministers are currently looking into the options for assisted suicide for people who are ‘tired of life’ but, says Dijkstra, health minister Hugo de Jonge is not working quickly enough. 

‘The minister obviously senses the urgency less than I do,’

In March 2017, the DutchNews.NL reported that the Dutch doctors association (KNMG) opposed expanding the euthanasia law to prescribe lethal drugs for "completed life." The KNMG stated that expanding the euthanasia law for reasons of a "completed life" would undermine the current euthanasia law. The DutchNews.NL stated:

However, separate legislation for people with ‘no medical grounds’ for the wish to die could have an undesirable social effect, by stigmatising the elderly, the KNMG said. Instead, the government should invest in measures to make sure the elderly do not feel their lives are pointless.

The Netherlands euthanasia lobby began the push to expand euthanasia to the "completed life" in 2010 when they ran a signature campaign promoting what they then called, the "last will pill."

The 2018 Netherlands euthanasia data indicates that euthanasia based on a "completed life" is already happening. In 2018, 205 people died by euthanasia, who had multiple problems derived from the aging process. This was a new category based on the "completed life."

Once killing becomes an acceptable solution to social problems, the only remaining question is what problem will killing become the solution for?