2nd March 2017, 0 comments

Finland's parliament on Thursday debated a citizens' initiative to make euthanasia legal, a widely supported cause in the Nordic country.

"A law on euthanasia is needed to add an alternative at life's end for those who cannot get sufficient relief to their unbearable agonies even from the finest of palliative treatment," the initiative read.

In Finland, citizens can require parliament to debate an issue by gathering a minimum of 50,000 signatures.

Thursday's debate was just the first step in the parliamentary process. A special committee will draft a more detailed memorandum for lawmakers to consider at a later, undisclosed date.

It is not yet known how much support the idea has in parliament.

But a poll conducted by public broadcaster YLE in 2015 suggests that nearly 60 percent of the current lawmakers are favourable to the possibility of an assisted death for a terminally ill patient.

And several polls in recent years have shown Finns to be largely supportive of the idea.

A survey conducted in December by pollster Taloustutkimus for YLE showed that 73 percent were in favour, 14 percent were opposed and 13 percent remained uncertain.

The Netherlands and Belgium became the first countries in the world to legalise euthanasia in 2002.

During Thursday's debate, opposing MPs called for better palliative treatment of dying patients instead of euthanasia.

"What kind of agony would be considered sufficient to trigger a (doctor's) decision to allow euthanasia? Statistics from the Netherlands prove that the most important reason for requesting euthanasia has not been pain but rather loneliness and fear of ending up dependent on help from others," MP Paivi Rasanen of the Christian Democrats said.

The citizens' initiative was undertaken by two retired politicians, former finance minister Iiro Viinanen and former MP Esko Seppanen, who both suffer from Parkinson's disease.

"I would have wished that my son, who died from cancer after atrocious pain, would have had this opportunity. He could have had a dignified and painless death," Seppanen told news agency STT when the initiative was published in November.

2017 AFP

Originally posted here:

Finnish parliament debates legalising euthanasia - Expatica Netherlands