Category Archives: Euthanasia

After a lifetime together, Netherlands couple Jan Farber, 70, and wife Els van Leeningen, 71, decided to end their lives together as well. The two opened up about their decision to undergo duo-euthanasia for BBC's new documentary Loving, Living and Dying Together, before their deaths a month ago on June 3, 2024.

The couple, from Fireisland, met when they were in kindergarten and were married for nearly five decades before making the decision to end things, in a county where euthanasia and assisted suicide have been legal since the Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide (Review Procedures) Act went into effect in April 2002.

For Jan, he began struggling to back pain 1999, which wasn't alleviated at all by surgery in 2003. Per BBC, he could no longer work and began telling his family "he didn't want to live too long with his physical limitations."

In 2018, his wife then began to display early signs of dementia and was officially diagnosed with it in 2022. Upon learning her condition would only get worse over time, the couple began talking about duo-euthanasia more seriously with their son.

"This is very good," Els told BBC, pointing at her body, before pointing to her head and adding, "But this is terrible."

"If you take a lot of medicine, you live like a zombie," added Jans. "So, with the pain I have, and Els' illness, I think we have to stop this. I've lived my life, I don't want pain anymore. The life we've lived, we're getting old [for it]. We think it has to be stopped."

Els' general practitioner, however, was reportedly against performing euthanasia on a patient with dementia -- so the pair then reached out to a mobile clinic, the Centre of Expertise on Euthanasia, for the procedure. The BBC noted that cases of duo-euthanasia can be tricky, as doctors have to determine if both parties are totally on board, or whether one partner is influencing the other to end their life.

Doctors did allegedly determine Els had the mental capacity to decide whether she wanted to die when she made the choice, but the couple's son -- who wasn't named -- still had some reservations about the whole situation.

"You don't want to let your parents die," Jan told the outlet. "So there have been tears - our son said, 'Better times will come, better weather' - but not for me."

Their son also recalled the last full day he, his parents and their grandchildren spent together before their deaths.

"I went for a walk on the beach with my mum. The kids were playing, there were some jokes. It was a very strange day," he shared. "I remember we were having dinner in the evening, and I got tears in my eyes just watching us all having that final dinner together."

The next morning, the couple, their son, his wife and some of the duo's friends all went to a local hospice, where they were given lethal medication.

"We had two hours together, before the doctors came," shared their son. "We spoke about our memories. And we listened to music. The final half hour was difficult. The doctors arrived and everything happened quickly - they follow their routine, and then it's just a matter of minutes."

Loving, Loving and Dying Together is available now on BBC Sounds.

If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or has had thoughts of harming themselves or taking their own life, get help. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) provides 24/7, free, confidential support for people in distress.

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Married Couple In Their 70s Who First Met In Kindergarten Die Together from Duo-Euthanasia - TooFab

Assisted deathas it is now called in England, Le Monde points outis punishable with penalties of up to 14 years in prison, Carenotes. But the most recent directives, issued in 2010 by the judicial authority, encourage leniency when the act is carried out through compassion.

As in France, death in white gloves has its influencers, sufficiently present in the British media to attempt to sway public opinion: thus Le Monde notes, [Dame] Esther Rantzen, 83 years old, a well-known television figure across the Channel, broadcaster at the BBC for more than 20 years, announces that she is suffering from advanced stage lung cancer, and pleads for the legalization of euthanasia.

On the other side, the paralympic champion Tanni Grey-Thompson, now a member of the House of Lords, denounces a false right to die which hides a duty to die, exerted consciously or not over handicapped or seriously ill people, pressured to end it all in order not to become a supposed burden on society any longer, Le Mondenotes. She and others call instead for means of palliative care.

But the state of public opinion has changed in the British Isles: according to an Ipsos poll dating from 2023, two thirds of people asked in the United Kingdom said they were in favor of assisted death for terminally ill adults who ask for it, the same newspaper reports. In this context, the two main partiesthe Conservatives (Tories) and the Workers (Labour Party)are treading carefully.

The outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is struggling in the polls, is now declaring himself not opposed to a change in the law on euthanasia, assuring that, if reelected, he would organize a vote on the decriminalization of assisted suicide in order to regulate the practice, Carenotes.

His main opponent, Labour candidate Keir Starmer, is attempting to smooth out his image in order to become less divisive for conservatives: even if he does not hide his desire to legalize euthanasia, the Labour party leader promised that he would allow his representatives to vote freely by conscience, according to Le Monde.

The same newspaper recalls that in 2015, Mr. Starmer had voted in favor of assisted death when a first bill submitted by Baroness Molly Meacher, a member of the House of Lords, had been voted on in Parliament. The text had been rejected by a large majority.

A third man has entered the race to 10 Downing Street: Brexiter Nigel Farage, now leader of the Reform UK party, is shaking up the electoral campaign in preparation for the general elections on July 4. The conservatives have sown such chaos! he accuses.

While some polls put him in second place behind the Labour candidate, Nigel Farage, even if he is discreet on questions of the right to life, he is far from making the liberalization of euthanasia the heart of his campaign.

For their part, the Catholic bishops of the United Kingdom are calling on voters to take this issue into account when they exercise their right to vote on July 4, 2024: in a Statement on the General Election from Bishop Mark Davies published by the Diocese of Shrewsbury, the Bishop insists: I write to draw your attention to one of these choices in 2024 which involves euthanasia [...] At least one party leader has indicated that he will proactively make parliamentary time available for a change in the law to be considered that will remove many of the legal safeguards which have long protected some of the most vulnerable members of our society. Amid the many questions of policy being considered in the weeks ahead, this must surely be a central issue. [...]

I appeal to Catholics to mobilise. Dont be persuaded by emotional pitches in the media. Speak out against this sinister proposal. He recalls that Death is notpain relief; it is the transition to a glorious new life in heaven with God our Father and Creator. At least, if one dies in the state of grace.

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Euthanasia At Stake in British Elections - FSSPX.News

A woman living with a chronic condition that leaves her in constant pain has shared that she wishes to end her life via euthanasia.

Carolina Arruda from Brazil shared that she has plans to go to Switzerland to die by euthanasia as the practice is banned in her home country.

Carolina lives with a chronic condition which cannot be cured, and which means she has to live in excruciating pain.

The 27-year-old lives in Bambu in south-east Brazil, and was diagnosed with bilateral trigeminal neuralgia when she was just 16 years old.

This condition affects four out of 100,000 people in the world and causes extreme pain in patients.

The mom-of-one describes the pain as like being shocked on both sides of her face with 220 volts.

Bilateral trigeminal neuralgia affects the trigeminal nerve which carries signals between the brain and the face.

Simple everyday actions such as brushing your teeth, chewing, drinking, and sneezing can cause agonising pain for patients.

Describing the condition, Carolina told CNN: "Imagine a pain that makes it impossible to speak, smile, eat. It's the simplest things that this pain limits and incapacitates me in a way that I can't describe."

She added: "There are times when all I can do is lie down and curl up in a corner and wait for this pain to go away, but it never really goes away. I live with this pain 24 hours a day."

Carolina has explored a lot of other options before making her heartbreaking decision.

Explaining, she said: "I tried several pharmacological treatments, from conventional medications to more experimental options.

"I invested time, money and an immense amount of energy in the search for anything that could alleviate my pain."

Tragically, these were not enough to improve the condition.

Carolina said: "Every day, I tried to find meaning, to find hope, but the pain was always there, without stopping.

"It's not a lack of love for life or for the people around me, it's simply a cry for compassion, for a dignified end, you know?"

Ultimately, she has made the decision to travel to Switzerland to die, where euthanasia is legal.

She said: "The decision to have euthanasia was the hardest decision and, at the same time, the clearest for me.

"Even with the support of my family, and all the possibilities for a happy life, the constant pain turned my life into a real torment."

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Woman, 27, suffering chronic pain that can't be cured explains why she wants to die by euthanasia - UNILAD

The court in the Dutch city of Arnhem imposed penalties for selling suicide powders on Thursday. This means that suicide drugs cannot be seen as a legitimate means for "private" euthanasia or assisted suicide.

Two leaders of the Last Will Cooperation have been given prison sentences for providing the lethal drug called X to people. The highest punishment was a one-year suspended prison sentence. Other sentences were 80 hours of community service.

According to the court in Arnhem, the 74-year-old leader of the Last Will Cooperation distributed at least a thousand doses, and possibly more, with all future risks, according to the Dutch press agency ANP.

Those drugs were bought by people who wanted to end their lives and, in some cases, did. Among them were vulnerable, relatively young people whose death wish does not appear to have been enduring, the judge said.

The judge also mentioned the suffering of bereaved families. For example, a womans death wish caused her to become distant from her daughter, who, therefore, could not be with her in the final phase of her life.

The two sentences were significantly lower than what the public prosecutor had demanded. Four other suspects were acquitted. The court did not rule on a seventh suspect because he recently died, so the case against him was dropped. All the suspects were older than 70.

The supplier of the lethal drug was Alex S. (31) from Eindhoven. He was sentenced last year to 3.5 years in prison (of which 1.5 years suspended). His case is still on appeal.

The criminal case served in April and had seven defendants at the time. One of the suspects subsequently died at the age of 80. The case against him lapsed as a result. The prosecution had also demanded 2.5 years in prison against him, one year of which was suspended.

The defendants wanted people to be able to decide on their own death. The court spoke of a group of people in whom the ideal of autonomy was paramount; they were not people who acted on death, according to the judge. The case has a lot of political idealism, although it is idealism and ideology around life and death.

In the square in front of the court, a group of people demonstrated in support of the defendants. The reading of the verdict was disturbed several times by sirens and shouting with a megaphone.

Relatives of several people who died after using drug X are baffled by the low sentences given to two people for supplying that suicide drug. They think the court in Arnhem let the suspects get away with it, according to their lawyer, Sbas Diekstra.

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Dutch court punishes the selling of euthanasia drugs - CNE.news

The Wake County Animal Center is seeking people to adopt pets. | Contributed photo

Wake County Animal Center has reached full capacity once again and urgently needs community support through pet adoptions.

After taking in 141 animals over the last three days, there are only two cat kennels and five dog kennels left in the building. Without immediate intervention, the center will have to start euthanizing for space.

The center has an eight-year record of not euthanizing animals for space, but the number of petsin our care has surged beyond our capacity, said Wake County Commissioner Cheryl Stallings. We are asking for the communitys help to provide these wonderful animals with loving homes and help us keep our record. Every adoption can make a significant difference.

Currently, there are 635 animals at the center and in foster care taking up kennels and life-saving space, leaving no room for incoming animals. There are 65 cats, 100 kittens, 159 dogs, 11 puppies, 11 rabbits, nine birds and one goat at the Center. Another 18 cats, 195 kittens, 61 dogs, four puppies and one rabbit are in foster care.

The center has had to divide the kennels small, enclosed spaces where animals are kept for care and shelter to accommodate two pets, but even this option is no longer sufficient as the number of animals has increased. When the kennels are divided, there is a risk of spreading diseases, especially for young animals and those recently admitted.

The situation is dire, said Dr. Jennifer Federico, director of the Wake County Animal Center. Our community needs to find ways to keep pets at home or rehome them. With the current influx, we simply cannot keep up with the speed. Every day, more animals are coming in than leaving the center.

To encourage adoptions, the Wake County Animal Center will be waiving all adoption fees to $0 for dogs, cats and small animals from June 28 through July 7, for all animals available for adoption.

When you adopt a pet from the Wake County Animal Center, they are spayed/neutered, microchipped, and up to date on their annual vaccines, which saves you on veterinary bills.

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Wake County Animal Center is dangerously close to euthanasia for space - Restoration NewsMedia - Restoration NewsMedia

Warning: This article contains discussion of assisted dying that some readers may find distressing.

A couple chose to be euthanised together after nearly 50 years of happy marriage.

Jan Faber, 70, and Els van Leeningen, 71, opted to die together by duo-euthanasia - a very rare, but legal way of choosing to end your life, which is slowly becoming more popular in the Netherlands.

The couple had a life-long partnership, having met in their early years at school before going on to marry and welcome a son.

Jan and Els lived the majority of their life on boats and in their final years, in a motorhome.

Initially, Els trained as a primary school teacher while Jan was a sports coach, but then the couple decided to build a business transporting goods around the Netherlands inland waterways.

Jan developed serious back pain due to the heavy-lifting involved in his job, and despite having surgery on his back in 2003, his condition didn't improve.

This sparked a conversation about euthanasia between himself and his wife, and they found themselves joining NVVE the Netherlands 'right to die' organisation.

If you take a lot of medicine, you live like a zombie, Jan told the BBC. So, with the pain I have, and Els illness, I think we have to stop this.

Els retired from teaching in 2018 and was showing early signs of dementia.

In November 2022, she was formally diagnosed with the disease, and later learned her condition would not improve.

Jan and Els, along with their son, began discussing duo-euthanasia, as they both continued to struggle with their health.

"Ive lived my life, I dont want pain anymore, Jan said. The life weve lived, were getting old [for it]. We think it has to be stopped.

It was noted that if Els' condition worsened, she may not be considered to have the capacity to decide for herself that she wants to die.

The couple made the decision to be euthanised with the support of their loved ones and spent their final day surrounded by their family and best friends.

Jan and Els, along with their loved ones, went to the local hospice the following day and spent two hours together talking and listening to music before doctors came.

The final half hour was difficult, the couple's son, who asked not to be named, said. The doctors arrived and everything happened quickly - they follow their routine, and then its just a matter of minutes.

Els and Jan were administered lethal medication by doctors and died together on Monday 3 June 2024.

If youve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please dont suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.

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Heartbreaking reason why couple happily married for almost 50 years decided to be euthanised together - LADbible

At the start of February both Dries van Agt, a Catholic former Dutch prime minister, and his wife chose to die together through euthanasia.

Married for 70 years, both Van Agt and his wife, Eugenie, were ill and 93 years old at the time of theirs deaths that are part of a small but growing trend in theNetherlandsfor duo euthanasia, reports the Guardian.

It notes that while still rare, the collective euthanasia of couples was first highlighted in a 2020review of all euthanasia cases in the country, when 26 people were granted euthanasia also known as assisted suicide at the same time as a partner. In 2021 the number was 32 and in 2022 had increased to 58.

Van Agt was prime minister between 1977 and 1982 and the first leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal party. According to Dutch media, Van Agt may have been a Catholic but always chose his own path, the Guardian reports.

Van Agt had never fully recovered from a 2019 brain haemorrhage and both he and his wife were very ill and couldnt go without one another, Gerard Jonkman,director of The Rights Forum which Van Agt set up in his later, more left-leaning years, the Guardian says told broadcaster NOS.

The Rights Forum is a high-level network of former ministers and professors of international law who have joined forces to promote a just and durable solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, says the organisations website.

Elke Swart, spokesperson for the Expertisecentrum Euthanasie, which the Guardian says grants theeuthanasia wishof about 1,000 people a year in the Netherlands which critics of euthanasia policy would argue equates to facilitating the suicides of more than 1,000 people each year told the Guardian that any couples requests for assisted death were tested against strict requirements individually rather than together.

Interest in this is growing, but it is still rare, Swart says. It is pure chance that two people are suffering unbearably with no prospect of relief at the same timeand that they both wish for euthanasia.

Euthanasia has been legal in the Netherlands since 2006. It is permitted undersix conditions/circumstances, the Guardian reports,including unbearable suffering, no prospect of relief and a long-held, independent wish for death that must be verified by a second specialist. Most cases are carried out by the family doctor at home.

Although couples amount to a very small percentage of the deaths by euthanasia in the Netherlands 8,720 cases, or 5.1 per cent of all Dutch assisted deaths in 2022 Fransien van ter Beek, who chairs theNVVEpro-euthanasia foundation, said that many more people express the wish to die as a couple but it does not happen very often because it is not an easy path.

In 2023, the Netherlands decided to widen its euthanasia regulations to include the possibility of doctors assisting in the death of terminally ill children aged between one and 12, the Guardianreports.

Both the UK and Ireland are experiencing sustained pushes by a mixture of lobbyists, celebrities and politicians for an expansion in euthanasia policy by the State.

During his 2023 Christmas homily, the Bishop of Shrewsburywarned against renewed attempts to change UK law to allow doctors to help their patients to commit suicide.

Critics of euthanasia/assisted suicide cite what is happening in Cananda, where numbers of assisted deaths sanctioned by the State, especially among the most vulnerable, are rising rapidly. The countrys Catholic bishops are issuing urgent warnings about the determination of the State to expand the countrys euthanasia policy to include the mentally ill.

Photo: British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher talking to her Dutch counterpart Dries van Agt during a meeting at The Hague, 9 February 1981. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images.)

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Death of Catholic former Dutch prime minister highlights 'duo euthanasia' trend in Netherlands - Catholic Herald Online

On February 5, 2024, former Dutch Prime Minister Dries van Agt died holding hands with his wife Eugenie in his hometown of Nijmegen. Both were 93; the elderly couple chose to die by euthanasia. The Rights Forum, an organization founded by van Agt, released a statement on February 9: He died together and hand in hand with his beloved wife Eugenie van Agt-Krekelberg with whom he was together for more than seventy years, and whom he always continued to refer to as my girl. According to the non-profits director, they couldnt live without each other.

Unsurprisingly for a couple of advanced age, the van Agts had experienced health difficulties in the past several years, with the former prime minister suffering a brain hemorrhage in 2019 while delivering a speech on behalf of the Palestinian cause, to which he devoted the last two decades of his life. Press reports did not disclose his wifes challenges, but instead emphasized that they wanted to die together in what is colloquially referred to as duo euthanasiawhen a couple receives lethal injections simultaneously.

Andreas Dries van Agt served as prime minister of the Netherlands from 1977 until 1982; throughout his career, he served as both a leader of the Catholic Peoples Party (KVP) and the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). In 1999, after a visit to Israel, van Agt began advocating for the PalestiniansThe Rights Forum advocates a just and sustainable Dutch and European policy regarding the Palestine/Israel issue. A joint statement released by King Willem-Alexander, Queen Mxima, and Princess Beatrix praised his administrative responsibility in a turbulent time and his striking personality and colorful style.

Notably, many obituaries and press reports expended great effort to portray the couples duo euthanasia as a banal bit of information, with some headlines stating that the van Agts had passed away, declining to pass judgment on the joint suicide-by-doctor and normalizing the Dutch euthanasia regime as routine. A few decades agowhen van Agt was prime minister, for examplean elderly statesman and his wife committing suicide together with the assistance of a doctor would have horrified the country. Now, it is portrayed as a peaceful sendoffa downright Dutch way of doing things.

That may well be the case. On April 1, 2002, the Netherlands became the first country in Europe since Nazi Germany to legalize euthanasia. Since then, the Dutch euthanasia regime has persistently expanded: in 2004, the Groningen Policy laid out the framework for euthanizing infants (who cannot consent); and, the rules have since been expanded to permit euthanasia for all children. Dutch people have been euthanized for alcoholism, blindness, depression, tinnitus, and even dementiain that case, the woman could not remember having asked for euthanasia and had to be physically held down for the lethal injection.

There have been a number of couples who have chosen to die together by euthanasia over the past several years. One particularly high-profile case featured a healthy UK couple, and the former prime minister and his wife may be part of a trend. As the New York Post reported: Duo euthanasia, or two people receiving a fatal injection simultaneously, is still relatively rare in the Netherlands but is slowly gaining more popularity Twenty-nine couples opted for the paired death in 2022, up from 16 who chose it in 2021 and the 13 pairs the year before. In 2018, a Canadian couple opted for duo euthanasia; they did cheery interviews about the decision scarcely a week before they died by lethal injection, also hand in hand.

Unlike so many other euthanasia storiessuch as those coming out of Canada of latethe duo euthanasia of the van Agts does not appear to have been the result of any undue pressure. However, it is a potent example of where collective de-Christianization has taken us. For duo euthanasia or any doctor-assisted suicide to be simply another end of life option, fundamental orthodox Christian principles must be rejected or simply not considered. The elderly Canadian couple who opted to die stated that they looked forward to the moment when they could fly away together. Ultimately, that characterization is a theological onea deeply held belief about what comes after death. Some who choose death believe that nothingness awaits them; many others express vague, spiritual views about what comes next. All assume that previous generations were wrong, and that there is no Judge on the other side of the veil.

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The Deadly Trend of Double Euthanasia The European Conservative - The European Conservative

(OSV News) --A Canadian woman is relying on her faith, education and personal experience to end euthanasia -- and to encourage hope amid end-of-life suffering in her nation.

"Canada deserves to be a warning sign to the world of what road not to go down," activist Amanda Achtman told OSV News. "It pains my heart, but it also motivates me every day to try to think about how many people are going to be lost, and whose lives will be cut short prematurely, before we finally wake up to the moral urgency that we have here."

The 32-year-old Calgary native is the founder of the Dying to Meet You project, through which she aims to change the cultural conversation around suffering and death by writing, speaking and creating short films featuring individuals who find reasons to live amid serious illness.

Achtman's work directly counters Canada's law on "medical assistance in dying," or MAID, which since 2016 has exempted from criminal charges doctors and nurse practitioners who either directly administer or prescribe medication to cause a person's death at their own request. The law includes protocols for ensuring a patient requesting MAID is fully informed and freely consents.

On Feb. 5, Archbishop Christian Lpine of Montreal sought to protect a Catholic palliative care home from being compelled to offer MAID, submitting a Feb. 5 appeal to the Quebec Superior Court that asked for an immediate stay on application of a June 2023 amendment to Canada's Act Respecting End-of-Life Care. The amendment states that "palliative care hospices may not exclude medical aid in dying from the care they offer."

Achtman, a Catholic, said her mission was inspired in large part by being raised in a Jewish-Catholic family -- and by accompanying her grandfather, a Polish Jew, through his experience of dying.

At age 18, she traveled to Germany and Poland to study key places in the Holocaust, the 1933-1945 systematic murder of 6 million European Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators.

"A lot of my education started there when I was traveling to these sites and confronting the history of Nazi euthanasia and eugenics," she said, citing the outspoken witness of Blessed Clemens August von Galen, bishop (later cardinal) of Mnster, against the Nazi's euthanasia program.

"I've always been fascinated by the stories of the Righteous among the Nations," said Achtman, referencing the honor conferred by Yad Vashem, the world Holocaust remembrance center, on non-Jews who worked to save Jews from Nazi atrocities. "And so this was the ethical education that animated and fired up my moral imagination."

When her ailing grandfather came to live with her during her high school and university years, "the (Canadian) government was talking about legalizing euthanasia for those whose death was deemed reasonably foreseeable," Achtman said. "And anyone who has an 80- or 90-year-old in their life knows that that means them. I immediately had the sense that this concerned me personally."

Achtman balances heart and head in her work, drawing on her family life and on her advanced degrees, including a master's in philosophical studies from the Catholic University of Lublin, Poland, and coursework in the licentiate program in Judaic studies and Jewish-Christian relations offered by the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. She has served as the senior adviser to a member of parliament working to prevent the expansion of euthanasia to persons living with a disability or mental illness. In addition, Achtman partners with Canadian Physicians for Life on ethics education and cultural engagement.

Achtman told OSV News she believed that the impetus behind MAID lies partly in what Pope Francis has called a "false sense of compassion" for the suffering.

"Canadians are known for being very nice and compassionate. And we do have a lot of things going for us, but sometimes that's our demise," she said. "There's a sort of decadence that leads us to not be able to contend with suffering."

At the same time, she said, "There's a whole other demographic of those who are living in poverty, struggling with addictions, have suffered the trauma of suicide in their family. And we know that there's a sort of reciprocity between suicide and euthanasia perpetuating within families."

Achtman said that MAID has "definitely been driven" in Canada over the past four decades by the Toronto-based euthanasia lobbying organization Dying with Dignity, founded in 1980 by a registered nurse named Marilynne Seguin.

The organization "has been working to relieve unwanted suffering," but "it's sinister to end suffering by ending the sufferer with a lethal injection," said Achtman, referring to one of the methods used in medically assisted dying.

According to a 2022 listing posted online by the group, pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer is listed among the donors supporting Dying with Dignity. However, a Pfizer media relations representative told OSV News that "Pfizer is not a corporate donor to this organization."

Achtman added that "the promise of an escape from suffering has been romanticized by (Canadian) state media," specifically the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

While journalistic standards typically call for suicide to be responsibly covered (with many news agencies having formal or informal policies against reporting about it) -- out of concern for what researchers call a "contagion effect" that could trigger additional suicides -- "our state broadcaster has every few days been publicizing and romanticizing stories of euthanasia that glorify premature death," said Achtman.

On Feb. 11, the CBC posted a first-person article by Kelley Korbin headlined, "My dad's assisted death was a parting gift. I wish I'd said so in his obituary."

OSV News asked CBC for clarification of its coverage of suicide and the network responded that "MAID coverage is a news category in itself, where CBC News reports on the ongoing public conversation around a specific way of dying."

"We include a diverse range of perspectives from medical experts, political actors and commentators, and people sharing personal stories," Chuck Thompson, head of public affairs of the CBC wrote to OSV News.

Achtman told OSV News that Canada's Indigenous communities -- whom the government itself tacitly admits have not been sufficiently engaged in discussions of MAID -- "have a lot to teach the wider Canadian culture about reverence for the elderly."

While some Indigenous leaders have supported MAID, in 2016, Indigenous Liberal MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette announced he planned to vote against the legislation, expressing concerns over its "ripple effect" among his Attawapiskat community.

"If grandma, grandfather decides they had enough in life if they weren't able to carry on, why should I carry on? If they weren't strong enough, why should I be strong enough?" asked Ouellette.

In contrast, said Achtman, "Pope Francis has been saying in his catechesis on the meaning and value of old age that the alliance between old and young will save the human family."

She said that "the top kind of suffering that leads people to request euthanasia by their own admission" is typically "the loss of ability to participate in meaningful life activities.

"Canadians are by and large asking for euthanasia for existential reasons, not physical pain management reasons," said Achtman.

Ultimately, ending euthanasia is "an act of love," she said.

"Vulnerability is not a pejorative word, not if you have a right view of the human person," said Achtman. "Mounting resistance to a person's suicidal ideation says, 'I care about you too much to let you concede to this euthanasia temptation. I will fight for you.' And sometimes that resistance is all that a person needs and is waiting for."

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Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X at @GinaJesseReina.

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Ending euthanasia is 'an act of love,' says Canadian activist. Published Feb. 20 2024. World. - The Pilot

By Carlos Gutierrez*

Most attendees will never forget that football match. It was Saturday, September 10, and Deportivo Independiente Medellin (DIM) and Santa Fe were facing each other. It was memorable, not because of what happened on the pitch, but for what was going on in the bleachers. Sebastian Pamplona, a young man with a terminal illness, went to the stadium to fulfill his last wish: watching the DIM (his favorite team) play before being euthanized. Thousands of fans and players chanted his name in deeply poignant moments.

Colombia is a pioneer in decriminalizing euthanasia in Latin America. The law authorized it, back in 2015, for patients with terminal illnesses. Physicians must undertake the procedure with prior authorization of the respective Interdisciplinary-Scientific Committee to Die with Dignity.

Aside from Sebastians story, the debate to decriminalize and regulate euthanasia is back in the news in Latin America. In early February, the Constitutional Court of Ecuador decriminalized euthanasia in its active form, after a woman, 42, Paola Roldan, made a plea on social media to request the legalization of assisted death, in August 2023.

Three years ago, Paola was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and she has been immobilized for more than six months, without chances to improve. Those being her circumstances, she recruited a team of lawyers to demand her right to die with dignity to the Court. Along the process, she became a symbol of the fight to decriminalize euthanasia not only in Ecuador but in Latin America.

Although etymologically euthanasia meansgood death, it refers to ending the life of a person with an incurable or irreversible disease. It implies administering painless means to avoid the continuation of grave physical suffering. Oftentimes, it takes place in clinical contexts in which a third party, usually a doctor or group of doctors, is in charge of performing the procedure. The third party sets in motion a chain of events leading to the final outcome, controlling the result at all times, explains Carlos Molina-Ricaurte, of Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, in a chapter of the book Las identidades analizadas a traves de las segregaciones historico-culturales.

Globally, a mere nine nations have decriminalized and legalized the intervention. The Netherlands walked that path first, in April 2002. A month later, Belgium followed, and so did Luxembourg in 2009. In 2016, Canada joined them, and New Zealand in 2020. Spain legislated on it in July 2021, and Portugal in 2023. And In Australia, euthanasia is allowed only in the state of New South Wales, which authorized it in 2022.

In the United States, from 1997 to 2017, ten states legislated on assisted suicide for people over 18 who had a life prognosis shorter than six months. Unlike euthanasia, assisted suicide requires no intervention by a third party. It is defined as the action of a person suffering an irreversible disease to terminate his or her life. To do so, he or she has to have the support of practitioners that provide knowledge and means. Since 2020, it is not prosecuted in Germany and in Italy, where it is admitted in very special cases. Austria and Switzerland consider it only if the motive is not against the law.

In 2022, Colombia decriminalized assisted suicide for people with grave or incurable diseases. That same year, Victor Escobar, a 60-year-old driver, was the first Colombian to be euthanized without having an illness in the terminal stage. He had had cerebrovascular accidents, as well as obstructive pulmonary disease and hypertension. His battle opened doors for patients behind me who wish to die with dignity, Victor said in a farewell video published by the newspaper El Tiempo.

In Cuba, last December, the National Assembly of Peoples Power passed a new law by which it admits the right of people to die with dignity by arranging the decisions for the end of their lives, which may include the limitation of therapy, continuous or palliative care and valid conducts that put an end to their lives. The law, however, will only become effective when the legislature passes the regulation for its application.

Eneyda Suer, Mexican professor at Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente (ITESO), thinks that euthanasia should be legal and not just decriminalized, because that would open the door to serious, strict and dutiful protocols. Otherwise, it will continue taking place surreptitiously, carelessly and without adequate protocol. In his text, Molina-Ricaurte admits that in the case of Colombia, neither euthanasia nor assisted suicide have been sufficiently regulated. It is a fair demand to legislate on the matter.

Mexicos General Health Law forbids euthanasia, assisted suicide and mercy killing. However, there is the option of anticipated will, a legal figure through which someone with a terminal disease, or a forecast of one, may plan treatment and care for the end of life. One of the purposes of this resource is to respect the patients will, as well as guaranteeing a natural death in dignified conditions, says the Mexican Health Secretariat.

One of the arguments in favor of legalization is the right to make choices pertaining to our own lives. Neither assisted suicide nor euthanasia harm the rights of third parties. And we all know, as the popular adage says: my rights end where yours begin, states Marina Arias, lawyer of the Ministry of Public Defense of Paraguay.

Discussions around euthanasia are full of complexities and myths. Topics that have to do with morality are usually taboo. Theres abortion, euthanasia, surrogacy, homosexuality Suer says. From her point of view, euthanasia should be legislated because it is about coexisting. And in coexisting, we must admit that there are some facts that, albeit unpleasant, occur. So, why not legalize and create protocols to effectively respect a person?

Some studies address the influence of religion. It is clear that religiousness is negatively associated with accepting euthanasia or assisted suicude. As explained by Norma Ordoez and a team of researchers at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), in the article entitled Exploracion del discurso de los enfermos cronicos sobre la legalizacion de la muerte asistida.

But this brings upon controversy. Miguel Pastorino, PhD in philosophy and director of Centro Core at Universidad Catolica de Uruguay, considers it a myth to argue that the main stance against euthanasia is religiously driven. If you read documents by Catholic bishops, and I just read the one written by the bishops of Ecuador, their arguments appeal to human rights instead of to religion. The question is: Is it a human right to demand induced death? Or, as it is almost everywhere thus far, is it a human rights violation to end someones life even though he or she asked for it? In other words, what we have are two conflicting points of view on human rights, he underscores.

Lawyer Arias claims that at the moment of legalizing, the right that would prevail the most would be the right of autonomy. So, to what extent are we allowed to make decisions about ourselves? she wonders. She alleges that the existence of laws that criminalize euthanasia and assisted suicide means that the State is meddling on when a person can decide over his or her body. She also supports that mental illnesses should be taken into account when legalizing euthanasia.

Pastorino adds that it is a myth to confuse euthanasia with palliative or terminal sedation. It is not an undercover form of euthanasia, as many people think, he says. It is about inducing a coma for the personal to die naturally, but unconsciously. It simply makes death less atrocious, it makes it peaceful. That is ethically correct. It is legal, he explains.

For Pastorino, the law in favor of euthanasia allows physicians to kill patients. The problem is that it has been sweetened and romanticized. He believes the only argument for it is compassion towards the patients suffering, but that can be alleviated with proper palliative care. He highlights that, in that regard, there is a problem of social injustice that is frequently overlooked, since many people dont even have access to palliative care.

In an interview with the Uruguayan radio show En perspectiva, Spanish oncologist and palliative care physician Enric Benito talked about his experience with Fernando Sureda, former manager of the Uruguayan Football Association. In 2018, after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, he requested an euthanasia to the Uruguayan legal system, to no avail. Due to the pandemic, Benito virtually accompanied Sureda in his last days.

The documentary Hay una puerta ahi is a compilation of videos of those meetings, and it shows Sureda reconsidered the possibility of euthanasia. Based on this experience, the persons real intention is to put an end to suffering. And it is more elegant, more professional, and more humane, to put an end to suffering instead of ending a life.

Gerardo Perez-Mendoza, researcher of Laboratorio de Genetica at Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan, proposes considering the opinion of physicians. He thinks that many resist doing it because it is against their professional principles. Their oath dictates that they must seek to save or alleviate the patient.

In 2020, the Medical Association of Uruguay conducted a poll that revealed doctors in that country had a very favorable attitude towards the approval of legislation to enable euthanasia in its active form. In 62% of the cases, they responded in favor with total certainty.

In any case, the role of doctors would have to be closely monitored to avoid the likelihood of malpractice. In a text published in Prudencia Uruguay. En defensa de la dignidad humana, Carlos Maria Schroeder, honorary professor of Universidad de la Republica, refers to an official report of the Canadian Medical Association in which 120 Belgian nurses admitted to having performed euthanasia without the patients request. He states that in countries where it has been approved, the practice of palliative care has truly decreased: the medical community has been strongly deterred from pursuing that type of care, in the face of mounting unruly, and oftentimes, unjustified cases of euthanasia.

Most experts interviewed for this article agree that many of the controversies on the matter are among healthy people and at theoretical level. There arent many studies with people living with diseases in the terminal stage. People who really wish to be euthanized are not in conditions to manifest their intentions or to sign documents. Normally, they realize they wish for it when they are in a terminal stage and in a lot of pain, Suer says.

The stance of sick patients on this topic is relevant to have enough elements aimed at a prospective regulation, from the bioethics, medical and legal perspectives, UNAM researchers expound.

The topic requires serious analyses and dialogue between professionals from different disciplines. In the meantime, Pastorino recommends moving forward on better palliative care, on laws of anticipated will, on health care, on providing support to patients in pain and their families. For this expert, whose thesis in bioethics was on euthanasia, the discussions tend to be in black and white, in heated defenses for or against. And, well, this is not a football match.

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*Member of the editorial board at CONNECTAS

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