Vulnerable Patients Being Legally Killed In the Netherlands Even Without Their Consent
Hundreds of vulnerable elderly patients in the Netherlands are being legally killed even without their consent as a result of the changes made in the country's law on doctor-assisted suicide.
The shocking revelation was made by a group of researchers led by Dr. Scott Y. H. Kim who found out that "strict protective guidelines" supposed to protect these helpless patients from being killed against their will are being flouted, leading to the deaths of 431 people in 2015, none of whom gave clear consent, The Christian Institute reported.
In January 2016, the Dutch government extended the country's euthanasia law to include people with severe dementia.
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However, a study published the following month prompted researchers to express serious concerns on the implementation of the law.
Kim said in one case, a woman in her 70s was euthanized even though she had no health problems. Her doctors nevertheless ended her life on the basis of her earlier statement that life would not be worth living once her husband died.
But when her husband died and she was subsequently made "to follow him," a consultant reported that the woman "did not feel depressed at all. She ate, drank and slept well. She followed the news and undertook activities."
The implementation of the Dutch euthanasia law has alarmed even doctors involved in carrying out the measure.
Last month, LifeSiteNews reported that 200 Dutch doctors came out with an advertisement in a major newspaper in the Netherlands, objecting to the unchecked growth of euthanasia in their country, where people who have reduced mental capacity due to dementia are being legally put to death.
"[Assisted suicide] for someone who cannot confirm he wants to die? No, we will not do that. Our moral reluctance to end the life of a defenseless man is too great," the ad says.
The Dutch law allows doctors to euthanize patients even without their verbal consent if a written declaration of will has been given in advance.
A doctor must also first determine that the patient is undergoing unbearable suffering before administering a lethal dose. But with their reduced mental capacity, patients are often unable to confirm that their earlier request to be euthanized — executed perhaps years earlier — is still valid.
Lawmakers in the Netherlands are proposing even more radical amendments to the law. The so-called "Completed Life Bill" has been proposed that would allow anybody age 75 or older to be euthanized even if they are healthy. If the legislation is approved, it would mean that doctor-assisted suicide would be available to any adult who wants it.
Meanwhile, the number of people euthanized in the Netherlands continued to rise. In April, the Dutch News reported that the number increased by 10 percent in 2016 with 6,091 reported assisted deaths, representing 4 percent of all deaths in the Netherlands up from 5561 reported assisted deaths in 2015.
