Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Dutch officials admit legalized euthanasia may have hurt care of terminally-ill patients

From The Daily Mail in the UK:


Legalised euthanasia has led to a severe decline in the quality of care for terminally-ill patients in Holland, it has been claimed.

Many ask to die 'out of fear' because of an absence of effective pain relief, according to a new book.

Even the architect of the controversial law has admitted she may have made a mistake in pushing it through because of its impact on services for the elderly.

Holland was the first country in the world to legalise euthanasia, in 2002.

But Dr Els Borst (pictured), the former Health Minister and Deputy Prime Minister who guided the law through the Dutch parliament, now says it was brought in 'far too early'.

Without elaborating, she admitted that medical care for the terminally-ill had declined since the law came into effect.

She said more should have been done legally to protect people who wanted to die natural deaths.

'In the Netherlands, we first listened to the political and societal demand in favour of euthanasia,' said Dr Borst. 'Obviously, this was not in the proper order.'

The former hospital doctor made her remarks in an interview with researcher Dr Anne-Marie The, for a book on the history of euthanasia called Redeemer Under God.

Dr The, who has studied euthanasia for 15 years, said that palliative care was so inadequate in Holland that patients 'often ask for euthanasia out of fear' of dying in agony because care and pain relief is so poor.

She added that a crisis had developed and that 'to think that we have neatly arranged everything by adopting the euthanasia law is an illusion'.

Phyllis Bowman of Right to Life, a British group opposed to euthanasia, said she had witnessed pro-euthanasia campaigners picket hospices in Holland.

She said it was so bad that Amsterdam, which has a population of 1.2million people, is now served by just two tiny hospices.

'People were marching round the building shouting and roaring and were screaming that the hospice was denying people their right to die,' she said.

'The pro-euthanasia campaigners set out to smash the hospice movement. People can no longer get palliative care when they need it - they just get an injection.'

The Dutch euthanasia law gives doctors immunity from prosecution if they help to kill patients over the age of 12 who are suffering unbearably from incurable conditions and who have repeatedly requested euthanasia.

It is usually carried out by administering a strong sedative to put the patient in a coma, followed by a drug to stop the breathing and cause death.

Cases of euthanasia in the country have increased from 1,626 in 2003 to 2,331 in 2008. It is also alleged that there have been thousands of cases of involuntary euthanasia and dozens of killings of disabled newborns.

Campaigners in Britain said Dr Borst's remarks showed the dangers of legalising euthanasia in the UK.

Dr Peter Saunders, from the Care Not Killing Alliance, an umbrella group of more than 50 disabled, medical and religious charities, said: 'If you introduce guidelines that help people to avoid prosecution then you will get a huge escalation of cases.'

Fears that Britain might introduce a euthanasia law have been mounting since Law Lords ordered Keir Starmer, the Director of Public Prosecutions, to clarify when a person should be prosecuted for assisting suicide.

His guidance, published in September, said prosecution was likely if the 'victim' was under 18, had a mental illness or was in good physical health. Assisting in more than one case or being paid for assistance would also lead to prosecution.

Although it does not guarantee anyone immunity, it says a criminal action is unlikely if the victim had a grave illness or disability, was determined to kill themselves and was a close friend or relative of a helper, who was motivated by compassion.