Belgian Euthanasia of Woman on Hunger Strike
I will say it until I am blue in the face, and then I will keep saying it: Euthanasia guidelines are not really there to be followed and actually protect the vulnerable. They are there to give the illusion of control.
Consider: In Belgium, which has Dutch-style euthanasia, an elderly woman wanted euthanasia but didn't qualify under the law. She got it anyway after a hunger strike. From Derek Humphry's blog:
A 93-year-old Belgian woman has died after going on a 10-day hunger strike last month to force doctors to help her die, her family said. Amelie Van Esbeen, born in 1916, was surrounded by family members at a home where she lived for the past five years...Van Esbeen ended her hunger strike on March 24 and made a written euthanasia request which was accepted by a different doctor who helped her die on Wednesday around noon, her family said. (Report from Expatica, Beligum)Like I said, guidelines are not really meant to protect, just give the illusion of control.
posted by Wesley J. Smith @ 8:40 PM
8 Comments
8 Comments:
I am a little bit confused at how it worked in this case...was the ten day hunger strike enough of a hardship that her overall health decreased to the point where euthanasia was acceptable? Was it the consultation of a different doctor?
Also...to whom is the illusion of control given with such guidelines?
Lastly, thanks very much for your blog - I consider myself part of the 'choir' here. Being a pastor means that I need to be aware of the current attacks on human life just as much as I need to do the other aspects of ministry: praying, writing sermons (especially this week!), visiting the sick, preparing studies, giving spiritual direction, preparing services, etc. Like so many vocations, I never need to look far to find something else that requires attention, and your blog is so very, very helpful in this regard. I especially appreciate that while you do interject your opinion (as is your right - this is a blog!), you also provide not only links to source texts but also extensively quote the source text in your posts. In my whole life I have never been quite so well informed of the current issues regarding human life as I have since following your blog. In other words - thank you and keep up the good work!
Cordially,
Rev. Jon Bakker
I suspect that the whole euthanasia thing is about control rather than accepting what God has for you.
Pastor Baker: Thank you for your kind words. That is a primary reason I spend so much time working on SHS.
The illusion of control is for society so it can think that private killing can be controlled and be benign.
Thanks for bringing this to light, Wesley. It seems that assisted suicide is more for giving the doctors control of their patients, rather than the patients control of their lives (and deaths).
Unfortunately, we're a control obsessed society. It seeps into every aspect - from death to reproduction to education - to the point that no one can really live their own life anymore. You'd be amazed at the slew of negative comments I routinely receive for having 3 (soon to be 4) children so young. It's almost as if it is socially unconscionable to live a life without a consistent need to control even the most minute facets.
Was this assisted suicide or euthanasia? Now here's an example of lines blurred between those two.
I don't know about control, but people don't seem to mind their own business. Someone is young they should do such and such; someone is old they should die; someone is around for an elderly parent they should be putting them in assisted living; someone is making a will they should make an advanced directive so that they can be euthanized too....and we've got nanny government too.
I know what you mean Becky, I've got seven and it's worse when the negative comments come from the grandparents.
When will they understand that euthanasia and abortion degrades human nature and dignity to nothing more than that of a brute beast?
But am i surprised that people are choosing euthanasia now? Abortion has been legalised for so long, and society has been blind to its tragic ills. The end result is only a further disrespect for the sanctity of life, and thus, people will now demand that suicide be accepted as legal and good.
Bah.
It doesn't elevate us to contrast us with "brute beasts." Involuntary euthanasia and abortion would be just as wrong for them. Like vivisection, veterinary medicine is a "precursor" to human medical/ethical practices. The vets make money on routine neuterings, spayings, vaccinations, euthanasias, etc. Yes in particular cases it may be to the pet's benefit; we don't know which so we do them all and it keeps the vet clinic in business. Like mammograms and colonoscopies for humans. That they can't say anything about it doesn't make it ok. We do the spaying and neutering for their sake to prevent overpopulation and suffering in shelters, vets say to prevent cancers; but remember, they are man-made, in a sense -- domesticated animals. I'm not saying that they shouldn't exist; I'm saying that just because we created them doesn't mean they don't have certain rights. You know, like an i.v.f. embryo.
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